The notebook is a team effort — every role contributes entries. On kickoff day, the strategist coordinates the analysis and ensures it gets started: game overview, problem statement, criteria and constraints. These entries belong to the whole team and are written before any mechanism is chosen.
Toggles convert yellow halves (62% of all pin halves on the field) into +10s. AWP requires 7 pins placed + 3 goals each with 2+ pins + neither robot touching the perimeter + 0 Auton violations (SC8). Pins or goals on the opposing side of the Autonomous Line don't count toward AWP — design auton routes accordingly. Endgame is the 10-second midfield positional fight; alliance with most robots inside the boundary claims center-goal yellow points (SG12 + SC5b).
🎯 While Engineers Build — Strategist Responsibilities
Strategy work doesn't wait for the robot to be done. While engineers build, you should be making the team smarter:
Game Analysis Section ownership — the engineering notebook's Game Analysis section is yours end-to-end. Manual interpretation, scoring math, opponent meta predictions, AWP route analysis. Rubric-required content.
Per-half score calculator — build a spreadsheet (red halves, blue halves, owned-yellow per quadrant, midfield count). Drill until you can estimate match score in 5 seconds.
Q&A digest — daily VEX Forum monitoring, log clarifications. You own this doc.
Decision-tree sketching — for each plausible auton outcome, sketch driver's first 5 actions. Pre-decide branches before the robot exists.
Pit kit design — tool list, spare parts, battery rotation, charge schedule. Document in notebook with rationale.
Excellence Award packet drafting — team accomplishments, photos, team-story drafts. Pays off in March.
The progression above builds your strategic toolkit. This section explains where that toolkit gets used — which squad you support, what you're responsible for at each event, and what competition readiness actually means for a strategist.
"Your role is what you train to master. Your squad is where you compete right now."
Strategist role pair
Qualifier Squad
📊 Qualifier Strategist
↔
League Squad
📊 League Strategist
What training partners develop together
✓Game analysis — both strategists work through the same scoring breakdowns, efficiency calculations, and decision frameworks
✓Scouting habits — both strategists practice observation, data collection, and team ranking using the same scouting sheet and criteria
✓Alliance planning — pre-match briefs, partner coordination, and elimination logic are rehearsed together in class before any event
✓Notebook reasoning — both strategists contribute analysis entries, decision rationale, and testing evidence — not just the notebook lead
✓Post-match reflection — after every practice match and event, both strategists debrief what the data showed and what changes are warranted
In-class responsibilities — every strategist, every session
✓Game manual reading — know the scoring rules, edge cases, and AWP conditions cold. If you're looking it up during a match, you're not ready.
✓Game analysis — work through efficiency calculations, points-per-second, and scenario modeling before your team locks in any strategy.
✓Route planning — translate scoring priorities into actual robot paths. Know which routes are fast, which conflict with partners, and which break under pressure.
✓Scouting habits — practice filling the scouting sheet in real time. Record auton, cycle time, mechanism reliability, defense, and end-game every match you watch.
✓Alliance-fit thinking — evaluate teams not by raw score but by whether they complement your robot's strengths and can execute a coordinated plan.
✓Notebook evidence and reasoning — write the analysis entries. Document the decisions. Record what changed and why. The judges want to see your thinking, not just your conclusions.
✓Decision frameworks — build repeatable systems for auton selection, alliance ranking, and in-match pivots. Improvised decisions in the queue are too late.
Event assignments
Both squads — baseline duties at every event
› Strategist owns pre-match priorities and match planning
› Fill the match plan form before every queue — no exceptions
League Squadat league events
League-specific
Brief the drive team on opponent auton and zone assignments
Update scouting notes within 2 minutes of each match ending
Lead the post-match reflection with the drive team
Qualifier Squadat qualifiers
Qualifier-specific
Brief drive team before queueing; update immediately after
Coordinate with the League Strategist who is scouting from the stands
Use the combined scouting data for elimination decisions
Scout lens — what the League Strategist watches at qualifiers
The League Strategist at qualifiers is running the full scout operation. Every match is active observation work — the data you collect directly shapes the team's alliance decisions and elimination strategy.
Compile notes
Fill the scouting sheet for every match — auton, cycle time, mechanism reliability, end-game, defense
Identify alliance fit
Track which teams complement your robot — not just who scores highest, but who coordinates well
Track trends
Which teams improve across the day, which fade, and what the overall field meta looks like by match 8
Build recommendations
Rank alliance candidates before eliminations open. Have the list ready — not in-progress — when selections start
Pre-match briefs
Between matches, give the Qualifier Strategist a short brief on what you saw — opponent auton, threats, openings
Post-match reflection
Help the drive team debrief after each match — what the data shows, what to adjust, what held up
Your scouting sheet and alliance tracker — the tools already on this page — are your primary instruments. Use the full scouting section below for the complete workflow.
Notebook connection
📝
Strategist thinking belongs in the notebook
The notebook is not just an engineering document. Judges want to see how the team made decisions — and strategists own a significant part of that evidence.
✓Design decisions — why the team chose this autonomous routine, this mechanism, this game strategy
✓Strategy decisions — what the game analysis showed, what EV math supported, what was ruled out and why
✓Testing evidence — auton consistency results, cycle time benchmarks, and the data that justified each change
✓Changes over time — when the strategy changed and what drove that change. Judges reward teams that show iteration, not just outcomes.
The Notebook section below this page and the Notebook Pathway → guide cover the full entry process. Your job as a strategist is to make sure the reasoning is documented.
How class work prepares you for either assignment
Game analysis
Working through scoring math and scenario modeling in class builds the decisions you'll make in the queue
Scouting practice
Filling the scouting sheet in practice matches trains the eye and speed you need at a real tournament
Notebook entries
Documenting decisions and analysis all season means you're ready for the judge interview regardless of squad assignment
Tournament roll call
Before every tournament, the team holds a tournament role roll call. Every strategist is expected to be ready to cover scouting, match planning, notebook, or interview support. Tracking every match you watch and keeping your scouting sheet current is how you stay ready.
Describe your robot and the match situation — get a 3-sentence match brief ready for your drive team.
⚠ RECF EN4 — AI use notice
Match briefs from this tool are for live match-day use only — a thinking prompt for the drive team. RECF rule EN4 prohibits pasting AI-generated content into engineering notebooks. Do not copy any match brief, strategy note, or debrief text into your notebook.
Your robot's strengths
Opponent team # (optional)
Scouting notes on opponent
✅ Before Every Match
📋 Before Queuing
› Know current rankings and standings
› Confirm your auton selection and why
› Check alliance partner’s robot status
› Know opponents’ autonomous routines
▶ During Match
› Watch opponent auton — adapt next round
› Count scored pieces, track goal ownership
› Signal driver if a strategic pivot is needed
✅ After Match
› Update scouting sheet within 2 minutes
› Tell engineer what broke or underperformed
› Update your AWP status and skills ranking
🎲 Game Strategy
★
First question every match: What is the highest-value action my team can take in the first 10 seconds of driver control? Know the answer before queueing.
🎯 Autonomous Priority High Impact
A reliable 10-pt auton beats an unreliable 18-pt one across 12 matches. Use EV math (probability × points) to choose your routine. Track your auton win rate every practice.
👥 Alliance Coordination
Talk to your alliance partner for 60 seconds before every match. Agree on zones, scoring assignments, and end-game plan. Most alliances skip this — don’t.
📈 Points-Per-Second
Points scored ÷ time used for each action. Prioritize the highest efficiency actions first. In 1:45, efficiency beats raw score ceiling.
🚫 Defensive Decisions
Defense is correct when opponent’s expected score exceeds yours and you can meaningfully reduce their output. Decide before the match, not during it.
⌛ End-Game Planning
In Override, the endgame is the final 0:10 (per Glossary; SG12 applies). Your driver should be in or moving to the midfield by 0:15, with the actual king-of-the-hill push happening 0:10 → 0:00. Decide the commit before the match — whether you contest the midfield, defend a quadrant, or trade midfield for one final cycle — not in real time.
🎯 Worked Match-Call Example (Override)
Here's what a complete Override match-call sounds like end-to-end. Use this as a template; adapt the specifics to your alliance and opponent.
“Auton: left-side 4-pin route into our short goal, end the period stationary off the perimeter. Driver-control: cycle our two left-quadrant goals first — we need 3 goals with 2+ pins each for AWP, prioritize that. Partner takes the right side and locks our toggle red by 0:30. By 0:15 we abandon cycling and move to midfield; partner stays in their quadrant to hold the toggle. At 0:10 we're inside the midfield boundary — we hold position for the full 10 seconds. If they push us out before 0:05, we re-engage; if they don't come, we hold. Match call: seven pins, three goals, red toggles, midfield at ten.”
What this captures: auton plan, AWP path (SC8: 7+ pins placed, 3+ goals with 2+ pins each, neither robot on perimeter, zero violations — pins on the opposing side of the auton line don't count), driver priority order, toggle-control plan (SC4/SC5), endgame timing (move at 0:15, commit at 0:10), and a one-sentence match call to repeat to the squad. Skip any of these and your driver is improvising.
✅ AWP Strategy
Know the exact AWP conditions. Coordinate with alliance to both meet them — one missed step forfeits the point for both teams.
🏆 Past Game Meta Studies
📚
Studying past V5RC game metas teaches strategic patterns that transfer across seasons. Each guide covers the game, archetypes, world-champion teams, mechanism choices, and lessons that apply to Override.
Scout in every match you’re not playing. Watch and record: auton routine, cycle time, scoring positions, mechanism failures, defense capability. Two observations beat zero.
✍️ What to Record
› Autonomous: works / fails / partial + points
› Driver cycle time (estimate in seconds)
› Scoring positions they prefer
› Mechanism failures observed
› Defense capability: can they? do they?
› End-game: do they have one?
🏆 Alliance Selection Priority
Rank teams by: (1) auton reliability — consistent beats high ceiling, (2) average cycle time, (3) whether they complement your robot. Make your list before elimination rounds, not during.
Expected Value = probability × points. A reliable 10-pt auton beats an unreliable 18-pt one. Add up to 3 routines and compare.
Recommendation
🏆 Alliance Selection Tracker
Track teams you’ve scouted. Rank by auton reliability and driver score. Build your alliance list before elimination rounds.
📢 When You're the Caller
At competitions, the Strategist is often the third drive-team member — the Caller. Your job in the alliance station is the analytical work you already do, applied in real time. You don't drive, you don't load — you call the match. (See Drive Team Roles for why this configuration works.)
Quick Take
The Caller is hands-free. Eyes on the whole field, voice giving timer marks and tactical calls, brain tracking score and opponent positioning. The driver doesn't look at the timer — you tell them. The driver doesn't track the score — you tell them. Your one job is to be the situational awareness for the drive team.
The timer-call protocol
The driver should never have to look up at the field timer. You call it, loud and consistent, every match the same way. Recommended call set:
"Driver up" — the driver-controlled period just started.
":60" — one minute remaining. (Loud, clear.)
":45" — 45 seconds remaining. Time to think about endgame setup.
":30" — 30 seconds remaining. Endgame mode. Last full cycle window.
":15" — 15 seconds. Final positioning.
":10" — 10 seconds. If contesting endgame zone, get there now.
Countdown last 5 — "5, 4, 3, 2, 1" if useful for last-second positioning. Otherwise silence.
Use the same call set every match. Driver builds reflex around the cadence. New variations under match pressure are confusing.
Tracking the score in real time
You should know the approximate score state at every moment of the match. You don't need to be exact (refs do the official tally), but you need to know within a few points who's winning. This drives every tactical call you make.
For Override, score elements to track:
Cups placed in goals (per-alliance count)
Pin halves scored (yellow halves on owned-toggle quadrants are worth more)
Toggles set to your color (each one shifts the value of pins in its quadrant)
Auton bonus (already locked in by the time driver-control starts)
Endgame zone position (8 pts/robot in midfield contested zone)
Track running approximate score. When you're ahead by 20+, switch to defensive call mode. When behind by 20+, push for high-yield plays. When even, play efficient cycles.
Opponent and field reading
The driver only sees their own robot's view. You see the whole field. Things to call out:
Opponent approaching your goal — "blue 2 incoming, defend"
Open scoring opportunity — "back-right goal is empty, swing"
Alliance partner needs help — "our partner is stuck, hold position"
Toggle in danger — "blue is at toggle 3, flip ours back"
Pin/cup ratio shifting — "they're building stacks fast, prioritize disruption"
Keep these calls short. Two or three words. The driver's ears are working overtime — long sentences don't parse.
What NOT to say
Don't critique mid-match. "You missed it" or "why didn't you go left?" helps no one. Save observations for the post-match debrief.
Don't over-coach the driver. Telling them "go to the goal" every 5 seconds is exhausting and removes their decision-making. Trust their muscle memory.
Don't talk during driver flow state. If the driver is locked into a smooth cycle, don't interrupt with timer calls during the cycle — wait for the natural pause.
Don't panic. If the score gets bad, your tone matters as much as your words. Calm calls keep the driver calm.
Don't overlap with the Engineer. Engineer reports robot health to you (whisper). You decide whether to relay it to the driver or just note it for the debrief. Don't both talk to the driver at once.
Reading the match — tactical decision points
You're the one calling when to switch between offensive, defensive, and endgame modes. Triggers and responses:
SWITCH TO OFFENSE
When: ahead by 5–15 pts, opponent has weak mechanism, our auton landed clean. Call: "press, score everything we can."
SWITCH TO DEFENSE
When: ahead by 20+ pts in last 30 sec, opponent has fast scorer near our goal. Call: "protect goal 1, deny their cycle."
ENDGAME MODE
When: timer hits :20. Override has 8 pts/robot in contested zone. Call: "midfield, contest the zone."
CRITICAL TOGGLE FLIP
When: opponent toggle controls a quadrant with many of our pins. Call: "flip toggle 2, then back to scoring."
Post-match debrief leadership
The Caller leads the post-match debrief because they're the only one who saw the whole match. The driver was focused on execution. The engineer was tracking robot health. You saw what worked, what didn't, and why.
3-question debrief in 60 seconds:
What scored? The plays that worked — ours and the alliance partner's.
What didn't? One specific thing to fix before the next match. Not five — one.
What did we learn about the opponent? Update scouting notes immediately, while it's fresh.
Then sign off and reset for the next match. Don't dwell. The drive team has 15–30 minutes between matches; use most of it for prep, not regret.
🏁 Match Planning
📝 Pre-Match Plan — Fill Before Queueing
✅ Saved!
Summarize your entire plan in one sentence. Say it out loud to your squad before you queue.
This is the last thing your squad hears before walking to the field.
Recent Plans
📝 Engineering Notebook
✎️
Notebook entries are team-wide. Engineers log builds, Drivers log test data, you log analysis and decisions. Your job: make sure it happens. 5-minute rule: Write the session entry before anyone leaves. Memory fades fast.
✅ Today’s Notebook Checklist
Date, team members present, EDP step label
Every entry needs a header
What did we do today? (1-2 sentences)
Context: why did we do this? What problem prompted it?
Labeled diagram or annotated photo
Every mechanism change needs a drawing or photo with labels
Elimination strategy is completely different from qualification strategy. You are no longer playing for ranking points — you are playing to win a single match. Change your approach accordingly.
① How Eliminations Differ
› Single-elimination — one loss ends your run
› You choose your alliance partner — choose wisely
› Reliable beats flashy every time here
› Defense becomes a valid primary strategy
› Your opponent has also been scouting you
② First Pick Logic
› Pick the team with the highest floor, not ceiling
› Consistent 10-pt auton > unreliable 18-pt auton
› Pick a robot that complements yours — not a clone
› Can they agree and execute alliance strategy?
› Avoid teams with mechanical reliability issues
③ In-Match Adjustments
› After Match 1: what did you learn about their strategy?
› If losing by <8 pts — switch to aggressive scoring
› If winning — switch to defense and hold the lead