POLL: Will you be using a scoring aid?

[Lil' Lavery]

I'm willing to bet that FIRST will have some form of "real time" scoring to display on the screen, similar to 2005, that can typically provide an adequate estimate. That being said, a coach shouldn't rely on it, nor should a coach have to.
The scoring is simple enough, and it will usually be fairly obvious who has a lead. In this game, there are really only 11 scores of the rack a coach should be worried about.
Leading by > 60
Leading by > 45
Leading by > 30
Leading by > 15
Leading by < 15
Tied
Trailing by < 15
Trailing by > 15
Trailing by > 30
Trailing by > 45
Trailing by > 60
Many of these situations may also be null depending on both your and your opponents alliance structure in any particular match.
Beyond that, a coach should be looking for opportunities to extend rows, block rows, and create new rows, place spoilers, on the rack, not worrying about the exact score. A coach MUST be aware of the positions and actions of all 6 robots on the field, time, and game pieces.