Driving Tips?

[IbleedPink233]

Some re-iterated things:
- take the matches one at a time: the worst thing that you can do is lose an easy match because you were focusing on and stressing about the match against 254, 217, and 330 you have the next day. No match matters except the one you are playing.
- Opponents are not enemies, they are playing the game, too - it is easy to make an enemy out of a team that has beaten you before and that clouds your judgement. This is especially difficult if your teammates are united against a particular team. Every team that I used to hate is now one of my favorite teams since I got to know them.
Some things that I haven't seen suggested:
- Imagine yourself driving the robot - this is a little trick that our drive coach endorses very strongly: since we are separated from our beloved robots now, the next best thing to driving them is to find a few minutes to close your eyes and imagine that you are driving the robot on the actual field, with the shiny metal, the bright lights, and the disco music. Go through the process of the match, driving and picking up a Trackball, scoring it, picking it up again. . . It sounds crazy (I didn't believe that it does anything), but it really does help get your head in the game and makes the operations second nature.
- Being a driver is a privilege and a responsibility - the mechanical team has trusted your to take care of their baby and the kids in the stands want to see their gladiator compete heroically; devote attention and professionalism accordingly.