Picking alliances

[theycallhimtom]

From being seeded 2nd at two regionals this year I got to experience what it was like when a lower team tried to sell themselves to us. We have a very strong group of scouts so we have are own rankings which we use. Whenever a team tried to sell themselves to us it really did not impact what we were doing at all. But our rookie year we were ranked 10th or so and got to captain the 7th or 8th alliance and since we were not expecting it we had no scouting data. In that case teams lobbying us made a huge impact.

In essence if the team has a good scouting team you are already being considered so there is not much you can do. If the team is not scouting a lot then making a pitch to them can help you a ton. At the very least pitching to a higher team with scouts will not make them rank you lower.

If you are going to make the pitch there are a few things you should make sure to do.
1) Sometimes their are reasons why robots are ranked low, explain them. For example if you had to play a good team every match (1st week regionals) or if your robot broke for two matches. If your ranked 40th because something broken on Thursday morning and you did well in your last 5 matches then teams will be more likely to pick you.
2) Wait until the qualification matches are done or at least the team you are pitching to is done with their matches. If you talk to them before they finish they will be focusing on their matches.
3) Focus on your strengths. Simple things such as showing up to every qualification match with a working robot can help you a lot.
4) Keep it short and to the point.


One thing to note. This is just my view of what would convince my team to pick you, and other teams might be very different.