How did your team determine drivers?

[Phoenix Spud]

Our team gave a test for strategy and rules. If you would like a copy of our test, send me a PM.

[JackN]

Picking simply on talent in a skills test is not how I like to pick drivers.

In my experience the best way to pick a driver is to start with a personality test. Even if someone knows all the rules and drives like a wiz, if they can't communicate with the coach and they can't deal with pressure then they are not someone I would consider.

Then I like a rules test, because it forces the people that tryout to know something about the game and to think about the game outside of the meetings. It shows that they care enough to read the rules and to understand what they are doing.

Finally you should have them drive the robot. Unless you have a practice robot or a lot of spare time, having someone who spends more time crashing into walls than scoring is kind of a problem. If you do have the ability to practice a lot or have an old robot lying around that you can practice with you are able to pick someone who struggles here and give them the ability to get better.

[Chris is me]

My team hasn't picked drivers. I think I have a voice in the decision, but I'm not sure.

I don't care how well the driver moves the robot the first time they touch the controls. Anyone can get good at that. I want to know who is an effective communicator, who works best under pressure, and who is most driven to succeed. Mature, level headed team players can be taught how to be great drivers; the reverse isn't true in under a month.

[stevek]

We start by asking who is interested. Then we tell them they need to be around enough to get time with the controls. Typically underclassmen spend time practicing, but the ones that get to compete are typically the ones with more experience. They need to know the game, but we dont have a written test. (THAT MAY CHANGE THOUGH!!!) BUT it comes down three things. One is can you (they) control the robot, do you know the game, and can you listen.

This weekend, one driver was so focused on the the robot, he blocked out the opperator and the coach. So it was like talking into a black hole. If you cant listen to your coach and operator, its doesn't matter how good you drive. The same goes to the operator. They need to listen and I encourage both to communicate as much as possible. At one point one of our drivers started to Hang from the wrong tower. They need to know the game and know how and where to score... otherwise its a waste.

We are finishing a second robot now so the students can continue to practice. We will probably give a few people a shot during practice on thursdays, but my belief is we need to pick as team and go with it.... on Sat it was a Sophomore and and Senior. Human player is a Sophomore as well, he was also our human player as a freshman.

I know people want to give everyone a shot, but Consistency is your friend when it comes to competition. And Winning isnt everything... but it sure feels beter than loosing. Every team needs to learn how to behave in winning and loosing situations, but I feel it values everyones hard work when you put your best team forward. If you do that, and you try hard there should be no regrets. So you should feel good about your efforts even if you don't preform well. But if you place drivers and operators on the fireing line in competition and they arent ready, and they get stressed and mybe break the robot and the team gets upset because they know it wasnt the best you could do... then it doesnt really help anyone.

We always give people a shot, but not always in competition. Sometimes they need time to mature. But we always want a team "comming up" for the next season. So we let people practice when ever possible. Sometimes we are supprised and we can have a driver for 3 years and have great success.

Hope this helps... its not as easy as true/false in my view.