The Future of FRC Teams....

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by fuzzwaz

The reason I asked this question was because it seems like (In my opinion) that a changing in a team’s success can happen at any point in time. I feel like our teams success has “hopped” all over the place for the past few years.

-In 2005 we were world champs!
-In 2006 we lost to 217 during the finals on Einstein

Which is interesting, because at Great Lakes we got down to the final alliance selection and both 503 and 67 - defending world champs - were on the sideline waiting to be picked. HOT got the spot, 503 waited for Atlanta.

-In 2007 we lost during the finals on Galileo
-In 2008 we were not picked at the Championship event
-In 2009 we lost in the Semis with 1114 on Archimedes
-In 2010 we did not get picked at States, nor did we get picked at worlds

... we thought ourselves gods and fell from the top of Olympus! ...

I wouldn't be that hard on yourself. You have a good solid program that shows itself in so many ways off the field - kickoff, practice field, FLL support, etc. Sometimes a design or other decision about the robot can make you uncompetitive for a year (meaning you won't be in the finals, not that you will lose every game). That's nothing to be ashamed of - learn from the mistakes and come back better the next year.

[bassoondude]

Originally Posted by DRAKE343

Big hint: John McKissick

Ahh the legend that he is. Without highjacking this thread too much more, I have to say he is impressive, but my team still came out on top (no offense intended). Think early last season, on the road, Gold and Black.

[DarkFlame145]

As stated a few times before. Teams have their ups and downs. Sometimes really long ups and sometimes really long downs. Heck my HS team had one if not their best year ever this season. Even if you have a bad year or 5 bad years as long as everyone has fun and learns something to improve on, it is a successful year to me. Winning feels great, but it's not everything.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by fuzzwaz

Can we call HOT 67 the New Orleans Saints of the FRC? A lot of people have told me that we can.

Well now I'm not too sure 67'd like that.


I kid I kid, I was sorta rooting for the Saints

[familyguyfreak]

I kind of see 67 as the Lakers of FIRST, but I'm a HUGE basketball fan.

I believe you could be right but I see it as those teams will always be seen as "dominate" but as FIRST grows and more and more teams get better, the list of "dominate" teams will grow. Whenever you see 67, regardless of if they are having a bad year or not, you'll always see them as great team that you shouldn't take lightly.

Just my 2 cents on the subject.

[Rion Atkinson]

I'll admit that I didn't read past the OP, so I apologize if I am restating anything.

I feel that one of the largest influences on dominate teams is the returning students. If a student that really helped the team one year returns after they graduate, I can see them doing well again. As knowledge gets past down and grows from year to you, you begin to realize that this is nothing like your typical sport. In football a player can not say "Hey, let me lend you my endurance," but in FIRST student can say "Hey, let me share my knowledge." It is that reason that dominate teams will most likely stay dominate.

Another reason is their connection. I feel pretty certain that strong teams make good connections. Not only with sponsors, but with other teams. Just look at 148 and 217. There are times when a team/business/person is only as good as their connections.

My $0.02, take it or leave it. (Feel free to throw it off a building after lighting it on fire. But if you do; I want a video. )

-Rion

[fuzzwaz]

Originally Posted by familyguyfreak

I kind of see 67 as the Lakers of FIRST, but I'm a HUGE basketball fan.

I believe you could be right but I see it as those teams will always be seen as "dominate" but as FIRST grows and more and more teams get better, the list of "dominate" teams will grow. Whenever you see 67, regardless of if they are having a bad year or not, you'll always see them as great team that you shouldn't take lightly.

Just my 2 cents on the subject.

I agree completely! Teams like HOT 67 will always be remembered even if something goes horribly wrong with the way they send out those HOTBOTS. These high caliber teams will never be forgotten or underestimated but do you think we will ever see a team become the new HOT? Or maybe you think that HOT will always be on top (or atleast near the top) no matter what happens through time.

-Maybe I said it wrong before. Teams will not get worse in Robotics (different then sports) , they keep moving forward, But if a team comes together inspired and motivated what is stopping them from heading to the top? And if many teams take this route, we wont have the Same Super All Star teams we are used to seeing all the time playing on the world stage.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by fuzzwaz

After a few years of FIRST robotics I really started thinking about the ways "dominant" teams survive from year to year. Why is it that some teams that have the reputation of being so good stay so good when new generations take over the spots of the old. There are a lot of answers to that question. People have told me that it was the mentors, the work place, and even the community support that keeps teams going. I however looked at sports to see if I could find the answer.

-Sports teams are similar to robotics teams right? You have coaches and a community that will stick behind you no matter what. So is a robotics team like a sports team? Can we call HOT 67 the New Orleans Saints of the FRC? A lot of people have told me that we can.

- So what does this mean? If robotics teams can be related to sports then how can we have teams that are always “dominant”? What happened to the Steelers this year in football? Why do the Pistons keep going from amazing to pretty bad (From MI, I can say that!). If we compare the HOT to the Patriots, will we start seeing a weaker HOT team? So does that mean that for the most part, robotics teams will change just like sports?

-Maybe a few years from now our younger generations will not speak of the HOTs, Chickens, Simbotics, of the FRC but some new teams that are the “new dominant”? What happens to the old ones? Do they go back and rebuild until they can finally reach their glory once again? Or maybe this sports stuff just doesn’t relate to robotics. Maybe 20 years from now these same strong teams will stay strong. What do you guys think? How will teams change over the years? If you think teams will get weaker, which ones and why? If you see some teams that are really starting to shine, tell me who they are and why you think people will be talking about them a few years down the road. I want to hear what you guys think!

I guess I'll take a whack at this. FRC teams require passionate students, mentors, and a lot of community support. Mentors rarely leave, you get some that jump around and it does damage the team but by and large the core group stays. These mentors are good at getting students to be passionate and that is why they are successful year in and out.

FRC Teams do move in cycles. Every team has their off years, HOT in '06 comes to mind.

Will we be talking about new dominant teams? YES! Back when I started Beatty was king. Powerhouses: 33, 47, 65, 111, 71, 45, 494 (This isn't a comprehensive list just the ones off the top of my head). 1114 was good but not powerhouse yet, 2056 wasn't around. 1625 didn't exist yet. 67, while good hadn't had their year made of win and forever cemented themselves as a powerhouse. (Yes, I honestly believe 67 is the most dominant team in FIRST) How many of those powerhouses would you still classify as a powerhouse? They are good but many aren't the top dogs anymore.

Teams to talk about in the future:
2056 - Finally made Einstein this year after some rough showings in Atlanta.
2753 - This year may have been an off year but I have a hunch.
2775 - Any team that can come out and be 2 wins away from Einstein is ok in my book.
1323 - Expect them to come out after a Chairman's award soon, they are doing a lot of work in their area.
71 - The BEAST hungers, it has been 7 years since their last Championship win. 2007 was their last Einstein appearance. Watch out Midwest.
51 - Any team that takes a Hall of Fame team and merges it with a former World Champion scares me. Once 51 gets in their groove there will be no stopping them.
2619 - Everyone always talks about 2337 but 2619 is another 2008 rookie who has been even more consistent.
2337 - Has done some unique strategies but given a few years to really get into calling games and strategies they could be a contender. They have some dedicated mentors and sponsors and seem to be good at finding student's passion.
33 - IMHO, had a couple off years but came back with a vengeance this year. Having listened to Jim predict strategies and nail them I have no doubt in my mind this team is going to be aiming to bring home some new gold match their yellow soon.

And one wildcard that I have to throw out there, 397. They have been making great strides these last couple years and have recently gotten a new infusion of blood from 27, 67, and 548. If they can get past their issues relating to student recruitment (You would think with 5 trained recruiters as mentors we could get high school students no?) expect to see them come out of the gate strong. If they can't get their issues worked out expect them to flop.

(Sorry if my predictions seem rather MI-centric but you call what you know)