Dealing with robotics regrets

[BJT]

Every year, given the benefit of hindsight, I can name a lot of things that we perhaps should have done different. However, I know that at the time, we did the best we could with the knowledge and resources we had available to us.

[Munchskull]

Originally Posted by The other Gabe

hey, you guys didn't have a drivetrain before it was cool

Thanks for the complement. We still make jokes about it.

[Brandon Zalinsky]

2014 NE Champs quarterfinals. We were the first pick of the #8 seed, with 172 the Northern Force and 2067 Apple Pi. Our first matchup: the robot decreed to be the best in New England in 195, the CyberKnights, assisted by 558 the RoboSquad and 5122 the RoboTies.

QF1 we had the only Anderson connector failure in our team's history. 172 and 2067 put up a valiant fight but lost. QF2 we took and forced the rubber match. In QF3, both us and 2067 took hard hits to our internals that knocked our compressor and Apple Pi's drive Talons, respectively. Our crippled alliance just couldn't finish it.

A win there would have, in all likelihood, sent our team to St. Louis, something I really felt the students had earned.

We learned that even though the robot was built like a truck full of trains, it wasn't impervious to little tiny failures that could create big problems.

[bkahl]

Originally Posted by Brandon Zalinsky

195, the Powerknights

I was unaware of this name change..

[Brandon Zalinsky]

Originally Posted by bkahl

I was unaware of this name change..

Wow I screwed up that one. You meant you don't want to be from West High in Manchester?

[ShotgunNinja]

I have a regret as a competition staffer.

At the 2015 Wisconsin Regional, as a Team Queuing guy, I yelled at a VIP to get out of the judges' area without a pass or badge during a match. He got really offended and aggressive with me, and I handled the situation poorly. I should have been complimentary and asked him politely instead of being brusque and direct. Turns out he was a visiting C-level from a sponsoring company, and left his VIP pass with his family or something. I was actually reprimanded informally for this faux pas.

I never had a chance to apologize to him for my actions, either, but I've learned from it, and I try to be genial and polite to anyone trying to make their way onto the field, if I believe they might be entering in error.

[Briansmithtown]

One thing I realized in dealing with robot regrets is to NOT look back after your senior year.

I personally have had a bad time dealing with regrets from how it turned out for us. I also regret never going to a competition (which stinks because i've been doing this since 2009). Its something you have to do. You have to step back a bit, and let it go. Come back as a mentor or help out, but just step back. Take a year off, and kind of relax.