[YMTC]: Robot Ability

[Travis Hoffman]

My personal opinion - a team's own seasonal and robot design goals should never, ever be sacrificed to satisfy the standards or will of any other FIRST team or teams who believe they should be changed, especially when a team has been struggling all year to implement a robot function and is on the verge of seeing that function work on the playing field. The team wishing to use their arm to score and finally show off a capability their team members have collectively been working so hard all season to develop must proudly, confidently, and respectfully stand up for themselves and their right to pursue their own goals. This is not a case of being "selfish" or "un-GP" as many might be quick to label it. It's a case of having pride in one's own program and being free to practice any style of gameplay they choose given their robot's capabilities and the current game and rules.

One would hope that when politely confronted by the other team asking to use their arm and play offense, the two successful offensive teams would ultimately respect this right, understand how much this means to that team, and would do their best to work with the alliance to readjust their strategy around an all-offensive mindset. Just consider it another opportunity to rise to the dynamic challenges a FIRST competition presents to its participants. No amount of rankings glory is worth the disappointment of an entire team when they don't receive the opportunity to prove the effectiveness of their design.

Too often, I feel we all default to taking the perspective of the veteran teams' viewpoint when evaluating these situations. How can we humor the struggling team's wishes while still maximizing our chances of maintaining a high rank, etc.? We call it a compromise and move on. But are we asking the struggling team to sacrifice too much? It is really a fair compromise? I need to ask myself these questions more often. Being a member of a veteran team, I don't know if we've ever been placed in the position the two offensive teams are in here - I typically don't follow the pre-match scouting conversations of the countless matches we've prepared for; all I can say is that if we ever have been faced with this situation, I hope we made the right choice. I'd venture a guess that at some point(s) in time, however, we did not. I'm thinking that perhaps many veterans have fallen into that trap from time to time. For those teams struggling to achieve their own "little" victories at an event, victories that may get lost in the hype of other teams' pursuit of ranking stats and competitive elimination glory, don't let those teams lose sight of the big picture of why we're all truly there together. Help keep everyone tethered to reality. Just stick up for what you believe in. Communicate your conviction honestly and gracefully, and be persistent. No one team or person is above the need for a little "re-educational reminder" every so often. No one team or person is perfect, but that's ok. Good luck to all teams as you pursue your individual dreams.