Thank you all- the kids had started with the tri-bot- but got obsessed with the bridge (tri-bot no can do) which lead to multiple start overs- I think today all concluded that they would like to build a simple robot- back to the tri-bot. They are doing fine and are having fun. I greatly appreciate everyone's suggestions and support. I think we have done too much work on the research to go back to the drawing board- for everyone's first year- we may need to stick with it- they are very much enjoying their train of thought- I think they could identify where the technology isn't quite where it needs to be for their ideas to necessarily work- and that further research will have to be part of the solution. I have really enjoyed this group of kids. Laura:) On Oct 5, 2009, at 3:11 PM, Phil Smith III wrote: > What Nick said! > > I was going to express it this way: > > One big suggestion: calm down. Your role isn't to worry; your role > is to keep them from worrying too much. Remind them that the table > performance is ONLY 25%. Remind them that they're rookies (I > assume). Remind them that they're learning -- that NASA blew up more > than a couple of rockets before they got things working. > > And promise them that the tournament will be a *blast* no matter how > they do! Last year a team backed out at the last minute because they > "weren't ready". That breaks my heart, and makes me think that the > coaches didn't "get it". > > One of the MANY wonderful things about FLL is that teams who do > "horribly" at the tournament still have fun. In eight years of being > involved, I've seen one kid cry, and she had fallen and was in pain > (and was fine a few minutes later). Even glum faces are rare; > intense scowls of frustration while watching a robot misbehave are a > bit more common, of course...! > -- > Phil Smith III > Virginia State Judge Advisor, 2007, 2008, 2009 > Judge Advisor, Northern Virginia Regional tournaments, 2007, 2008 > Division 1 Judge Advisor, Virginia State tournament, 2006 > > Coach, The Capital Girls, Oak Hill (retired) > Team 1900 (2002) > Team 2497 (2003) > Team 2355 (2004) > Team 1945 (2005) > > > -----Original Message----- > From: First Lego League in Virginia and DC [mailto:[log in to unmask] > ] On Behalf Of Swayne, Nick > Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 2:56 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: [VADCFLL-L] A few new coach questions > > Laura/Danielle, > > This is really supposed to be fun for all. Don't dread the robot! > > You'll see a lot of new teams at all 18 of the regional > competitions. There are more than 350 teams currently in the system > and I'd guess half of them are new to FLL. > > The fact that there are 4 components to the tournament really levels > the playing field for those who have never built robots before. Lots > of rookie teams build robots that look almost exactly like the tri- > bot in the instruction book and do just fine at the competition. > Some actually win because they concentrate on the teamwork and > research which account for 50% of the total. If the kids can > explain their experience level, design and programming well - > they'll do fine there as well. > > Also - if your robot holds the crash test figure for the entire 2.5 > minutes and you don't knock over any of the penalty pieces, you'll > end up with 95 points. > > -- To UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE your settings, please visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-l.html > and select "Join or leave the list". > > -- VADCFLL administrative announcements are sent via VADCFLL-ADMIN- > L. Visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-admin-l.html to > subscribe. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE your settings, please visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-l.html and select "Join or leave the list". -- VADCFLL administrative announcements are sent via VADCFLL-ADMIN-L. Visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-admin-l.html to subscribe.