choosing the right driver

FIRST General Forum
1

i have a couple of quesitons.

  1. who should choose a driver, team or head guy?
  2. things to consider when choosing a driver?
  3. how to find out who will be driver?
    and anything you might want to add
2
  1. Your drive team captain/coach should be the one to choose the driver, in my opinion. The drive that is “passing on the sticks” might also have a bit of a say in it. On the field, the driver will have to listen to their coach, so it’s very important they are comfortable working together, as well as with the operator.
  2. As I said above, make sure the operator and coach are comfortable working with the person driving. They have to work with each other on the field. Also, make sure that the person you choose is willing to listen to the coach and not defy what he/she says. Drivers should also have a good idea of strategy in their heads.
  3. Test out a few different people to find a couple people who have some skill. Have the drive coach get to know them a bit. The drive team should be comfortable working with each other and listening to other’s ideas.

A great way to find a driver is a off-season events. It allows you to test out many different people and find the best person for the job.

Being drive is a very honorable position, so make sure the person you choose truly deserves it. They should be a person who is dedicated to the team and helps out whenever they can to make sure everything gets done.

Hope that helps. :slight_smile:

3

Drivers

plural

there must be two drivers
one coach
one human player
for each team

have the team choose drivers and let the coach see who he works best with

a driver must be cool under pressure and must listen to the coach

but anyway i would say have a drive-off with previous robots( iff applicable) that drive similar.

4
  1. the upperclassmen of the team should reach a consensus
  2. skill, knowledge, intuition and ability to perform under pressure
  3. test out different people. find the best tandem (my team has 2 drivers)
5

Depends on what your team structure is. On our team, our drive team coach chooses driver, operator etc, but after having try-outs and choosing who is the best amongst the candidates.

Driver tryouts are open to all members, and the best become the driver/operator. Things to look for: mature, CALM, good strategists, make sure they listen to the coach’s advice, etc.

6

The coach should be picking. They know what they want from a driver and who they can work with.

Thinks to look for when picking driver

  1. Following the rules
  2. Following the rules
  3. Following the rules
  4. Skill
  5. How well he/she works with the co-pilot
  6. Will listen to the coach
  7. Comfort with being on the spot

Our drive coach holds a series of 3 tests. The tests contain things about the robot and game rules. Whoever passes is then up in the running for drive team. The ones who passed tell the coach their first choice of what role they want to fill (driver, co-pilot, or human player).

The ones who want to drive and the ones who want to co-pilot take short runs with eachother in a round robin fashion so everyone drives with everyone at least once.

Our coach pretty much picks the two who worked the best together.

If you don’t have a practice robot or something, use a previous year’s robot.

7

In all of these setups, Who picks the coach?

On our team… the people that do the most work generally drive. We know what the 'bot can and can’t do; so that is the most reasonable solution. The consensus on our team is that that is the right choice, but if any of the members think that they would be a better choice for driver… they are more than welcome to challenge the current driver to a battle of skill.
The Coach is the resident rules guru.