SMR Vault - A Student Media Group for FIRST Robotics

[SMR Vault]

Hey everybody!

Recently, we released 2 videos that we feel will benefit robotics teams across the region going into the 2017 season. Both videos are part of our “All Star” series, and they feature leaders from the Hardin Valley RoHAWKtics and Blount County Robotics. We interviewed these leaders with the intention of relaying some valuable advice regarding subjects like team structure, scheduling, and leadership that other teams can use to inspire their own strategies. We’ve summarized some highlights below, but we encourage you to check out the videos for yourself!

Alexis Longmire, captain of the Hardin Valley RoHAWKtics, has emphasized outreach, ranging from integrating sub-teams all the way to running a foreign exchange student program to promote FIRST internationally, throughout her leadership. Our biggest takeaway was HVA’s regard for the well being of students; this has been highlighted throughout their safety program, which extends beyond the realm of FRC, and their outreach to other teams during competition and throughout the season. Alexis had sound advice to offer in regards to kickoff strategy and team structure, so definitely check that video out!

Alijah Lawson, business lead of Blount County Robotics, places a large emphasis on student leadership and learning from experience, as evidenced by the unique student-mentor relationship, which differs greatly from that of HVA, and the simplistic team structure that allows students to drift in and out of sub-groups to find where they fit best. The team also has a very straightforward, yet effective method of managing priorities, and we think teams will find this particularly helpful this season!

The most relevant subject that both teams touched on was kickoff strategy! Both HVA and BCR take a relatively similar approach to beginning the season, and both strategies are certainly noteworthy.

We’re very excited to have released these videos, and we look forward to seeing them fulfill their mission of preparing teams for the fast-approaching build season. Though lengthy at some points, both videos are packed with valuable information. For this reason, we encourage your team to incorporate them into your kickoff meeting. Have a team-wide discussion of the two, in which members take notes and analyze the viability of the strategies of HVA and BCR, and consider how some of these may be translated into your team’s strategy!

You can watch both videos on our channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoT...pepcwN1V1_TSoA. Thanks for reading, and we wish all teams the best of luck this year as we all embark on the mission of spreading innovative ideas throughout the FIRST community!