A Captian and Driver Issue

FIRST General Forum
1

I had a question about Capitan’s and Driver’s. Do most teams vote for their capitans or do they get picked by their head advisor. Also, would you rather send drivers with one year of driving experience and cooperation to nationals for the 09 season. Or would you let a graduating senior drive for the 09 season just cause he feels like it and wants to try it. (Currently we have a few seniors on the team and i think most teams have a lot of seniors on the team).

I was really curious and could not find any previous posts on this matter,

Thanks Cd

2

Team 1138 elects their Team Captain along with the other officers every year. Our driver is decided based on several factors (Commitment to the team, skill, ability to communicate with co-drivers, etc.) And we try to get younger members experience behind the drivers’ station, but not necessarily as the main driver.

3

In team 578, the captain is generally a member of the team leadership. Usually the president or vice president. Drivers are chosen during the build season from any member after tryouts with the finished robot in week 6. This year we may hold tryouts for the “Driver” position as early as week 3 when the drive base is complete so that the driver may get extra time to practice.
When choosing drivers, we’ve asked people to get into pairs to try out. Good teamwork can be an important part of the drive team. They are given 3 minutes to go around the practice field with obstacles placed on it, scoring points as much as they can. Then the leadership evaluates everyone in a meeting based on skill and teamwork, and chooses the driving pair for competition.

4

In the past two years, our team voted for the best driver, operator, captain and human player, after doing a driver’s test on the last night before delivery (when the robot was finally complete and ready for testing). I was voted to be the driver for Rack n’ Roll and Overdrive(2008 due to experience).

This year, I’m hoping (I’ll probablly demand) to be the Captain, 'cause I believe I’ve got the idea of comping up with good strategies after having a driving experience for two years and getting the feel of the field pressure. Plus, I’d like one more year on the field, if possible, but driving 3 years in a row is a bit too much, so coaching is the best in my opinion (HP? :confused: I dunno…).

If I do get to be the captain, I’ll probablly do an off-season driver application course, open for the whole team. Only pairs (driver and operator) can join and anyone can try, and I’m thinking of using one of the ideas mentioned in one of the topics about Driver Team pressure, which is to give them all sorts of tasks to do such as strategy quizes, handling controls on video games, stratgey on board games and other stuff, along with handeling the robots of 2007-2008.

What I’m hoping is by the end of December to get a final result which will decide who will be in what role in the driver’s team.Then in the 6 weeks of build, the team will get guidance from strategy and work with them too, and whenever there will be a testing of the robot, they will drive it to get more feeling of the robot towards the last days of the build.

After all this, I hope (I might be day-dreaming about this) to have a drive team that will know all the best specific driving manuvers in the game, which they will decide which one to do and how to do it and handle doing it, while I tell them what their general direction of play has to be, give them the time, warning about obstacles, etc…

Again, I might be fantasizing about this idea. :rolleyes:

I wouldn’t mind if the drivers are Seniors or first years. If both are good, I’d probablly ask the first years to give a last shot for the Seniors, 'cause the first years will be in the team for atleast another year, if not two if the second one is volunteerly.

P.S
about an HP, robocoach or whatever, if it be like an HP that has to throw something to the field, I’d make sure he’d practice throwing untill his an ace in it.

5

In the first two years, the drivers were picked based upon merit and dedication. This year ('08) we added tryouts into the mix because we actually got the bot done ahead of schedule :ahh: . Whoever could consistently drive the fastest lap times and line up to knock off a ball would be the drive train driver. After VCU we changed drivers because the first one had “reflexes” that disregarded the G22 penalty. The second driver was a Junior, but that had nothing to do with why he got to drive.

For the other driver, the build lead wanted the position. No one else knew the mechanics of the bot better than he did, and he understood its limitations and potential. That was probably the best decision we could have made concerning drivers, because he was able to be patient and not break the bot by being overzealous with the lift or paws mechanisms. He was a senior, and a captain, but he was a captain and he drove because of the other reasons. He was appointed to build captain simply because he had the best combination of motivation, knowledge and leadership in the pre-season.

I’ve been the coach on the field for the last two years, mainly just to make sure the drivers keep a level head (unlike our rookie year, where the students lost it a couple of times and did some pretty un GP things). I got this position because I wanted it when we the mentors got together to assign leadership roles. If another mentor wanted to do it, I’d step aside. If a student wanted to do it, he/she would have to demonstrate maturity, leadership, and knowledge of the rules. Being on the build team isn’t a requirement here so long as both of the drivers know and understand the bot. Strategy can always be taught off the field.

Hope this helps.

6

For Team Fusion, the teacher will choose whoever steps up to do the job. I was technically never called captain until January when build season started. However, in the Fall, I was the one responsible to have everyone show up at our community events and to prepare for the build season. I was also the one responsible for stocking up on common parts like aluminum and wire for the build season. I stepped up and took the position. You don’t want the captain of the team to be one who knows everything, but won’t contact people. Fortunately for me, I did know a lot of stuff, but was also good at contacting people.

As for the drivers, it’s on the basis of the years game and who is available to drive. We don’t put people on the drive team that will not work well together. We tried that in 2007 and I ended up getting angry at the base driver (I was the arm driver). Anyway… that’s some dirty laundry from our team that doesn’t need to be expressed here. I think a driver should be calm under pressure, a quick decision maker, and be able to communicate. Communication is the most essential trait of a driver. I have good communication skills in emails and text messages, but when it comes to verbal communication, I usually suck unless I’m mad. When I got mad at the driver, he knew I was mad. Of course the person on the drive team needs to know all the rules, but that is expected for everyone on the team to understand.

For both a driver and a captain, communication is essential. A captain should also be friendly. Don’t pick a captain that’s a dictator or that dislikes numerous people on the team even if he/she has the most experience. I feel like I was a good captain, and I feel that most Fusioneers would say the same. I had no enemies, and all were good friends. Our team was like family, and now, at college, I’m spending a lot of time with some of those people as they are becoming closer friends.

One last thought… If you have a member that is not from the school, but seems the most qualified for the position, then it is very possibly a good decision to pick him/her. I was from a school about 15 miles away from Team Fusion’s host school. I was one of three members on the team from my school. I think even though I was a good distance away from the school that it all worked out very well for me.

7

862 elects four Officers; President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. Our fifth Officer the Pit Chief, who is in charge of robot build, is appointed by 5 mentor committee, they in turn nominate group leaders, Mechanical, Electrical, Programming, etc., those nominated must be approved by the same mentor committee. Drivers are also selected by that same committee using data gained from a written test on game rules, test drives with the robot, & general behavior.

We also have a Handbook for Officer & Team Leaders, it can be found here, third one down Officer & Team Leader Handbook.

8

Wow, some really long answers, I’ll keep my answers nice and simple.

We do vote for our captains, but if we pick someone who our mentor’s think will not do well, they are not allowed to lead.

As for drivers, drivers are generally people with really hand eye coordination and gaming skills. It doesn’t necessarily have to be seniors or whatever. But … two years ago, seniors did decide to drive, but they were pretty good at it.

9

I pick our drive team. We let any interested students drive our robots in the lab and I, along with our lead scouting mentor, Fred, watch them. We sometimes give them challenges, we sometimes don’t.

10

I think you will find as many ways to pick captains and drivers as you can different drive bases. We have done it several ways from having only one person wanting to do it to using a try-out system.

We elect officers in the fall, if they work out during VEX season they will be the captains. If they don’t work out usually a captain will appear organically and sometimes they are appointed by the key mentors.

I don’t like having seniors as drivers. I want the seniors to be the team leaders at competition focusing on leading the team effort. I want the drivers completely focused on the game.

As far as drivers go we will have try outs. To even be allowed to try out they have to pass a test of game knowledge. If there isn’t a clear victor we will let the students vote. We take those votes as input but the ultimate decision is made by me as coach with input from key mentors.

Things I look for in order of importance for a driver:
Fire and passion for FRC
Driving ability
How they work with others
Game and strategy knowledge

11

We have a very odd system of drivers.

Basically we try and have all sub-team leaders on the field at all times, so that if something goes wrong a student will be there to fix it. Its basically a team decision that everyone has to agree on.

We try and split up the different positions between mechanical, electrical, programming, and strategy.

I know that in 2007 our coach was our programmer. Being on the field helped him tune the autonomous mode. It was about the only time he ever got on the field with the robot :yikes:

In 2008 that same programmer became the operator. He never had to tell anyone the controls, since he programmed them the way HE liked :slight_smile:

12

The way 166 does things:

All student members, except for seniors, vote at the end of the school year for the captains of the summer events and the following academic year.

Seniors don’t get any special privileges (except one year one of the captains decided to let the seniors decide between going to Atlanta or a second regional… the rest of the team had no say in the matter. That kind of ticked me off), so the best drivers will drive.

13

Sorry, you’re not getting any concrete answers out of me… just some strong opinions… :rolleyes:

When it comes to team captain, the person should have some leadership skills, but more importantly should care more and put in more time than any other student. An important task got missed by a student, guess who has to cover that without complaint? The captain. It can be a lot more work than students imagine.

As for driver, it should go to the combination of most skilled and best attitude. No sense in a really skilled driver if he won’t cooperate with the rest of the drive team, and no sense in a driver that cooperates great, but is a terrible driver.

In both cases, seniority shouldn’t matter one bit. If a kid has spent 4 years on the team and there is a sophomore that would make a better driver or captain, tough for the senior.

14

our lead mentor (who used to be our drive coach but this year he decided it was time to let a student do that as well) picks the drive team. Now every year around week5 we have a written drivers test which covers pretty much everything in the manual, but mainly focusing on the rules associated with driving.

Something most of our team has yet to figure out, this test also shows how committed you are in being a driver. If you take the time to read the rules then you can get a great boost in “street credit.”

Once the robot is drivable, we have driver practice. Here we let anyone that wants to the ability to test drive the robot.

Then our mentors sit down and review the written test scores, and how the students handled the robot and being with different co-drivers. One of the most important things in driving is communication. Eventually a drive team can anticipate what the other is going to do, but initially (like a the first 1 or 2 regionals) they must talk everything out.

Another big part of driving is can they keep their cool in a tough situation. Over-reacting and getting frustrated can spell death in a close match.

Usually by mid-week6, we would like to be earlier, they make their decisions. from then on the drive team are the only one who drive so they can get as much practice as possible.

IMHO (this is not fully agreed upon by some on our team) a driver should be someone who has put in the wrench time and knows the robot. Maybe they can’t take it apart and put it back together as well as the pit crew, but they should still know how everything works (at least pertaining to what they control). The pit crew can usually watch a match and see when something goes wrong but cont always figure out what is wrong. The driver is the one at the controls. Just like NASCAR, the driver tells the pit crew if the cars too tight or too loose. Not to mention that at regionals the pit crew cant come on the field in-between finals matches so the drive team better know how to fix the robot. But thats just my opinion.

15

On our team, it’s a lot more informal. We make decisions as a team and people who put in the most effort become the pivotal members of the team.

-Vivek

16

I’ve seen it both ways.

On 330, captains are elected by the whole team. Drivers are chosen by trial. Now, one year, a senior and a freshman were both drivers, one main, one backup. The senior gave up his spot as driver so the freshman could drive after one or two regionals. The freshman went on to drive the remaining three years of his career.

On 1135, it’s student-run (and many of the FRC students are seniors), so the captains were kind of automatic. They were also the drive team.

The bottom line is, what works best for YOUR team is what the best solution is.

17

Team 2080’s captian(s) are selected by the team mentors based on experience, commitment, knowledge, leadership skills, etc. The team drivers are selected by audition process. Everyone who wants to be a driver must audition and then the best two are selected by the mentors and captain(s). We have a senior driver and will be selecting a new driver for the upcoming season. In my opinion, the drivers should be based on ability, not grade. If a senior doesn’t drive as well as a freshman, let the freshman drive at nationals.

18

to me, it’s kind of like football. There may be a senior who really wants to be the quarterback, but if a freshman is better for the position then the freshmen, not the senior, deserves the spot. And switching drivers mid season really doesnt make much sense to me. Why go to champs, which will have your toughest competition, and put in a cold driver, why not put them in the entire time. Now some teams will switch drive teams between matches. While I dont agree with this either, it does make a little more sense when you got 2 seniors driving and you want underclassmen to get experience.

No offence intended, just my 2 cents…

every team has their own way. as long as it works, more power to ya

19

Are there any teams without student captains? Like, none at all.

20

This might not speak for all teams here, but I think that would be a horrible idea. (Nothing against teams who do this, if any) No student management is taking away a valuable part of any team in any sport/activity.