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#1
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Re: Vetting defensive picks
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If they're putting up good metrics (noticeably more moves without drawing fouls or dying or whatever), clearly they're good at it--I can't see anyone being insulted by being picked for that. (Phrase it as a positive--messaging is important!) Place an encouraging word with the drivers or coach Friday afternoon and go from there. |
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#2
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Re: Vetting defensive picks
I think that it would be really hard to know if you need a defending robot in your strategy until you are on the field for alliance selection and you know which alliance you are going up against and who the have partnered with.
The only reason that drafting a defensive robot would make since would be because you know that no matter what you do you will never be able to out score your opponents. In that case you would need some way to bring down their effectiveness and a playing defensive robot could certainly help level the playing field. However the only way for you to know how many points there going to score is to know who is going to be on their alliance. And as I stated earlier the you won't know that until you are on the field. You might have a good idea who the alliance captain that your going to face is, but more than likely you won't know who their first pick is going to be, so you have to wait till you are on the field. So in terms of prep for drafting one I would say that if you have any in mind after you make your pick list just ask them on Saturday morning would they be comfortable doing that for you. I find that if you are anywhere close to being in a picking position and your looking for a team to play defense for they probable will not be very highly ranked, especially since they would have to be your second pick, and they will be doing to do pretty much whatever you ask them to do in order to get picked. Last edited by New Lightning : 24-01-2017 at 20:25. |
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#3
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Re: Vetting defensive picks
One question to drive team: what dog breed do you like?
Any one with answer: pit bull or chihuahua will be on top of my list ![]() |
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#4
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Re: Vetting defensive picks
Picking a team you want to play defense is done by paying attention to how the team drives on the field. Any robot can play defense. You should want the team that knows how to handle their robot and who don't make wasted movements on the field.
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#5
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Re: Vetting defensive picks
Better have a good drive train and an even better driver. The drive coach needs to be able to read the referees and know when they are about to call fouls.
Scouting refs is as important as scouting teams when it comes to eliminations. |
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#6
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Re: Vetting defensive picks
You are right, any robot can play defense, but its the driver's mindset. Annoying little robot can throw off a good scoring robot.
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#7
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Re: Vetting defensive picks
Fixed that for you
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#8
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Re: Vetting defensive picks
False, playing defense doesn't have to be a bumper to bumper pushing match. Every second you cause the other team to waste is time well spent.
Though most teams don't have the practice with mecanums to play defense well with them. |
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#9
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Re: Vetting defensive picks
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Any tank drive robot with a bit of driver practice can play effective defense. The same can only be said about exemplary mecanum robots with a lot more driver practice. EDIT: It was the New Jersey Regional Last edited by Ari423 : 24-01-2017 at 22:19. |
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#10
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Re: Vetting defensive picks
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Quote:
2013 Arkansas Razorback Regional we ended up playing harassment defense on mecanum wheels and a tall robot. Zip around the pyramid and midfield and make them always take the long way and force them to not full court shoot. Something similar could be done this year if they're a retrieval zone robot, where you make them go completely around the airship rather than bee line from one corner to the other. And man, delaying a gear cycle... |
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#11
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Re: Vetting defensive picks
Thank you all for the excellent advice and comments, though none of them address one piece of the puzzle I am curious about: interacting with prospective defenders to make sure they're on board with playing defense. I've heard of situations where a team isn't exactly thrilled to be playing defense, despite being picked for them to do so, or is unwilling to put a blocker on their robot for defense purposes. I am looking for advice to avoid situations like this.
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#12
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Re: Vetting defensive picks
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If yes, they stay on the pick list. If no, move on to the next team. |
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#13
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Re: Vetting defensive picks
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In 2014, my team's robot was effectively just a tall drive base, but we did a good job of playing defense* (see a pattern here?). Before alliance selection at both of our competitions, teams came to us and asked if we would be willing to play defense for them if their alliance strategy called for it. Of course we said yes. It only took 2 minutes and they had the answer you're looking for. * We actually played defense so hard that we were breaking our opponents' robots. This was the year of the white Clippards, so we burst a few of those. We started keeping a tally in sharpie on the side of our robot of the number of robots we broke, turned off, or otherwise disabled throughout the season. IIRC that number got into the double digits. |
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#14
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Re: Vetting defensive picks
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#15
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Re: Vetting defensive picks
When looking for a defensive robot, talking to the team itself isn't my first go-to.
Match scouting is gonna tell you most of what you need to know. Look at their drive style- are they slower to respond or are they proactive in their driving? Some teams are good at just getting in the way of others in the midst of their offense, this can speak to their skill. Is it apparent that they know the defensive rules?- For example, sometimes you can see their coach or co-driver watching the ref for a countdown. Fouls in elims can often be the difference between win or loss. It is generally apparent if the driver is timid in his movements or intentional with them. Overall pit/match- Is the robot robust? All you need for a defensive bot is a good driver and a robot that isn't going to fall apart on impact. (Or maybe their bumpers keep falling off and there's an easy way to fix it) Find the gem- Sometimes a robot won't be great offensively and will slip through the cracks of scouting. They may only play defense in one match for various reasons. In this case, again take a look at their drive style and refer to the other points I mentioned. When talking to the team- It's usually easy to tell in a conversation with the drive team their knowledge. You can ask if they are willing to play defense, but I try to listen to tone on this one. Some will be a wishy-washy yes, others will be excited to tell you about it. This more refers to the Driver's knowledge on rules again and whether the driver knows how to drive defensively (I guess I keep coming back to drive style and rules knowledge). I saw one robot defend against two robots quite effectively last year. Last point, yes, it might be good to ask about cheesecaking. Whether adding a net or something else. Actually, some teams may have one made and just not bring it out until elims. |
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