Printing the Field on a Dry-Erase Board

[waffle_dynasty]

I've seen many teams have small dry-erase boards with the playing field printed on it that they use to illustrate strategy. Originally, I was going to just draw the field with sharpie, but dry-erase markers actually erase the sharpie. How does your team print the field on a dry-erase board?

[IronicDeadBird]

You could also just print the arena on a piece of paper and laminate it.

[MrBasse]

Sign vinyl works great for this. Almost any sign or graphics shop can cut one and apply it for you. Also check tech centers and some high schools in your area that have gaphics programs as they might have a vinyl cutter or laser that could get it done for you too.

[Edxu]

We have a laminating machine, so what we do is we create a clean field diagram (white background), then we stretch it to size on an 8.5x11" sheet of paper. After doing that, you can laminate it. We've done this for the past few years, and the results have been great.
I would say that we only need to replace it once per season, as the dry-erase leaves small discoloration that aggregates over time.

[bEdhEd]

Originally Posted by IronicDeadBird

You could also just print the arena on a piece of paper and laminate it.

This is highly recommended.

My team has a Drive Coach binder that contains our strategy mats in sheet protectors. This binder also contains a defensive and offensive playbook, match schedules, team lists, and the game rules. It's super handy.

This thread for our 2014 Strategy Mats has suggested instructions based on what we do.

This thread has the 2016 Strategy Mats. These strategy mats are printer friendly and also easier to look at than the field diagram from the manual since everything is simplified to the bare minimum.

[cgmv123]

You can also draw the field on the whiteboard with wet-erase markers. Then you can draw on top with dry-erase markers and dry-erase the markings, but leave the field drawing intact.

[jajabinx124]

Boogie-boards work well to illustrate match strategy as well. During an off-season event in MN this year I used one to illustrate strategy before matches. It's semi-useful for mapping things out.

[northstardon]

Originally Posted by waffle_dynasty

I've seen many teams have small dry-erase boards with the playing field printed on it that they use to illustrate strategy. Originally, I was going to just draw the field with sharpie, but dry-erase markers actually erase the sharpie. How does your team print the field on a dry-erase board?

This vendor might be a good (and inexpensive) option.

You might also be able to use these kind of custom printed lap boards for scouting. It'd be a green (and cheaper) alternative to filling out hard-copy scouting reports by hand (just take a quick picture of the board at the end of a match, then erase and you're all set to scout the next match).

[marcusbernstein]

For Chezy Champs this year, I printed out a picture of the field and put it in a sheet protector. It's a really cheap option (I just pulled one out of my math binder), and it worked really well. Make sure you keep it on a clipboard and you have a good place to keep it during matches, especially if you're on drive team.

[Gregor]

Before our first regional in 2014 I realized hadn't made my clipboard yet so I printed off the field and cut a piece of thin Lexan to the size of the sheet and just had it clamped over top the field on a clipboard. Worked in a pinch with material we had, but a sheet protector or a laminated piece of paper would be less bulky.

It's worth buying the thin point dry erase markers, it makes drawing much more clear.