Training for Drive Coaches

[BrendanB]

I would like to second the "be patient with the drivers comment". When driving a robot, things will happen and the robot will behave differently under certain circumstances. I've had our traction control mess up on me while I drove and the coach was yelling, "turn turn turn!" and I couldn't which I told him which made him yell it louder and telling me that I can turn. Along with other experiences both this year and last year.

Watching videos of matches really helps, I was able to pick up on some tricks by watching teams play at the championship which came in handy when coaching at an off-season last year as well as when I drove and operated.

I've driven both with student and coaches as the drive coach several times, and I personally prefer to have a student coach. You spend more time with the students both interacting and at competitions so you already have a closer connection with them in many ways so working with them is a whole lot easier. And if they were a driver in previous years or earlier in the year, they know exactly what to tell you and they observe what the other robots are doing and communicate it with you.

Also drive coaches and drivers both should have a good conversation with the scouting team/head scout to discuss teams and strategies for the upcoming matches. Having these little meetings and having the ability to ask even the smallest questions about a robot's performance is key in a match when you need to make a quick decision.

brendan