Choosing Drivers

[Bongle]

This thread's great. You've pointed out lots of stuff that I 'knew', but couldn't put into words. Anyway, here are my thoughts, split into oddly-titled paragraphs that are phrases the drive team should believe.

"There is nothing but the team": They should be inhumanly dedicated to the team. They should want the drive position, they should be excited for competition, they should want to waste saturdays in March watching grainy, heavily compressed webcasts of other regionals.

"There is nothing but the next match": The drive team can't be easily distracted during the competition. They shouldn't run off to screw around when they should be talking with their next alliance partners. If they have nothing to do, they should be out scouting, watching matches, and doing post-mortems of past matches.

"There is nothing that can disturb me": They should not be affected by the screaming, loud music, and semi-celebrity (at least within the building) status that being a driver exposes them to. They should welcome and understand criticism about past matches so that they can improve for the next one.

"There isn't a 'good enough'": If a practice bot is available, they should want to drive it until battery exhaustion every day after school. They should do drills, to improve their handling, etc. They should set performance goals and meet them.

Essentially what I've described is the mindset of a committed athlete. The endless practices, the obsession, the ability to focus under pressure, they're all prerequisites for a successful athlete, and they should likewise be required for a FIRST driver. Ability to handle a robot can be learned by practice, but the correct attitude is much harder to instill.

[GGCO]

Thanks for all the input, please keep it coming in!

I'm going to mention this in my team's next group meeting (tomorrow). I know that there are some on the team that feel very skeptical about this idea. Thanks again!

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by CraigHickman

Also, here's the advice I give my drivers: "Drive it like you stole it." It's the pit crew's job to make sure the bot is in good condition, the driver shouldn't have to worry about that. We'll keep the machine running, you make it your world out there. In the words of Randy Couture, "Impose your will" upon the field, and the rest will follow.

I'm With Craig On This One.

You can Never replay a match. Drive Each Match As If It were your last. If your robot breaks then fix it. When Picking driver's they have to be ready to make risky moves, be aggressive and remember they have the hopes and dreams of an entire team on their back.