Ball Hogs

[Madison]

We collect scouting data for each machine that gives us a reasonable idea of how successful teams have been in their practice and qualifying matches at whatever they try to do. We'll look at the number of hurdles attempted versus those completed and number of laps completed, among other things, and generate a picture of their robot's capabilities based on that information.

This allows me to go into each strategy meeting with something better than a subject guess as to which machine is the best for the job. I typically formulate a strategy that best supports to most successful robot on the team, though rarely we'll try something a bit more tricky. If your machine isn't up to the task that you want to take it, I'll know it and I'll tell you. It may not always be the nicest thing to do, but it's usually what's best for the alliance.

There should be as little ambiguity as to a team's role during a match as possible. Before ever getting out onto the field, all of the teams on our alliance will have an expectation as to how things should play out and a handful of contingency plans on top of that. I don't like showboating and teams rarely make good decisions under pressure. If you didn't have a strategy to beat the opposing alliance before the match started, you aren't going to come up with it when there's thirty seconds left in the match. I'm all about sticking to the plan.