Which teams have the best drivers?

[theschell]

team 768 got some good drivers this year they pop a chain and still get that minibot up the tower. and with them playing defense the team still was able to win two weeks in a row this year.

[MarcD79]

Everybody has their favorites, whether it be east coast, west coast, Canada, south or in between. The fact is it takes a lot of practice behind the joysticks of your robot. I have not see all the above robots personally, but I have seen enough to say it takes the team, not just the driver. A driver can't do it alone. He has help from the coach, other operator & team members in the stands who can see from a different vantage point. They all contribute their knowledge & experience.

[AndyH]

I know I am biased but...
1098 may not be well known but scored many many tubes at KC and St Louis. I believe that 1098 hung more tubes than any other team.
Many of you said that it is a combo of the machine and the drive team. I think that those at Championships will agree that the 1098 drive team, coach (HS senior girl), HP, co-driver (juniors), and driver (freshman) works together very well. They work great with other teams too.
I'm proud to be a mentor of this hard working group!

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by AndyH

I know I am biased but...
1098 may not be well known but scored many many tubes at KC and St Louis. I believe that 1098 hung more tubes than any other team.
Many of you said that it is a combo of the machine and the drive team. I think that those at Championships will agree that the 1098 drive team, coach (HS senior girl), HP, co-driver (juniors), and driver (freshman) works together very well. They work great with other teams too.
I'm proud to be a mentor of this hard working group!

Originally Posted by theschell

team 768 got some good drivers this year they pop a chain and still get that minibot up the tower. and with them playing defense the team still was able to win two weeks in a row this year.

Just a suggestion, please don't "vote" for your own teams.

[Jeffy]

Originally Posted by AndyH

They work great with other teams too.

This is very true, one of the most easy going drive teams I have personaly worked with. I'll nominate their drive team for any driving award.

[atolb1708]

Being 1708's human player, I've seen tons of driver teams up close and personal. I have no problem saying 1708 has a top 15 driver team under the pressure and circumstances they have been under.

[Peyton Yeung]

Personally I would have to say that a good drive team consists of a hard working close-knit group of people. Communication is key especially if you are like me and zone out everything else but your robot while driving. Also a good drive team adapts and gets better. In 2009 our drive team went undefeated in the DC regional but struggled at all the other regionals after that. This was because they didn't adapt to the changes in strategy as well as the changes in the game itself so they peaked out and then started to decline. Basically it comes down to these few things.
1.Hard work/practice
2.Communication
3.Adaptability
4.Will to get better
5.Talent or skill

[The Lucas]

Originally Posted by nlknauss

As soon as I saw this thread and saw that a member of 25 posted it, I thought back to 2003 when I was a drive coach on 87. I think the student driving that robot was actually built into the control system. It was fun to watch, but not fun to go up against...especially when it came down to finals!

Nate

Steve, the 25 driver from 2003 is probably the best driver I have ever seen. 25 always has great drivers (Corey is another one). The most incredible thing about Steve was that he drove a low profile bot, spent the majority of the match on the far side of field the with a giant ramp in his sight line and he was 5'8". He essentially drove blind at the entire match (this was before camera feedback for those newer to FIRST ) at a speed so fast the bot would catch air over the top of the ramp and land on the down ramp.
As an opposing driver, you would think that you could stop 25 from destroying your box stack or get past 25 to go to the ramp because you can see both bots and Steve can't. You would be dead wrong. Other teams put devices like big orange arrows on poles to so the drivers could determine their bearing on the far side of the field. Steve determined his bearing by the flying box shards left in his wake

This year I have to give major props to 1114's base driver for the ability to align the bot to the peg in high gear. Their arm operator is totally in sync. During that 150 match, they put up a mid Logo in like 15 sec.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Just a suggestion, please don't "vote" for your own teams.

Seconded.

We all know that your team has the best drivers in the world.

That's great. So do all of ours.

I could nominate one of my team's past drive teams--and I could back it up with numbers. Note that I said drive team, not driver. But, that makes me look like I'm bragging. I could ask, "Hey, what do you guys think of drive team X (who just so happens to be from my team)?" and I'd probably be OK. I'd also get a feeling for how they really were compared to the other drive teams out there. But If I just come out and say that that drive team is the best all-time drive team, then I'll probably have about 10 people saying that they weren't, the drivers from (those people's teams) were better, and all that sort of thing that doesn't make any friends. Especially if I were on that drive team (which I wasn't, but still).

Now, if someone else has already nominated that driver/drive team, that's a good time to present the evidence that may be a little more extensive because you've probably seen more of their work.



It's all about the teamwork and chemistry between drive team members. Ideally, a drive team practically uses telepathy to know what the rest of the team wants doing. Seeing as telepathy isn't exactly practical for most people, the closer you are the better. It's not about the driver, or the operator, or the coach. It's about all three of them, communicating, practicing, and learning what each other would probably do in a given situation.

When you pair an excellent drive team with a good robot and a lot of good practice, great things happen. Give a lousy drive team the same robot and same practice, and good things won't happen nearly as easily.

[Nevets Amstier]

Before people jump down my throat for nominating my own team, I didn't join 229 until 08.

That being said 229's drivers from 06 and 07 were awesome. Amos drove the base so hard in 06 he warped the kit frame. (Some of the warp was due to welding) amos knew the robot was at risk of timping on the ramp that year so if he got up there, he'd simply jump the robot dukes of hazard style.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by Nevets Amstier

Before people jump down my throat for nominating my own team, I didn't join 229 until 08.

That being said 229's drivers from 06 and 07 were awesome. Amos drove the base so hard in 06 he warped the kit frame. (Some of the warp was due to welding) amos knew the robot was at risk of timping on the ramp that year so if he got up there, he'd simply jump the robot dukes of hazard style.

He was definitely a good driver. I watched the Newton eliminations matches from 06 (MORT, 229, and 85 was a killer alliance). They took the combination of 254 and 71 to three matches. Sick driving.

[Nevets Amstier]

Haha yea, id also like to add that I feel like base drivers in particular need to be able drive with reckless abandon. In other words the base driver needs to be able to drive without fear of doing some damage to the robot. I'm not saying he/she should have the intent of breaking yours or anyones robot, but he/she should definitley NOT be afraid to push the robot to its limits.

[Siri]

Between webcasts and the ERC list, I think I have to go with 148 this year. I'm utterly amazed at how close 1114, 111, 67, 148, 217, 16, etc are year in and year out, though. Consistent excellence in robots is one (amazing) thing, doing it in drivers as well is absolutely phenomenal. (Any advice guys?)

Originally Posted by AndyH

I know I am biased but...
1098 may not be well known but scored many many tubes at KC and St Louis. I believe that 1098 hung more tubes than any other team.

...erm, speaking of that ERC list...should I be the one to point out that 1985 had a 22 at St. Louis? And a 16 (with KC)? They were like 11th in the world as of Week 3.

[Nawaid Ladak]

Originally Posted by thefro526

From what I've seen, 1503 probably has the best driver in FRC right now. He's FAST.

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Nick Lawrence.

totally agree. He's at the top of my list along with the drivers from 111, 148, 179 and 1114. Driving isn't a easy skill. it takes A LOT of practice. I've head stories of teams staying up until 3AM practicing with practice bots the week of competition. Those 8 hour driver sessions really do make a difference.

[Nick Lawrence]

I have to nominate teams 1114, 217, 2056, 148 for this.

Note that all of them have complete identical practice robots.

It makes all the difference.

-Nick