After each match my team has been putting the batteries back on the charger to make sure they are ready for the next match. I was told this will cause the batteries to “die” earlier and earlier. If this is true …what should be the charging process:confused:
Mavrick
Charging between matches should not be a major issue but can become a problem. One common problem in nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries is something known as the memory effect. This is when the battery is continually recharged before it has discharged more than 50 percent of its power, causing it to essentially forget that it could fully discharge to begin with. Memory effect is caused by the formation of hard-to-dissolve cadmium crystals deep within the battery. Cadmium crystals are an unavoidable by-product of discharge; the trick is to keep them small enough to be reformed as cadmium during the charging process. When a battery is not fully discharged, the crystals deep within the battery are not affected by the influx of electrical current, so they are not reformed as cadmium and can grow into the troublesome larger cadmium crystals. The battery will still function normally, but is maxed out at 50 percent. The memory effect can be avoided by fully cycling the battery once every two to three weeks by allowing it to discharge completely, and then fully recharge.
*Caution *- Never lay your battery by the charger when charging, always fully seat the battery in the charging cradle or damage to the battery will occur.
Thanks…I will share your response with the 32 VEX teams in our school system 
Mavrick