Question of the Week!!! (8/16/04)

[Andy Grady]

Hi everyone!

I know, I am guilty of missing a week again due to livin la vida loca. Here is this weeks question suggested by Barry from team 1390 (Bonzack1390).

Question of the Week (8/16/04):
Other than the team that you are currently on, Would you rather be on a veteran team with many years of experience, or a rookie team starting from scratch?

As always, yada yada yada, skrach42@aol.com, QuietRiverRage1 on AIM, or just a PM to suggest questions! Have a great week!

-Andy Grady

[Lisa Rodriguez]

Although both have thier advantages, being on a veteran teamis what i would want. Mostly because veteran teams know what they are doing and what does and doesn't work. As long as the teams are open to new ideas and trying new things, i would prefer a veteran team.

[RogerR]

Originally Posted by Andy Grady

Question of the Week (8/16/04):
Other than the team that you are currently on, Would you rather be on a veteran team with many years of experience, or a rookie team starting from scratch?

personally, i liked being on a rookie team last year. no-one really had any expectations of us, so when we won, our regional, it was especially sweet. on the flip-side, i probably wouldn't pass up the chance to join a big name team like truck town terror, or techno ticks.

[Joe3]

Well, I have been on MOE the past 3 years, and being on a big, experienced veteran team certainly has its benefits, but there are also drawbacks. After having the experience of that, I would like to try a small rookie or inexperienced team, simply because on a new team, there is more flexibility to try something risky, or just run with a new idea. There isnt that "we've done this and it's worked in the past" mentality that many established teams.

[Billfred]

To be honest, I kinda liked being a rookie this year.

We didn't have much of a clue what we were up against, so we did our thing. And that drivetrain is bombproof for it.

[Astronouth7303]

Probably a rookie because an expierienced team would tell me to hush up and take a back seat.

[edit]That has to do with the kind of person I am. I don't like to sit and watch when I could be doing something. Actually, it drives me batty.[/edit]

[offtopic]Livin' La Vida Loca is awesome! We're doing it for our half-time show this year![/offtopic]

[JVN]

Originally Posted by Astronouth7303

Probably a rookie because an expierienced team would tell me to hush up and take a back seat.

This segues into my answer nicely:
I'd love to spend some time on a really well established team, with some strong engineers and mentors.

I want to learn.

It'd be great to hop onto a team like the Technokats or Team Hammond and just... watch. I'd be content doing nothing but making parts.
Think how much you could learn watching Andy and Mark work on their newest tranny design...

I've got a lot of mentoring role models in my life, but it'd be great to spend some "up close" time with some of them.


Once I've learned "enough" then I'd consider striking off on my own and found my own team.

$.02

JV
(who would love to take a backseat)

[Aignam]

A rookie team. There's just something about pioneering your way, laying down the threads with which the team will flourish, rather than having a current system spoon fed to you.

I'd like to be on a team with little money, little experience, few resources, but some determined, hard-working students and a devoted teacher. Any out there in Jersey?

[Arefin Bari]

Veteran teams might have a lot of people who are experienced but each year they have a lot of newbies on the team who are not experienced. veterans on the team trains the rookies to have the capability of running the team once the veterans are graduated...

with rookie teams there are some people in the team who has atleast a little bit of experience. and everyone in the team learns from there...

i really dont have preferences of being on a veteran team or a rookie team since both will give me a great experience of team work. both will have a great experience for me...

[Joshua May]

Most of my reasons have been stated already, but I'd prefer a rookie team. That way I think I'd be able to have more of an impact on the team and the direction of the team (no offense to any big teams out there) This way both myself and my team get to learn better from all of our mistakes, not those of our predecessors, sometimes you just have to learn on your own. Also, this allows us to set our own standards and precedent, not just living up to the standards of previous years from our team.

Originally Posted by Aignam

I'd like to be on a team with little money, little experience, few resources, but some determined, hard-working students and a devoted teacher. Any out there in Jersey?

I don't know about Jersey, but you just described my team perfectly.

[Jessica Boucher]

I feel that this question is slightly limited in the definition of veteran team. There is a huge difference between powerhouse vets and the rest of the veterans. I feel that every team has the potential to be a powerhouse, hence why these teams can be labeled "fixer uppers"....with the right team mindset, energy to acquire enough resources, and a little luck, any team can become stronger.

Don't underestimate the fixer-upper...that experience can be just as gratifying as sitting in with a powerhouse.

[Jay H 237]

I will lean toward a veteran team. Being a veteran means the "framework" for a team should already be in place so you can concentrate more on designing and constructing a robot instead of a team. I will also venture to say that veterans generally have more and/or better resources available to them. Wether that is shop facilities, funds, volunteers, sponsors or just plain knowledge.

[JoeXIII'007]

I'd rather be on a rookie team. Usually its their first years that are their glory days and they fair quite well. I was involved with a rookie LEGO league team before my real robotics days that ALMOST made it to states and got a quality research award. As for a rookie team that I wish I was on, 1241 would be that choice. They almost took home GLR, and they would have if some team didn't plop a big ball in their net (no offense) .

[Justin]

Okay A few things...

First of I have to disagree with Jess' post about "powerhouse vets" what the heck is that?? I suppose Beaty is a "powerhouse vet" because they've won like 17 championships, a chairman’s, etc. That being said there are teams who (despite all odds and the best attempts to prevent it) are consistent. The question then is what makes them consistent (I have some of my own ideas but...getting flamed is so yesterday)...Andy are you listening that's next weeks question okay!! However I have certainly seen PLENTY of matches where so called "powerhouse teams" have been given a very serious beating by rookie teams, which in my view is the great part about FIRST. In other sports if you train hard you can become extremely good at what you do eventually...practice makes perfect. Why is this? Because the game stays the same...mixing it up each year helps to keep everyone on a level playing field (usually). In basketball if you are talented you're going to do very well at playing the game. In FIRST there is virtually NO guarantee from one year to the next that you will be a "powerhouse" or will even win a single competition. So how relevant is that label anyways?

Secondly, I think that being a veteran on each type of team has its own serious pitfalls. I think being a veteran on a different veteran team is probably the hardest. I've toyed from time to time with trying to join a veteran team that wasn't my original HS team and I think this is very very hard because each team in FIRST has its own culture, its own inside jokes, that you have to break through. On the other than being on a rookie time presents its own challenges in that you have to balance your know how with the kids ideas and resist the temptation to always be spouting "well in past years." But you don't have to break through that culture, etc. because it is in the process of being created. Ultimately I just haven't found a team that I've really clicked with since the demise of my original team and perhaps I never will.

Those are my thoughts...lengthy as they are,

Justin

[Alex Pelan]

My choice would be to start a rookie team, and develop it into a veteran team. First off, rookie teams are more friendly to younger students, because seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshman alike start off on a level playing field. On a veteran team, returning members usually have a job established, which narrows opportunities for new members. Also, going through a rookie year of first together creates a bond between members that cannot be broken. Everyone remembers the same competition as "their first FIRST competition." Remembering the first years, where money was tight and experience was low, would bring joy years later when your team is a chairmans award winner or (insert distinction here). That's all for me.