FLL Team Startup IV

If you're a new coach, things will start coming at you fast after the FSK and mission models are all set up.  This for me was where it began to hit the fan and scatter a bit.

The one piece of low hanging fruit on the Animal Allies 2016 board for us seemed to be the Shark Shipment, so we began with that.  I had a basic working knowledge of the EV3 programming blocks and the team had very little so we began with pseudo code based on a Mission-Task-Movement format.

Ex:  Shark Shipment

• Move Forward to 1st black line
• Move Forward to 2nd black line
• Turn XX degrees to right (compass helped)

After this was lined out a bit, we filled in the spaces with what types of sensor inputs we would look for, what type of motor command blocks we would use, what types of turns we should use and other strategy issues.  Since this is a first year team of 5th graders I'm trying to help them stay on board with the KISS principle.  They've watched youtube videos of behemoth bots cleaning the table in 2-3 runs, but I've assured them that those teams have quite a bit more experience with the bots, design, and programming options.

In the time that I've been able to watch other teams this season, I've seen other teams chasing these style bots and multiple missions on one program meet with gigantic piles of frustration and penalty points.  The first experience watching other teams was at the CowTown Throwdown earlier this season.  It's a great event and the kids had a blast.  They were able to see what other teams were able to accomplish as well as see some FTC competition.  It was free this year for FLL teams, but with 16 slots, I heard it was hard to get in.  I was a bit shocked at the advanced stuff that some of the other teams were trying to do.  Sometimes the programs worked and most times they didn't, but man, they were learning a lot and crashing the field models.  As a coach who wasn't on duty, I tried to help other teams by asking them why they were trying what they were trying and even found myself having to referee a skirmish between two teammates over who got to hold the robot.

My next experience was helping out at another qualifier in my area.  This was a huge eye opener.  The Friday before the qualifier I was able to attend a referee meeting and get to see the area and a lot of the hard work that goes in to setting it up.  Nothing really prepared me for the event though.  It was like being in a busy train station with 500+ kids going every direction....and twice as loud.  I didn't really have a volunteer assignment, so I floated a bit near the practice table signup until I was asked to assist with the queueing area in the school's gym; the spot where your team checks in to wait on their time at the table for practice and competition rounds.  It's absolute chaos.

When you and your team queue up, be a few minutes early, have at least one person who knows the team name and number with the group, keep the team together, bring the bot in a box (not open carrying), and be prepared to hang out for a minute while the person gets you to the right queue spot.  The person you meet will be a volunteer who probably has no more information about the venue than you do and they'll have a schedule roster with cross-outs and substitutions on it from where a few teams backed out at the last minute (tossing a wrench into the works).  In a gym, this takes place in the middle of the basketball court in front of the spectators, so it's guaranteed to be a mess.  Bring some binoculars and get up high in the stands.

If you're a coach or a mentor, get out and volunteer at other qualifiers.  You'll have a better idea of what you're in for and your team will benefit from your knowledge of how things work....and it helps the organizers.