Teamwork Guide

Our Club's Guide To Good Teamwork:

Teamwork is what keeps teams and clubs flowing. Without good teamwork and effort to keep things growing and healthy, teams often fail. At Davis, at least one or two teams each year break apart and reform into different teams. Without fail, it comes down to how good their teamwork was.

Communication is key! Have regular team meetings and discussions. Even if you think everyone is on the same page, there's no harm in checking. More often than not, team meetings save more time than they take to hold. Keep communication flowing about when members will be working on the projects and what's being worked on.

Trash talk is not helpful. Sometimes teams trash talk each other as a joke or to try to spur others forward, but it can be extremely hurtful and push people to quit robotics. If you hear team members putting others down, try to put a stop to it so that rifts between people don't form and hurt club unity.

Don't date team members. It can be hard to keep feelings in check spending hours upon hours with people, but dating people on your team is a very risky game. If you break up, then your team could be finished and split apart. Especially given that state and higher level competitions are very stressful and strain relationships, teams end up splitting right before the important competitions because of relationships.

Help other teams in your club. Don't be protective over who's idea was who's. Progress for one team is progress for all of the robotics teams and the whole club will be better off with good inter-team relationships.

Listen to other team members concerns. Criticism can be hard to stomach, but be patient and listen to each others concerns so that issues can be resolved. Don't be hesitant to apologize.

Have group messages and communication outside of robotics. Hanging out outside of practice can be a great team and friendship builder and is just overall fun!

Don't skip competitions if it can be avoided. Try to be ready and compete with your team as often as possible and be there to compete and celebrate with them. Sometimes competitions can't be attended by necessity, and that's okay.

Set deadlines. Make sure that it's not just "Everything should be done before the competition", Strive for specific deadlines for building, code, and driving practice.

Make sure you're all playing by vex rules. Disqualifications can make clubs look bad, especially when its not just match disqualifications.

Have fun! These kids are your friends and they are there to support you!

Commonly asked Questions and Our Answers:

Why shouldn't I date someone on my team? That seems random and unnecessary.

"Basically, don't do it. I know you might have a point in the year when you and your teammate are spending a ton of time together. Late nights, stress, wins, and copious amounts of time spent together can be a bad mix to develop a crush on a teammate. My word of advice: don't act on it until the season is over. And definitely don't join a team with someone you're already dating. Why? It's an easy way to end a team and get your heart broken. No team has a perfect season without a single flaw. If one teammate makes a mistake in a high stakes competition, that can start arguments between couples. Nobody wants to be on a team with their ex. I've seen screaming fights and breakups over choices in robotics and I've seen teams end over relationship issues. Don't get me wrong- inter-club relationships don't tend to have the same sort of issues as inter-team relationships. Date other kids in robotics if you want! Just know that if you do date others in your team itself, it is at a higher likelihood to have a dramatic end during high stress competitions in the future. Been there, done that." -editor in chief, Rachel Ott

How do we pick a driver if multiple people want to drive?

Drive, drive, drive. Compete each potential driver against each other. The best one should be driver. That's it. Don't give it to one person or another because of their role on the team. Base it off of driving skill.

If one person demands to be the driver, you may want to reconsider their position on your team. Driving is not a position that someone can simply choose to be from the start. There is natural talent involved. It's not a bad thing to not be a driver! There are tons of really important roles at competitions.

When is it too late to switch teams?

No point in the season is it "too late" to switch teams. However, there are some things to consider before switching.

First off: Am I switching teams for the right reasons? Is this over a temporary or personal argument, or is this the best option for the growth of the team as a whole? If there are serious personal issues within a team such as members berating each other, intense anger, or noncooperation, talk to your coach immediately.

Second: Is it right before a competition? If so, try to make things work until after the competition to not hurt your original team. Give it your best, then work through moving teams. Don't be spiteful and quit the day of or during the week before.

Third: What team materials are moving teams with you, and what team materials are staying with the team? (for example, robots, logbooks, files of code, or controller rigs). As a general rule of thumb, team materials should stay with the original team and not with the person that's leaving. Logbooks are a more grey area, and although you shouldn't change a logbook to a new team, if the logbooker feels strongly about not having their work used, that is to their discretion as they are the owner of the content they write.

Can trash talk be healthy in any situation? Or is it always bad?

First off, never trash talk other teams, whether they're there to hear it or not. That's just bad sportsmanship. Now, trash talking is very different from constructive criticism. Think about the difference between "their launcher sucks" and "You might want to try an extra rubber band on the left side- it could help stabilize your shooting". Constructive criticism is helpful and should be encouraged and used to benefit the club as a whole. However, trash talk is generally unhelpful. Could it be just a joke? Sure, a situation could exist that trash talking is seen as a joke from all sides. However, you cannot force others to take it as a joke and you may not know if you've crossed a line or damaged a relationship until it's too late, so its best to steer clear of it all together.

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