Build A SeaPerch Season Plan Your Team Can Actually Stick To
- Philip "Garrett" Comparetto
- Jan 1
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 26
Most teams do not struggle because they lack talent. They struggle because the season becomes a pile of random decisions. One week you change ballast, the next week you change thrusters, the next week you change an attachment, and by the end you are not sure what actually helped.
Goals fix that.
A good SeaPerch season has two kinds of goals:T eam season goals that keep everyone aligned, and individual goals that help each person grow in their role.
Why Writing Goals Down Works
Writing goals down is not just a motivational thing. It changes how your brain and your team operate.
When you write a goal down, you do three powerful things:
You turn a vague idea into a clear target.
You create a reference point for decisions, so you stop guessing.
You make progress measurable, which builds confidence.
It also helps the team communicate. When people have different “goals in their head,” they pull the season in different directions. A written goal keeps the season from drifting.
Part 1: Team Season Goals
A team season goal should be clear enough that you can answer this question at any practice:
Did what we did today move us closer to our goal?
Strong team season goals are specific, but not complicated. Here are examples you can copy into an engineering notebook.
Team Season Goal Examples
Improve maneuverability and control so our ROV completes obstacle and mission tasks cleanly and consistently.
Increase straight line speed while maintaining stability and accuracy through key tasks.
Reduce run mistakes by improving Co-Pilot tether management, communication, and repeatable pilot technique.
Build a competition ready ROV and a competition ready team system, so performance is consistent under time pressure.
Use data from every practice to make design decisions and document improvement clearly.
If your team is stock class, add one simple line at the end:
All improvements will stay within stock class constraints.
Team Guiding Question
This is the one question that keeps your season from becoming random.
Use a guiding question like this:
How can we improve [your season goal] by changing [one variable at a time], then testing and measuring the result during [a specific task]?
Then use this every time you change something:
If we change [one variable], how will it affect [one performance metric] during [one specific task]?
That one sentence will protect your season from chaos.
Part 2: Individual Goals
Individual goals are where teams level up fast, because everyone knows what they are practicing on purpose.
These goals should match a role. They should also be measurable.
Pilot Goals
Drive with small, controlled inputs and reduce over correction during turns.
Practice clean stops and controlled approaches until they are repeatable.
When something goes wrong, pause, reset, and recover calmly instead of rushing.
Commit to one consistent driving style across every run, slow is smooth, smooth becomes fast.
Review one filmed run per practice and identify one thing to improve next time.
Co-Pilot Goals
Keep tether slack controlled so it never pulls the ROV off line or into obstacles.
Use short, consistent callouts that are calm and repeatable.
Spot tether tension early and fix it before it becomes a problem.
Practice staying calm under pressure, because calm communication keeps the whole team calm.
Track one common tether issue each practice and write one solution your team will use next time.
Documentation Goals
Record every design change, the reason for it, and the test results from that practice.
Collect data in a consistent format so results are easy to compare across weeks.
Store photos and testing notes as you go, not at the end.
Track sources during research, not right before submission.
After each practice, write one clear takeaway your team learned.
Team Lead Or Project Manager Goals
Keep practices focused with a simple agenda and a clear outcome.
Make sure every voice is heard and decisions are made as a team.
Protect the team from panic by slowing the moment down when stress shows up.
End each practice with a short debrief and one next step.
What To Do Each Practice
This is the simplest routine that keeps goals real:
State the team season goal in one sentence.
Choose one variable to test today.
Choose one metric to measure.
Run three trials if possible.
Debrief and write down what you learned.
Decide what stays and what changes next time.
Goals do not matter if you only write them once. Goals matter when you use them every practice.
Final Thought
A SeaPerch season is not built in one big moment. It is built in small decisions stacked week after week. SeaPerch is an engineering program. That means your season should be built on purpose.
Set a season goal that guides decisions. Write the goals down. Read them at practice. Use them to decide what to change and what to leave alone. Track progress so confidence grows.
That is how you build a stronger ROV, and that is how you build better engineers.
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