Summer events and Senior Drivers

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Posted by colleen.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]


Coach on team #246, a FIRST-aholic, from John D. O'Byrant High School/Boston Latin Academy and NSTAR/Boston University/Wentworth Institute of Technology/MassPEP.

Posted on 5/6/2000 3:38 PM MST


In Reply to: Summer events and Senior Drivers posted by David Kelso on 5/5/2000 4:28 AM MST:



Speaking not from a particular team but from my experiences:

As a high school student: I was part of the driving team all 4 years.. and all 4 we participated in Rumble for our summer comp.

freshman year: I was a back-up and the 2 primaries were seniors, but myself and the other back-up (a senior) drove... the 2 primaries didn't attend competition

sophomore year: myself and the other primary driver, both sophomores, drove @ Rumble and our back-ups chose to coach..

junior year: my back-up driver was a senior (go Andy!) as well as our back-up HP, so myself and the other primary (who was a senior) coached to let the seniors have a last run at driving (ok- so we snuck in for a few matches)

senior year: i was primary driver, and the only senior at the competition.. it was left up to me, so i chose to switch it around.. sometimes i drove, sometimes i operated, sometimes i coached.. it was the same for the back-up driver and HP as well as our primary HP.. we all switched our jobs around..

As a one time senior and 4-year driver, I must say that the summer competitions were the most fun to drive in, and as a senior, i truly looked forward to Rumble as the place that i could close out my year... i would recommend you leave the choice up to your primary team (driver, operator, HP) and let them decide what they want to do.. and as for your back-ups: let them coach.. there is A LOT to be learned just by being on the field before you actually have your hands on the joysticks (that's why i chose the rotation thing at Rumble last year).. even if your back-ups never get in to drive, if they have that on-field experience they will be that much more prepared for the year to come..

let the seniors decide if they want to be part- it really serves as the best closure and the most fun to your FIRST experience...

-colleen