Have Any New Driver Advice?

FIRST General Forum
1

Hey my name is Dustin and I am 816’s newest driver. This season will be my first in any actual FIRST regional events (I have driven at Ramp Riot) and I was hoping that some other veteran drivers and anyone else could share any tips or other advise with me.

P.S. I’ll be a NJ, Philly and the Championships

2

Here are few tips that I would give…

  1. Make sure you work with your operator and have a good relationship with him/her.
  2. Listen to your coach. Make sure the drive team agrees on the strategy before going into the field for a match.
  3. Don’t get nervous, have fun while you are driving.

… good luck Dustin.

3

I know that this is going to sound weird (and don’t sick your mom on me) but play video games or competitive sports for a few hours 2-3 days leading up to competitions. In addition to what Arefin listed, the ability to respond to something that happens in the blink of an eye is essential.

4
  1. DON’T PANIC
  2. Practice your listening skills
  3. Don’t be stupid :smiley:

Good luck!

5

Know your robot, and more importantly, the symptoms that occur when something goes wrong. If a failure occurs on the field, it is often important to diagnose it (even if it’s a vague one) during the match, so you know how to work around it and you can inform your alliance partners. The coach and human player will likely be busy doing other things, so this should mainly be a driver task.

6

go to church the sunday before the event.

it helps

7

wear a motorcross helmet, makes you cool, ups your confidence :smiley:

but seriously:

Practice Practice Practice
Think of situations and know how to avoid them or get out of them

8

ok from the 1745 drivers handbook(its a verbal handbook), the order is not important.

  1. drive it like you stole it.
  2. dance/air guitar/air drums before matches
  3. watch at least 2 of the webcasts to get a good look on how other teams are playing the game, and to better familiarize your self with some of the subtle strategy points.
  4. listen to your coach.
  5. listen to your operator/driver
  6. listen to your self.
  7. do not listen to the people watching in the stands about how you “should” have played the last match. their point of view is very different from yours.
  8. there is no shame in losing to a superior team.
  9. there is no rule nine
  10. you cant win every match
  11. we can always rebuild a robot but we can never replay a match
  12. if you are ever in doubt about what to do after winning a match please see the rock concert movement guide 2.0
  13. above all else remember this is only a game, so have fun
9

Drive it like you stole it! :]

And make sure you have fun… cause, come on now, your playing with robots!
stay calm, and at ease. If your all crazy and nervous and such, your team will be as well. Your a leader!
have fun. do crazy dances to get your self excited! don’t syke yourself out!
have fun.
make sure your drive team is really tight, as in friendships. it’s extremely important that you guys can have fun together, but perform well as a team!

10

I drive it like its mine. Because I designed and built part of it. But thats just me.

I like this thread. I would have liked to have read this thread before I started driving. Even for a experienced driver like me, its still good to be reminded before the regionals start up again. I haven’t really driven since Cal Games!

Just have fun, because it is fun. You’ll make mistakes, no doubt, but don’t let it get to you. Its just a game. A very very fun game. Good luck.

11

I was once talked into driving…

I touched the OI and everything broke… I have NEVER touched the OI again…

But as coach I can tell you right now that your most valuable skill is the ability to change strategy instantly. If something breaks, adopt a new strategy and keep playing. If a manipulator/shooter/scoring device is not working successfully, shift gears and play defense. What you don’t want to do is struggle to make a broken device work.

READ THE MANUAL! There is nothing worse then loosing a match b/c of penalties…

12

I’m in about the same situation that you (dustin) are in, and thus far the greatest things i’ve learned are…

  1. LISTEN TO YOUR COACH (hes the coach for a reason)
  2. Block out the venue and the stands, play the game.
  3. When the competition starts pushing you around, tell yourself “Focus”.
  4. if at all possible, find a good co-op game and play it with the other driver to get a feel for his style.
  5. Walk to the match as if you already won it, silent confidence destroys the competition.
  6. again, LISTEN TO YOUR COACH.

thats about all my noob-self can tell you, hope you do good!

13

Be honest about your robot. If you can’t do something, tell your alliance partners. Don’t exaggerate at all. It’s much better to under-promise and over-deliver than vice versa.

14

Thank you so much for the prompt responses! I ask though can you keep the advice coming because this will be good for me and all other rookie drivers (and some vets.).

15

I just try to stay calm.
You have a pit crew for a reason they fix whatever breaks so don’t hold back
Play the game like its supposed to be played and read the rules.
To me matches seem to really go slow when your driving so i just take things slow. Maybe its just me though.:confused:

16

Know the limits of the bot. Keep moves as simple and quick as possible. Know when to back off when playing defense to have a better angle to stop scoring. Have a heart when playing defense, don’t destroy the other bot. DO NOT GET NERVOUS. Get along with operator. Get along with the coach. Listen to the coach. Don’t get a big head and feel like your above going to the stands and watching matches with your team. (If time permits.) Always, keep it cool. Finally, as many said before me, drive it like you stole it!

17

Here is what i have learned over the past two seasons as my team’s operator:

1.) STAY CALM! - this is the most important one of all, i cant tell you how much easer it is to score in that last second when you are in control.
2.) a little ego goes a long way - (be confident, after all there should be a reason your team wants you to do the job your doing)
3.) Make sure that you know what is going on just as much as your coach, she/he is there to help find the best move, but 3 heads are better than 1
4.) Talk - figure out a way to quickly and concisely describe what is happening on the field and communicate your next move. (“score on that foot” does not work as well as “Spoiler on eight - high”)
5.) practice driving anything you can get your hands on and make obstacle courses to drive through.
6.) The drive team is a TEAM - you should be working together, never go into a match bickering amongst each other.
7.) Play tactics games with the other members of your drive team, games that require co-operation to be successful. This helps you get in the proper mind set to think on your feat.
9.) Play to win on the field but as soon as the robot is disabled at the end of the match remember: no hard feelings and GP is more important than being angry.
8.) HAVE FUN! It is so much easier to drive when your having fun.

Good luck and have fun!

-Dan Karol

18

One of the things that I can reccomend is keeping your head out on the field. In the heat of the moment, people yell, and some of them sound very angry when yelling. Don’t get defensive, and keep your cool. As long as you remove yourself from the picture, and just focus on being an extension of the OI, you’ll do fine.

Oh, and also, as the head drive train guy from 114, don’t be afraid to bash up your bot on another. As it’s been said before: you can always fix the bot, but a match is done once that buzzer sounds.

19

Make sure you not only pay attention to your robot, but to everything else that’s happening on the field. Be aware of what other robots are doing on both alliances. Make sure you listen to what the other teams in your alliance are saying during the match.

Most of all just have fun. I get nervous sometimes before a match but as soon as the bell rings I forget about everything and just focus.

Just remember that mistakes do happen and that you can’t fix the past. If something breaks on your robot, don’t get upset. Focus on the problem and fix it so you can be even better in your next match :slight_smile:

20

Don’t panic.