Scouting & StrategyModule 4 of 8

Strategy: Picklists, Alliance Selection, and Match Play

How to convert all your data into decisions: building a defensible picklist, navigating the live alliance-selection draft, writing pre-match plans, and communicating during a match.

Strategy: Picklists, Alliance Selection, and Match Play is module 4 of 8 in the Scouting & Strategy guide. It picks up where Data Analysis: TBA and Statbotics left off and hands over to Worked Examples & Mini-Projects. Its 4 lessons are about 170 minutes of the guide's ~21 hours.

4 lessons~170 min32 lessons in this guide

Start with lesson 1 All of Scouting & Strategy

In this module

4 lessons

01Building a PicklistA picklist is an ordered ranking of the teams you most want as alliance partners, built from scouting plus public analytics.45 min read

02Alliance Selection at the EventAlliance selection is a live, serpentine draft of 8 alliances governed by exact rules, including a pick timer and decline procedures.45 min read

03Pre-Match Strategy and the Drive TeamBefore each match, the drive team uses scouting to assign roles and write a plan that plays to the alliance's strengths.40 min read

04In-Match Strategy and CommunicationOnce the match starts, success depends on clear roles and disciplined communication among the driver, operator, and coach.40 min read

Previous moduleData Analysis: TBA and Statbotics

Next moduleWorked Examples & Mini-Projects

Jargon check

FRC terms used in Strategy: Picklists, Alliance Selection, and Match Play

Longer reads

Articles that go deeper on this

FRC Drive Team Guide: Roles and How to WinA clear, accurate guide to FRC drive team roles - drivers, coach, human player, and technician - plus practical tips for winning more matches.4 min read

Building an FRC Scouting App: Data Model, TBA/Statbotics APIs, and PicklistsBuild an FRC scouting app: match and pit scouting, a simple data model, pulling schedules and EPA from the TBA and Statbotics APIs, and building a picklist.20 min read

All 8 modules in Scouting & Strategy

Department overview

PreData Foundations: Spreadsheets and Statistics3
01Scouting Fundamentals3
02Building a Scouting System3
03Data Analysis: TBA and Statbotics4
04Strategy: Picklists, Alliance Selection, and Match Play4
05Worked Examples & Mini-Projects5
06Common Mistakes & Troubleshooting5
07Advanced Techniques & Case Studies5