what should a drive coach do during a match?

[*Rachelle*]

Nick, do you have two people physically driving the robot or do you essentially have two coaches?

Definitely take what Mr. Steele said into consideration when deciding on roles, he stated it very well. I believe that it is the job of the coach to make strategy decisions and talk to the other teams during a match, as well as keep time. The co-driver helps more with the "within ten foot radius" decisions.

For us, the main driver has control of the chassis and gate arm. The co-driver has control of the ball retriever and shooter, therefore they are talking frequently to each other.

I should say that if you and the coach disagree with a strategy decision, do what they say as that person is watching the whole field and what is going on. After the match is when you can review everything in the match and the decisions made (there isn't time to debate for ten seconds in these matches). If the coach is scrutinized too much on every call, the coach will question his/her own decisions and that is not what you want. Remember that the coach will improve just as much as the drivers, I recommend that the coach watches matches from other events in order to help with the "learning curve" and it will be easier to make the decision on the spot after seeing how other matches played out with the courses taken.

Good luck to your team!