Student or Adult Coach

[New Lightning]

I have been wondering what the ratio of student to adult drive coaches there are. And what are the reasons for using one or the other.

[aldaeron]

Here is data from 2 years ago.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh....php?p=1379592

[New Lightning]

I really want to know the data for this year,

[IronicDeadBird]

What if we have both?

[New Lightning]

I was referring to what your using this year. And if you use both throughout the year, then why make the switch.

[Kevin Leonard]

Originally Posted by IronicDeadBird

What if we have both?

Similar to what I was thinking. 20 uses student coaches right now, and 5254 uses adult coaches right now.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by New Lightning

I really want to know the date for this year,

2016... The rest of the date tends to vary through the year.

[New Lightning]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

2016... The rest of the date tends to vary through the year.

Lol, *Data

[PayneTrain]

We let mentors drive the robot since they built it.

[Zebra_Fact_Man]

Originally Posted by PayneTrain

We let mentors drive the robot since they built it.

You monster frisbee!!

[marshall]

Originally Posted by PayneTrain

We let mentors drive the robot since they built it.

Us too! It's awesome! The best part is the students cheering us on from the stands!

I'll be here all week folks, good night! *drops the mic*

[CalTran]

I believe the party line goes something like "We utilize a student coach, because we are a student lead, student built team. The mentors are only here to supervise and make sure we don't injure ourselves." As well, it means that one more student gets to be on the drive team, the position most teams consider one of the most coveted.

That being said, I believe that a mentor serving as a coach is more beneficial than a student coach. Having a mentor be the drive coach means that they will generally be more level headed during stressful situations, they are able to retain the subtle nuances of matches from year to year, and the are able to consistently train the next generation. A mentor coach means that they're more likely able to bring their knowledge year in and year out. Most teams have their drive team as a one-and-done affair.

[indieFan]

Originally Posted by CalTran

That being said, I believe that a mentor serving as a coach is more beneficial than a student coach. Having a mentor be the drive coach means that they will generally be more level headed during stressful situations, they are able to retain the subtle nuances of matches from year to year, and the are able to consistently train the next generation. A mentor coach means that they're more likely able to bring their knowledge year in and year out. Most teams have their drive team as a one-and-done affair.

I completely disagree that a mentor will be more beneficial than a student coach. Team 599 didn't just have a student as the coach, but the student was the person dealing with strategy in the rookie year. He did a much better job than most adults. It was something we continued year after year.

[TylerS]

Having had first hand experience being on a drive team with a mentor coach and being the coach of a drive team as a student I think I can draw a firm conclusion.

IT DOESN'T MATTER.

If your goal is to win matches (it might not be) then pick the best person for the job. This might be a student, mentor, support animal, whatever. The hard part isn't deciding between a mentor or student it's about identifying the individual on your team who will best fill the role of a coach and how to do that is a whole other discussion.

[BordomBeThyName]

I'm the drive team mentor for 2102 this year, but my involvement with the drive team doesn't extend past the cueing line. Sure, having an adult behind the plexi would get us better odds of winning, but so would having an adult build and drive the thing.

That's not the point of FIRST though, is it? I guess this question rolls up into the larger (and very old) discussion of how much involvement mentors should have on a team. We've always come down hard on the "stand back and advise" side of that, but that's just us. If I wanted to see a competition of professionally built robots, I wouldn't be volunteering at a high school program.