Training for Coaches

Getting Started

What book(s) are we quizzing over?

Assemblies of God Bible Quiz follows a 9-year cycle of books

Books Studied	Verses
Acts	1,003
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, & Philemon	528
Mark	672
I & II Corinthians	693
John	879
Hebrews and I & II Peter, Jude	494
Matthew	1,068
I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, I, II & III John	510
Romans & James	540

How to Start a Bible Quiz Team

This is a great question, and the answer may seem long and daunting, so let’s break it down into 10 simple steps:

1. Communicate with your pastor or youth pastor that you desire to begin this ministry. They will need to support it in order for it to have the opportunity to grow and flourish.
2. Bible Quiz is like any other ministry in that it needs good leadership. You may find yourself on your own at first. Don’t lose heart! As students become involved, it’s likely that a few of their parents will be interested in helping out.
3. Since Bible Quiz is for teenagers, you probably will need to talk to a few of them to get them interested in being involved. I recommend a three-week trial period where students can come, check things out, and decide if they want to commit for the entire year. Bible Quiz is for students in 6th-12th grades. There is a separate level of quizzing for 6th-8th grade students called Novice. Older students compete in A-League quizzing. Many Districts also have a B-League, which is sort of a middle-range. When you contact the District leadership (step 8) you can find out what options are available.
4. You’re going to need a few materials to get started. In Bible Quiz, students study from a Scripture Portion. Each student will need their own, but you may want to wait to purchase them until you know how many are actually going to commit. You also will need questions. Those familiar with JBQ know that the questions are all pre-determined. In Bible Quiz, the questions are written by several different authors and cover every conceivable corner of the book(s) being studied. You can purchase questions from this site. Unlike JBQ, you will not be given the questions beforehand. Your quizzers’ mastery of the material is what makes interrupting possible (see the tips for beginning quizzers to learn how).
5. Since the purpose of Bible Quiz can be summed up in “discipleship through memorizing Scripture,” you can guess that when starting a BQ ministry you’re primary objective is to teach students to memorize. Now, this doesn’t mean you have to collect all the “smartest” kids from the youth group. The truth is that anyone can memorize if they approach it correctly. As you start practices, you’ll assign students to memorize a few verses every day. Usually 3 or 4 per day is a good start. Advanced quizzers can easily do 10-12, but that takes some work to get up there.
6. You’ve gotten the blessing of church leadership, ordered some materials, and recruited quizzers. Now it’s time for the first practice. A lot of people think that this is some sort of meeting where you lay out “expectations” and “rules” to the kids. Instead, I prefer to have each quizzer memorize 2-3 verses right off the bat. Then we go over some questions over just those verses. When we’ve done that, they memorize a few more, and you repeat the process. This gets them into quizzing right away, and they realize how much fun it can be. At the end of practice, you’ll give each quizzer a schedule of verses to memorize and review before the next practice.
7. After this, you keep having practices. Usually to start with 2-3 hours per week is good. If you’re team becomes very competitive and looks like they could make a run at Nationals, you’ll probably need to do more.
8. Next, you need to register for competition. To do this, you’ll contact your District Bible Quiz Coordinator. If you don’t know who that is, don’t despair. Contact the District Youth Director’s office and they can help you out.
9. The Bible Quiz competition generally starts in October with the first league quizzes. These are local or area competitions against other teams. There are also a variety of tournaments throughout the year that give quizzers a chance to quiz teams from all over the country. One of the best things you can do is get your team out to at least one tournament in your first year. Staying at a hotel, meeting new people, and quizzing against good teams can be a big motivator.
10. The season culminates with District competition, which usually happens in April. From there, some teams will qualify for Regional Finals in May, and the top 5 teams there qualify for Nationals in July. Novice competition concludes the season at Regional Finals.

Obviously, this is an overview. Hopefully it can help you on your way to starting this outstanding ministry for students. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at hello@biblequiz.com and we will do our best to answer your questions and get you on the right track.

Ordering Materials

Check out the products and questions posts.

General Coaching

Getting quizzers to study

Well, let’s get right to the heart of the matter. How do you get teenagers to memorize and review material on a daily basis? This is the critical element required to have a successful Bible Quiz team. Without it, you’re just showing up and getting pummeled.

There are lots of great ideas on how to get students into the Word. Here are a few guiding principles that will help you get started:

1. Set high expectations. This is counterintuitive. Most people think that you don’t want to be too demanding, or students will not want to participate. They are right, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As long as you are clear from the beginning as to what level of commitment you expect from your quizzers, you should set the bar high. If Bible Quiz (or anything else) requires little commitment, then it has little value. Students tend to meet your expectations, however high (or low) you set them. Some students may not be able to commit, so they may choose not to quiz. It’s better to find out now than to get 3 months into the season and lose half your team to marching band.Ideally, try to have multiple teams with different levels of commitment. This will allow students to gain the benefits of quiz without detracting from what your top-level committed students want to accomplish. It also allows them to be successful at the level to which they commit.
2. Tell them exactly what you want them to do. Ambiguity is not your friend. Be as detailed as you can when you tell them what to study. Don’t just say, “Learn chapter 4 for next week.” Break it down into easily digestible daily chunks. Also, don’t assume they’ll review on their own. Tell them exactly what to review and how many times they should do it.
3. Keep it manageable. If a quizzer gets behind, they aren’t likely to catch up 3 chapters the week before the match. Give reasonable goals that are challenging, but not impossible.
4. Stay in touch. If the only time you talk to your quizzers is at practice, it is much harder for them to keep their goals in focus. You should try to make at least one contact with each quizzer outside of practice during the week. Sometimes just knowing that the coach is going to check up on them is enough incentive to keep them working.
5. Develop a culture of success. Notice I don’t say winning (although that helps). The idea is to find a definition of success that your team can accomplish, then push them to get there. Winning a national title your first year out is not terribly likely. What about placing in the top 5 in your league or state? Can you qualify for regional finals? Memorization awards are a great alternative goal. As you reach your goals, other quizzers will want to be a part of that successful culture.

Checking off chapters

For quizzers to earn their memorization awards, they have to quote each chapter with four or fewer mistakes, as well as quoting one chapter in front of the church or youth group. The best way to do this is to have quizzers quote each chapter as they memorize it, and “check it off” at that point. There is a chart in the back of the Scripture portion that you can use to record each chapter. Why do it this way?

First, it gives quizzers check points and goals to achieve, breaking the memorizing into more easily accomplished pieces. Knowing that you have finished one of 10 or 16 chapters makes it clear that your making progress.

Second, it ensures that the quizzer actually knows the chapter they are quoting. Lots of times, a quizzer will come in and say they know a chapter, only to quiz pathetically over that chapter in practice. If they can quote it with four mistakes or less, you know they know it.

Third, it gives you something else to recognize. Obviously winning games and scoring awards are important measures of a quizzers ability. Some quizzers may not be high achievers on the buzzers, but by acknowledging the work they have done memorizing, you give them a goal they know they can hit. You also give them confidence, which can often lead them to scoring more points in matches. It also gives you something to recognize early in the year before competition starts.

Checking off chapters is a great way of helping quizzers get through the material. Make sure they keep reviewing after they check it off, otherwise they’ll still forget it. A good rule of thumb is to quote everything you know twice a week. Also, remember that for the memorization awards quizzers have to quote to someone who isn’t a family member.

Yogi Berra's Coaching Tips

Yogi Berra is among the greatest players and managers in the history of Major League Baseball. He is legendary not only as a baseball man, but also as a man who produced some of the greatest odd quotes of the century.

There are nuggets of wisdom to be gleaned from Berra’s malapropisms, and some of these can be applied to Bible Quiz. So I now present five coaching tips from Yogi Berra.

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.

Now, on the surface this makes no sense. Think about it this way, though often we approach quiz as the product of an equation of practice drills, studying, and simply doing things like you practice. I do think there is an element of “game speed” that is impossible to replicate in practice. Especially with young quizzers, you simply can’t always predict what they are going to do in a game. That’s why it’s important to get to as many tournaments as possible before official competition.

If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.

I’m a planner. I freely admit that I can’t stand to start a practice without having a clear direction. For every practice, I figure out where I want my team to be at the end, and do everything I can to get them there. That way we don’t waste time and we don’t end up somewhere else.

There are some people who, if they don’t already know, you can’t tell ‘em.

This perfectly described my least favorite attribute in a quizzer. If a quizzer isn’t teachable, there isn’t a lot I can do. Some quizzers think they know it all, and that’s quite annoying to those of us that have been doing this for awhile. I have 20 years experience in this, and there are still things I am learning to do better. I certainly don’t want to hear that a fourteen year old thinks they have it all figured out.

You can observe a lot by just watching.

One of the things I like to do as a coach is watch my team while someone else reads. That allows me to watch their reactions, make sure they have good mechanics, and see their quizzing from a different perspective. It really helps me to coach them better.

I always thought that record would stand until it was broken.

This one’s more for fun, but the truth is that there are some pretty heavy records out there right now. Obviously, the Nationals individual scoring record set by Kent Piacenti is technically unbreakable, as it’s now not possible to score more than 152 points per game. I remember my senior year, I broke the previous record for forward quiz-outs by a considerable margin, and people were pretty excited about it. Of course, I understood that it was much easier to break that record since we played 22 games that year, which was more than at any previous Nationals. With more games, it’s easier to get more quiz-outs.

Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.

My all-time favorite Berra quote, this illustrates what I feel is the most essential part of truly great quizzing. Focus. I wrote about this a few weeks ago, and I believe that what separates good quizzers from champions is the ability to focus for 28 games.

It ain’t over till it’s over.

Another classic, and the quintessential competitive truth. We’ve all seen spectacular comebacks, and I’ve been thrilled to be part of a few. Marcae’s dad, Ron Johnson, taught me that a truly dominant quizzer can take the first five or the last five questions of any game. That’s the stuff that legendary comebacks are made of.

We made too many wrong mistakes.

Mistakes will just kill a good team. Missed questions, especially turnovers, have washed out the hopes of so many teams that were favored to win Nationals. This is part of being focused and disciplined.

The other teams could make trouble for us if they win.

Every game has one winner and one loser (or winning team with the least amount of points, if you’re fragile). I like to think of this quote more in context of the spoilers. How many times has a team that’s out of contention taken out a giant or two, forever altering the landscape of the tournament? Winners start by beating the teams they are supposed to beat.

Slump? I ain’t in no slump… I just ain’t hitting.

I have seen quizzers who were slumping, and I’ve seen quizzers that just weren’t quizzing. I spent my entire Freshman year in a slump. I also had tournaments where I just wasn’t quizzing (every year at St. Louis, for example). The difference is whether the problem is mechanics, poor timing, lack of study, or simply bad luck. The trick to breaking a slump usually means fixing something that wrong. If you’re just not quizzing, it’s probably a mental thing, and that can be corrected by a good coach.

What Coaches Can't Do

There are a lot of good coaches out there who have teams that underperform. Almost exclusively, the reason for this is that the quizzers lack knowledge of the material. I have talked to about a dozen coaches this year that have this problem.

Coaches bear a great deal of responsibility for their team’s success or failure. You must run practice, develop strategies, and do all the things required to win matches. No matter how well you do these things, it still does not guarantee success for your team. The one thing you cannot do is make the quizzers study.

Coaches can motivate, cajole, and even occasionally threaten, but the bottom line is that quizzers have to do their work. I give my quizzers detailed schedules every week. I talk to them on a regular basis. I even give them incentives from time to time. Still, there are many times when they don’t do all their work.

Coaches often blame themselves for this deficiency. True, coaches can influence the quizzers work habits by setting a good example, holding quizzers accountable, and offering encouragement. But for all that, quizzers still must choose to do their studying.

Here are a few tips for getting the most out of your quizzers:

• Give them a detailed assignment. Don’t be vague—“Study chapter 9.” Be specific about what quizzers are to memorize and review. Don’t assume they know what they need to do.
• Be encouraging, but hold them accountable. Coaches must master the art of patting a quizzer on the back and kicking them in the butt at the same time. Quizzers run the full range from highly motivated to very lazy, and different styles of coaching are required to get the most out of each. Ultimately the responsibility lies with the quizzer to do their work.
• Offer incentives for success. Don’t do this all the time, but give them a little extra reason to keep up with their work.
• Be there. Sometimes quizzers aren’t working because there is something happening in their lives. Try to be aware of this, and offer any help you can. Patience can be the thing that is required.

Do your best to help your quizzers be successful, and try to keep perspective. Sometimes your team will not measure up to your expectations. At that point, you need to decide whether your expectations are realistic, or if they need to be adjusted accordingly. You may need to hold the line instead, and continue to expect more from them.

There is no magic formula to make quizzers study. Do your best, and remember that at the end of the day, the quizzers must make their own choices. Try to help them by motivating, encouraging, and expecting greatness, and don’t allow yourself to get down if they aren’t achieving.

After all, you can’t study for them.

Preparation

Bible Quiz coaches ought to be like Boy Scouts. We should always be prepared, especially for practice. I wanted to post more on contesting, but that’s going to take some time to put together, and I was thinking about this topic today.

I am pretty adamant about showing up for practice ahead of time, tools in hand, and ready to roll. I want my quizzers to be on time, have their materials ready, and have their work finished. I need to do the same, and even more.

The first thing I always do is make sure I have a plan for practice. I know what we need to work on that week, and how we are going to accomplish it. For example, our second league match is next Saturday, so tomorrow in practice we will drill heavily on the material for that. We will work specifically on verse references, and practice disciplined hitting. Most teams don’t have as strong of knowledge at this league match, so we want to be sure we don’t make dumb mistakes that could cost us a game.

Often, I’ll write the agenda for practice on the board, so the quizzers can see the plan. If the specific order of work doesn’t matter, I might let them pick the order we do things in. If you don’t have a plan when you go to practice, you can waste a lot of time figuring out what you’re supposed to be doing. You also are less likely to properly prepare for your next competition.

I have a few things that I always take with me to practice:

• Markers, eraser, board cleaner (I never assume this stuff will be available, and I never leave mine lying around)
• Stopwatch (I know a lot of buzzers have built-in timers, but I like to time lots of things, and I don’t want to be limited to a countdown)
• Question Sets (I generally pre-pull the sets I want to use for practice, so I don’t spend time fumbling around looking for certain authors or sets)
• Quiz Portion (naturally)

I like to have the quizzers bring their books, quote cards, and any other study materials they’ve been given. Even if we don’t use all those things in practice, it’s good for you to lay eyes on them once in awhile, so you know they haven’t papered their locker with quote cards or something.

Practice times are usually not long enough, so you want to be as efficient as possible. Having a plan and being organized are great ways to ensure that you are getting the most out of every practice.

Motivation

One of the things I love about Bible Quiz is that it moves motivation in the right direction—from the external, to the internal, to the eternal. Let me explain.

Motivation for most people starts out being external. This means that something or someone outside of themselves is pushing them to do (or not do) something. Such motivation has both positive (do this to get this) and negative (do this to avoid this) forms. There is nothing wrong with a little external motivation. Everybody uses it at one level or another. In its more corrupt forms, it is known as manipulation and bribery. That isn’t to say that BQ doesn’t or shouldn’t employ external motivation. After all, we give trophies and scholarships. Some tournaments even give cash. I have no problem with this, as long as we continue to move students through the process.

I remember one new quizzer starting with me at the beginning of the season several years ago. As I was giving out assignments at the end of the first practice, he asked, “What’ll ya give me if I do it?” My answer, “Nothing.” It was clear to me that this quizzer needed to move to the next rung on the motivational ladder, and if I gave further external motivation I would only be enabling him. This isn’t always very easy to determine, so you have to be discerning.

From the external, the next step is internal. Instead of doing something because there’s a payoff at the end, you do something because you genuinely want to do it. Maybe it’s the sense of accomplishment, of a job well done, or of simply meeting a challenge. The point is that you no longer require that carrot and stick. It doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy the occasional carrot, but that you will get the job done without it.

In Bible Quiz, this is the kid that shows up every week with their work done, even though there’s no gold star, treat, or incentive other than the work needs to get done. It’s difficult to measure this, because in quiz if you study, you are more likely to win. You can usually tell by the attitude of the quizzer. This is not to say that such quizzers aren’t competitive, but that there is more to them than that.

The final step is the eternal. The rest of this motivation stuff gets talked about a lot in the secular world. The eternal part is what makes us different. We do what we do to serve God, to show our love for Christ, and to win souls for the Kingdom.

Some people believe that Bible Quiz should skip straight to this step. These are the people that feel it is wrong to compete over the Bible, and that there are too many bad attitudes in quiz. There are a few bad apples, to be sure, but I think those are probably the people that need as much Scripture as possible. As to the idea that competing over the Bible is wrong, I simply would suggest that these people consider this simple fact: For every teenager you can name who has memorized one book of the Bible apart from Bible Quiz, I can name 100 that have memorized 5 or more in Bible Quiz. Almost all of them are still serving God, and many of them are in full-time ministry.

Eternal motivation is what coaches live for. It is why, years later, we talk to quizzers that we worked with who are now doing wonderful things for God. It is ultimately what keeps us going when things get a little tough.

As for my motivation, of course I like it when my team wins. Nobody goes into any competition hoping to lose (though I’ve seen a few teams I wonder about). For me, it’s when I see a quizzer do something great, something they weren’t sure they could do. It’s when I know God is pleased with my work, even when nobody else seems to notice or care.

In reality, all of us are motivated by a combination of these factors. The key is to keep moving from the external to the internal to the eternal.

Middle School Quizzing

Transitioning from MSQ to A

One of the most challenging feats facing a young quizzer is the transition from Novice to A. Many quizzers that are strong, even dominant, in Novice get to A and fall apart. Some struggle for a long time before the transition becomes comfortable. While there will always be a period of adjustment for any quizzer, there are things you can do to help ease the pain of transition.c

The first thing to understand is the most important difference between A and Novice isn’t the length of the material, it’s the speed of the game. Most Novice quizzers aren’t used to seeing every question interrupted, let alone nailed very early. For all but the very top Novice quizzers, interrupting is a skill they are just trying out. Often they have very little idea how to consistently apply the rules of questions to make early hits.

To combat this, I would recommend making sure that your new A quizzers get a chance to see some high quality A quizzing before they start. Ideally, they can attend Nationals or a Pre-Nats tournament to see some of the best quizzing. Being able to see the speed up close and demystifying the interruption process is the first step.

In addition, from the first practice, you need to challenge these quizzers to fly on every question. They need to be pushed to interrupt early on every question. It’s going to take a lot of time, but you can’t afford to have them let every question go to the last word. Interruption is everything.

The other obvious difference is the length of the material. Fortunately, Mark is only 672 verses, so it’s not a killer. In fact, it’s a little shorter than the two Corinthian epistles we’ll be studying next year. Some people say that gospels are easier to memorize than epistles, but don’t put too much stock in that. It really depends on the individual quizzer.

The best way to help quizzers master more material than they are accustomed to is to start them a little earlier. I would start them around the beginning of July and put them on a graduated memorization schedule. If they are only used to doing 4 or 5 verses per day, they aren’t going to be able to jump to 8 or 9 a day in one step. Start them at 5 a day, and after they get the first couple chapters under their belts, step them up to 6 or 7. Continue this approach until you get them where they need to be.

The key here is to make sure you know when you have to hit checkpoints for the total material. Make sure they have finished the right chapters for the league matches and tournaments. Avoid skipping chapters to be picked up later at all costs. Build a master schedule and stick with it. It also helps to build in breaks where you can on new memorizing. As there is time, let them have a day or two to just review and get their chapters sharp. The best time for this is before tournaments.

A few other tips for the MSQ to A transition

• Let quizzers go when they are ready. If a seventh or eighth grade quizzer has the ability, there’s no reason to hold them back. If they reach freshman year and they aren’t there yet, give them a year (or half of one) in B-league to work it out.
• Don’t be afraid to push them a little. A-league quizzing is supposed to be tough. Coaches and quizzers in A are far more aggressive than in Novice, and they need to be able to perform under pressure.
• Give them as much as they can handle. If a young quizzer needs to start as a 10-point specialist, that’s fine. If they are the best you’ve got, and they can handle it, encourage them to attack the higher point values. I have seen young quizzers do some amazing things.

Teaching Quizzers to Interrupt, Complete, and Answer Questions

Anticipating interruptions

The single most important Bible Quiz skill is the ability to interrupt questions. Quizzers who can interrupt, complete, and answer questions correctly are the essential component of a winning team. Unfortunately, interrupting can also be the most difficult skill to master.

We’ll set aside buzzer technique for the moment. There are lots of theories on the best way to hit, but the truth is that this is mostly preference. The key to successful interruption is anticipation. This is where it gets tough.

Anticipation is rooted not in a preternatural ability to read a question writer’s mind, but in a superior knowledge of the material. The way questions are written places either a word or a reference as the key word in the question. The reference part is relatively simple. The trick is when the question links to a specific word in the text.

An example:

for 20 points. 2-part reference question. Give a complete answer. How was the law put into effect, and why was the law put in charge?

The key word in this question is “put.” But in order to know that, you must know that there are two “puts” that directly relate to the law. You must further know that the first part requires a “how” question, while the second requires a “why” question. You must also be confident that no other questions could reasonably be asked from that combination of introductory remarks and key word. The average quizzer would likely not even realize that “put” is the key word. It takes an intense knowledge to connect all those dots.

But wait, there’s more. Remember, not only does the quizzer have to recognize the key word, they also have to know it’s the right place to hit. This is where anticipation comes in.

Follow the logic here. If “put” is our key word, but the quizzer reacts to hit when they hear that word, the actual hit is going to come on “into” or “effect” (depending on the quizmaster’s reading and the quizzer’s reaction time). To actually hit on “put” the quizzer must hit at “law.”

But how do you know that the word after “law” will be the key? In truth, you don’t have any guarantees. Anticipation is most often an educated guess. It’s educated, in our case study, because the rules of grammar and propensities of question writers tell us that the key word is going to be the next one. “How was the law…”

The most obvious burn word here is “described,” but that would almost always follow a reference, as in “How does Galatians 3:19 describe the law?” Further, such a question would not fit the intro remarks. There are other possible burn scenarios, but none are terribly likely. The reasonable conclusion based on the intro remarks is that the key word will follow the word “law,” so the correct place to hit is at the end of that word.

So let’s assume you anticipate the key word and hit in the right spot. Now you have 30 seconds to correctly complete and answer the question. Once again, superior knowledge of the material makes this possible.

First you must go to your likely “law” chapters. Locators make this easier, but remember our question didn’t have one. Still, if you know the material well, you know that the first place to look for law is Galatians (as law and grace is a big theme), and chapter 3 is the best place to start. If you know the material well, you know that “law” and “put” are only found relatively close together in two verses. This is handy info, as we are looking for a 2PRQ. The best way to know this is to have quoted the material so thoroughly that the word combination instantly jumps into your mind. If this happens, you are reviewing the perfect amount.

You know the first part of the question is “How was the law put…” This ought to easily get you to either verse 19 or verse 24. Here is where you might make a mistake. If you lock into 24 first, you’ve found a “why,” not a “how.” You can’t use this for part one. At this point, it’s safe to assume you’re close, as if you aren’t, you’re not going to make it. If it doesn’t immediately come to mind, start from 24 and go backward through the verses.

Why backward? It’s an unwritten rule that questions always go forward in the material. So if you know you have part two, go back until you find part one. The reverse is obviously also true.

Once you find both parts of the question, you spit out your completion, and then give your answer. You can save time by initially only giving the answer demanded by the question. So skip the first half of 19, and start with the 3rd sentence. 24 requires nearly the whole verse, but it is much shorter.

Anticipation is the holy grail of interrupting. It is also the single most complex quiz skill to master. The best way to practice is for quizzers to hear as many questions as possible. They need to be challenged to interrupt very fast. This will result in a lot of missed questions in practice. Be patient, and keep your quizzers patient with themselves. If they can master anticipation, they are bound for success in quiz.

Hitting 10s

While 20s are where most games are won and lost, 10s set the pace. In a close game, they can make all the difference. In a game with a lot of missed questions, 10s can be the great equalizer. A good 10-point hitter will never want for a starting spot on a national-level team.

So how do you hit them? Well, quotes and completions are pretty basic, no matter what the point value. Let’s look at four types of questions and the rules for hitting them.

Locator (with or without GCA)

This is the most basic 10 you’ll hear. If it gives you a section or chapter locator, you want to hit for the third word. To do this, you want to anticipate by hitting on the second word. 90% of the time, this is a perfect hit. You will occasionally get burned, but that’s the cost of doing business. It’s worth the occasional miss, especially if you can get 9 out of 10.

Scripture Text Question

On these you want to look for a key word. Often, this will be after the word “quote.” Questions that require you to “complete the phrase” are obviously place hits. Contextual questions often give key words before that, so watch for those opportunities.

According to…

Questions that start with this phrase are tricky, because usually they pull you to a reference. Here you want to wait for the question word, so you have something to build the question on. For some reason, these get a lot of really early hits. “According” is seldom a key word.

Statement and Question

My kids refer to these as “big red flag” questions, mainly because I have drilled that into their heads. On 10s, this is especially true. Here, you need a key word and a question word. The key word usually comes in the statement, but the question word, naturally, is in the question. Honestly, the best approach on these is usually to let the other team turn them over.

Hitting 'describe' questions

for 20 Points. Give a Complete Answer. How does Galatians 2:8 describe God?

A lot of quizzers have mental blocks completing these questions. The correct interruption point is fairly obvious—hit on the reference. The trick is to make sure you know how to complete it. The question above is a perfect example of one that could trap a quizzer. The verse says: For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. Some quizzers would look at this verse and say it describes Peter, Peter’s ministry, Paul, Paul’s ministry, or even apostles. So why is the correct completion always “God?”

Simply put, the correct way to complete this question is to go with the first thing in the verse. In this case, God is first in the verse, so that makes this the correct completion. This is the standard completion nearly every time.

What are the exceptions? If there is absolutely no reasonable completion from the beginning of the verse (and you really have to broaden your definition of “reasonable”), then you look at the rest of the verse. If there isn’t anything there, go to the verse before. This is especially true when the reference from the question starts in the middle of a sentence.

Now, often these question won’t make a lot of sense. In Bible Quiz, question writers have generally been allowed to expand the use of “describe” to include both actual descriptions and actions. Hence, you could have a verse that talks about Jesus going somewhere and healing someone, containing not a single adjective or descriptive phrase, and it could still be used in a “describe” question.

You can certainly try to contest validity on this point, and I applaud the effort, but don’t count on getting too many of them. Most of the time, officials will allow these questions to stand.

However, now that you know how to coach your quizzers to hit them, you shouldn’t need to contest them as often. Just get them right, instead.

Hitting 20-point 'complete answer' questions

Probably the most common introductory remark among 20 point questions is Give a Complete Answer (GCA). If it’s not a quote or a straight analysis question, this is probably what it’s going to be. The ability to identify these questions and correctly complete them is essential to a successful quiz program. Let’s talk about the 20-point GCA.

The first thing you need to understand is that there a few standard formulas that these questions tend to follow. While there are always exceptions, a large percentage of the questions you hear will fall into these categories.

The second guiding principle is to teach your quizzers that on Complete Answers, they need to first think of two words: “do” and “say.” GCAs are lousy with “what did Jesus say?” and “what did Peter do” completions. Often quizzers will over-complicate these completions. Keep it simple.

The third guiding principle is that the question will generally look to include as much of the verse as possible. To apply this, look at the whole verse, and avoid including extraneous words in the question. This goes against the “kitchen sink” principle where you try to include as many different completion options as possible (everything but the kitchen sink). This is a more old-school technique that is less important with today’s predictable questions. Instead, on GCAs, you want to leave the question relatively vague to allow for as much of the verse as possible in the answer.

There are three dominate formulas to 20-point GCAs:

According to Questions

The “According to” question has a reference, followed by a question. For example:

According to Mark 1:17, what did Jesus say?

Now, many coaches will tell quizzers to wait until the question word comes, rather than flying on the reference. That is the cautious play, and it’s not all bad. I teach my team to fly on the reference on these. The reason is because they really are very predictable. Look for the question that allows for most of the verse to be the answer. Often, it will be a “do” or “say” completion. Over epistles, these can be a little more complicated, but a good quizzer can usually figure them out. Over gospels, they tend to fall very predictably into this pattern.

Describe Questions

I did a whole post on these before, but I’ll recap here briefly. Example:

How does Mark 1:6 describe John?

With these, you want to go with the first thing in the verse, even though it doesn’t always make perfect sense. The example above is fairly straightforward, but there are times you could be describing a house, an animal, or the sea. The key is that writers consistently do it this way, for better or worse, making the interruption predictable. Again, you want to fly on the reference, and go with the first thing in the verse. If the first thing in the verse is a pronoun (he, she, it), you want to identify the antecedent (it may be one or more verses before). This makes it clear to the judges, and it avoids needless contests.

Timeframe Questions

I expect these to be very popular over Mark, as they were over Acts two years ago. An example:

Without delay, what happened?

Here you want to hit on the timeframe (“without” ought to get you there from chapter one, and certainly by “delay”). From there, you have two options. Most often, it will be “what happened.” This is natural for a timeframe if you think about it, but I have seen it stump very talented quizzers, so it helps to take the guesswork out of the completion.

The exception to the “happened” rule is one person doing one thing. An example from chapter one:

Very early in the morning, what did Jesus do?

Most of the time, question writers will go with this completion when Jesus (or someone) is basically doing one thing. Here, Jesus is going to pray, so to ask “what happened” seems superfluous. Note that this is not a hard and fast rule, so you are still playing percentages, but in my experience, it works pretty well.

In general, completing questions is always about playing percentages. If you understand how questions are constructed, you can take the guessing out of the mix. Of course, there will always be a few that burn you. Perfection is not the goal, winning is. To win and be effective, you should aim to get 75-85% of your questions correct. Fewer than that, and you aren’t scoring enough points. More than that, and you aren’t taking enough chances.

Good completion skills take a lot of practice and require hearing a lot of questions. Drill your quizzers heavily, and you should start to see improvement. I push my quizzers from the second practice on to try to interrupt early. This allows me to teach them the rules. None of them ever catch on immediately, but as they keep trying and learning the rules over and over again, they get better at completing questions.

Hitting chapter analysis questions

Analysis covers six primary categories: Individuals, Geographical Locations, Questions, Exclamations, Parenthetical Statements, and Old Testament Scriptures. Within analysis questions, you have book, chapter, section, and verse-question variations. Once you master the material, hitting these questions can be extraordinarily simple if you understand the different ways they are asked.

Mastering the material is pretty straightforward on analysis, but there are a couple things to keep in mind. Most importantly, quizzers must study these items as separate lists. It does not work to try to pick through the memorized verses and identify the answers, unless you are only looking for one or two. In every Scripture Portion (both with and without concordance), the analysis material is found in the back. Quizzers should memorize these in lists for each chapter.

After memorizing the chapter lists, they aren’t done. They also need to be sure they can identify the verses by reference, as well as knowing the section breaks, and which items are found in each section. The section analysis can usually be a subset of the chapter lists, while the references should be part of the quoting process anyway.

The final key for knowing analysis material is to know the number of parts for each answer. Quizzers need to know how many of each item there are in each section and chapter, because this is the key to early interruption.

After quizzers know all this information, they still need to know how to hit the questions. There are a few variations, which we’ll discuss below.

Verse Analysis Questions

for 10 Points. Mark 2:13 names which individual?

These questions are the most common analysis questions that are asked, because the options are so plentiful. These will come in as 10s, 20s, and even 30s, depending on the length of the answer. It should be fairly obvious, but quizzers want to hit these on the reference. Now, sometimes there will be multiple-part questions or answers, so it’s important to know all of the analysis that is in each verse. Occasionally, the verse will contain both an individual and a question, but the question will not be labeled as a 2-part question. In this case, the point value tells the correct completion. If it’s a 10, the writer wants an individual, location, or a very short answer for one of the other items. If it’s a 20, they are looking for the longer answer.

Section Analysis Questions

for 20 Points. From the section titled, The Calling of Levi. Which question is contained?

This question should be hit on the first word, as the introductory remarks tell you exactly where it’s going. The tricky part of these is usually making sure the quizzer has the knowledge up front. If the quizzer knows the section analysis, these are easy points, because many teams don’t pay attention to this. These are not the most common of questions, but they shouldn’t be neglected.

Chapter and Book Analysis Questions

for 30 Points. 9-part answer. From Mark chapter 2. Which questions are contained?

These are my personal favorite, as well as the questions that can turn a game most quickly. The reason is because these are more often 30s, and, since both teams ought to know them, usually it comes down to speed and accuracy. If your team can dominate these questions, you should come out on top more often than not.

Book analysis questions are exactly like chapter ones, except they obviously cover the whole book. These are rare on gospels, but are fairly common on short books like last year. The trick is identify what can be asked, and make sure you know the number of parts and the answer. Mostly, expect these at Pre-Nats and Nationals.

Practicing Analysis

To practice these questions, I approach it two ways. To help them demonstrate their knowledge, I have them write the answers on the marker board. Usually, I’ll put them on the stopwatch to see how quickly they are getting them (like a marker board, a stopwatch is a great tool for coaches to always keep nearby). A couple tips on this: First, keep score. It helps to set up a little friendly competition amongst your team sometimes, and it lets you know where your potential weak link is. Second, Don’t tell them how many parts there are to the answer, but make them write the number before they start writing the answers (so they don’t go back and count). Third, on long answers (OTs, questions, etc), have them write the first word or two rather than the whole thing.

The other way to practice these is to ask them in question format at the buzzers. Have quizzers practice hitting in the perfect spot. Also, try to have someone else read occasionally to change the cadence up. On first word hits, you don’t want your quizzers pre-responding because they are only used to hearing you. You can also keep score on these.

Analysis is one of the building blocks of Bible Quiz, so if you haven’t ever paid attention to it before, now is the time to start. It can make a huge difference in winning and losing games. Questions? Drop a comment.

Hitting scripture text questions

One of the most important types of questions to understand and be able to hit well is the Scripture Text Question. STQs cross all point values and are used by every writer. The key to success is to understand that these are not complex questions. In fact, they are among the simplest to hit, complete, and answer.

The very first thing to understand is that to properly interrupt a STQ, you must look for a key word. This is true of every single STQ you will hear. Sometimes this key word will be early in a question, but most often it will be later on, even after the word ‘quote.’ Question writers like to use the STQ as an indicator that quizzers need to wait. It’s sort of a warning to not hit early. Quizzers would do well to heed that warning.

There are two main types of STQs: Blind and contextual. The blind ones go like this:

for 30 points. 6-part answer. From 1st Corinthians chapter 1. How does Paul begin the phrase, quote, ‘of God?’

The contextual example goes like this:

for 10 points. 2-part answer. From 1st Corinthians chapter 2. What were not with, quote, ‘persuasive words?’

The difference is that a blind STQ requires the quizzer to hit immediately after the quote. Regardless of anything else, the key word will always be found there. A contextual STQ places the key word before the quote.

In the contextual example above, the key word is actually ‘with.’ The fact that it’s a two-part answer helps, and the ‘not’ gives you a big clue that you are looking for a negative statement. With chapter two only holding 16 verses, it’s a calculated risk, but one well worth taking.

The tougher task on contextual STQs is anticipating where the key word is going to land. If you can master this skill, you aren’t reacting to hearing a word, but are instead choosing to play the percentage that a key word will fall in certain place. In our example above, the calculated risk is to hit on the ‘not’ to get the ‘with.’

The best way to master this skill is with lots of practice. The more STQs you can hear from good writers, the better you’ll be able to anticipate key words. Use writers like Ely, Saiya, and Lewis for this.

It’s important to not try to ‘time’ these hits. A lot of quizzers have an internal clock in their head and after so many words, they hit, regardless of what those words are. This is a bad habit for quizzing in general, and especially so on STQs. You must get a key word in order to complete and answer these questions correctly.

Drill: The Perfect Team

I know, everyone thinks they have the perfect team, but that’s not what I’m talking about. No, today we are talking about a drill. I feel as though we have been remiss in covering practice techniques, and so today we take steps to remedy this deficiency.

The Perfect Team is a drill that quizzers over the years have grown to hate. When we run this in practice, my quizzers’ screams can be heard from miles away. The technique is designed to help quizzers learn to be more accurate, quick, and aware of the game situation.

The basic idea is that your team is going to quiz against the perfect team. Obviously, the perfect team doesn’t actually exist, but if they did, this is how they would quiz. They would interrupt every question at the perfect spot. They would answer every question correctly. They would quiz out at the perfect time to maximize scoring. Quizzing the perfect team can be a humbling experience, but it is a great tool for sharpening your quizzers’ abilities.

Here’s how it works. On the board in your quiz room (and if you don’t have a board in your quiz room, let me suggest you get one; it makes practice much easier) you will keep the score. Now, sometimes to liven things up you might give the perfect team an identity. When I quizzed, it was Deer Lodge, MT (and a big shout-out to all the Montana folks!). Keeping score on the board is great, because it allows your quizzers to see things unfold.

You read a regular 20-question set to your team, with all rules in effect. Every question your team hits in the perfect spot and answers correctly counts for them. If they hit in the perfect spot and miss, the question is turned over (and the perfect team always gets rereads right, of course). Every question your team hits after the perfect spot automatically goes to the perfect team. Quiz-outs and bonus points count, but so do error-outs.

A couple tips: If you aren’t great at reading questions and figuring out the perfect hit on the spot, go through the set before practice and mark it. Also, if the game gets out of reach by question twelve, don’t quit. That kind of humiliation is an excellent source of motivation for your team. I usually keep track of our scores over a period of weeks so I can show the team how we’ve improved.

If it sounds very difficult, that’s because it is. Quizzers will come to hate this drill. But the results are well worth it. I have used this drill for years with great success. It puts performance in perspective and gives your team a week-by-week goal as they prepare for Districts. Believe it or not, I’ve actually seen teams get so good at this drill that we used to spot the perfect team the first five questions, and we could still win.

Remember, practice makes perfect.

Drill: Offense/Defense

Do you have quizzers who need to develop more confidence? Are they lacking the aggressive nature that is critical to winning close games? The Offense/Defense Drill may be just what you need to get them where they need to be.

The purpose of this drill is to force quizzers to hit by simulating difficult game conditions in practice. Creating different scenarios that require quizzers to hit quickly, answer efficiently, and quiz aggressively prepares them for the tough matches.

To run the Offense/Defense Drill you must first split your team into offense and defense. Try to mix it up, but focus on having the quizzer who needs the most help at being aggressive by putting them on offense. Often this is your second or third chair. Also, remember that it doesn’t have to be a fair fight. Sometimes, it can be good to have the defense go 3-on-1 against the offense.

Next, set up the scenario. There are four questions left, and the offense needs three of them to win. Everyone on offense has two wrong, and an error out loses the game. This means the offense has to get three out of four correct without missing any. For the defense to win, they need to get two correct or hope the offense misses one.

Play the game. This drill is great to use several times in succession. Switch up the offense and the defense, and rearrange quizzers in between. Save time by not bothering to finish. When the offense loses, it’s over. Go on to the next scenario.

Also, mix up the scenarios, and make them progressively tougher. If you get to the point where the offense can hit six in a row and get them all, you’re doing very well. Remember to adjust the personnel on offense and defense as necessary to make it tough on the offense. This is a drill should be stacked, sometimes heavily, against the offense.

My experience has been that quizzers like this drill because it tests their skills in a very tangible way. Surprisingly, quizzers like being on offense, because they know that they have to be pretty much perfect to win. Push your quizzers to take their game to the next level.

You know what they say: “The best defense is a good offense.”

Drill: Analysis

One of the things my team needed to work on after our last league match was hitting basic analysis questions. To help us improve, I developed a simple but effective drill. Here’s how it works:

The basic idea is to repeat analysis-style questions over and over so quizzers learn to anticipate the hit. Recognizing the introductory remark combinations for analysis questions is an essential part of making quality hits. Because analysis questions by rule cannot be labeled Give a Complete Answer, quizzers should be aware that questions with multiple part answers are likely suspects for analysis questions, especially for 20s and 30s. Most often, the key word in these questions comes at the second word, so these can be hit on the first word.

So, to drill on this, we repeat this type of question 20-30 times. You might start by just asking basic chapter analysis in this format:

20 points. 5-Part Chapter Analysis Answer. From 1 Corinthians chapter 4. What questions are contained?

30 points. 8-Part Chapter Analysis Answer. From 1 Corinthians chapter 16. What individuals are named?

Repeat the style of question. If you have a hard time making these questions up on the fly, you might type up a list of them in advance to use in practice. As you move forward, you might also include questions from section analysis, book analysis, and verse analysis. The knowledge of these items is important, but this drill is as much about hitting in the correct place as it is about accuracy on the material.

I do about 50 of these in a row with my team at a time, but you probably want to start with 20 or so, and then work your way up from there. If you have any feedback or ideas on this drill, leave a comment.

Game Strategy

The best reread strategies

In the timeless TV show Seinfeld, Jerry famously called George a “chucker”. They were playing a pick-up game of basketball, and George wasn’t getting passed the ball. The reason is because every time he got the ball, he would “chuck” a shot up.

In Bible Quiz, there are certain teams that are chuckers, too. On almost every single question, these teams will fly on the second word. Often, they will get questions, because a high percentage of questions can be hit there and answered correctly. However, these teams never can consistently win because they aren’t hitting for key words.

Now, I know more than a few teams that fit this mold. Most experienced coaches will tell you that quizzing this way is not a pattern for success. Why? First, because too many questions require a key word that comes just a little later. Second, because even if you can hit that early and know where the question is going, on Regional or National level difficulty, you can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to spit the entire completion and answer out in 30 seconds. Finally, the biggest reason this strategy is faulty is because generally these teams don’t master the material as well as others.

My more pressing concern is teaching my team to quiz against these teams. It can be maddening when every question is getting wailed on. These teams can usually be successful at the District level, but as the questions get more difficult, they almost always fade.

There are three keys for winning games against chuckers:

Key 1: Don’t Panic

Your first instinct is to speed up to try and beat them to questions, but most often if you hit ahead of them you are not going to get the question right. Instead, you just keep playing your game. Eventually, the tide will turn against these teams.

Key 2: Keep the pressure on

You need to practice making the right hits. There are lots of questions that are designed to be hit on the second word. You can’t just let all of those go to the opposition. You need to practice being aggressive on the right kinds of questions.

Key 3: Take advantage of mistakes

Believe me, a chucking team will give up lots of turnovers, so you need to be prepared to capitalize on those mistakes. Take everything they give you, and let them dig their own grave.

Quizzing with two wrong

Coaching quizzers with two wrong can be one of the more maddening tasks you will experience. Such situations can radically impact your strategy and derail a well-orchestrated game. How do you teach quizzers what to do when this happens? How do you avoid an error out? Let’s look at a few guiding principles.

The Quizzer Must Obey

Some coaches have a hard time getting quizzers to do what they are told. I have seen coaches lay out a strategy in a time out, only to have the quizzer turn around and do whatever they want, completely disregarding the coach’s instructions. If you have these problems, you need to solve them before you start quizzing.

The Quizzer Must Slow Down

Unless it’s late in the game and you’re going to lose anyway, a quizzer with two errors has to slow their hitting down. Often it’s best to funnel rereads to that quizzer. Quizzing with two wrong means you can’t make blind hits on the second word.

The Quizzer Must Continue to Hit

Shutting down is not an option. There is no reason, as long as the quizzer follows some basic rules, to stop hitting altogether. It sometimes makes sense to take a question or two off, but don’t disappear completely. That does nothing to help the team win the game.

The Quizzer Must Choose Questions Carefully

This can mean different things to different people, but a few things to keep in mind: -Lay off the quotes. Unless you are an extremely natural quotation quizzer, there are too many chances to miss something. -Avoid completions and blind STQs. Anything that requires you to hit after the word ‘quote’ is problematic. Too many quizmasters pause in weird places, plus it can be hard to hear or read lips to get the right sound. Best to stay away. Go for bread and butter stuff. Analysis, part-answers, GCAs are all good ones with two wrong.

The Quizzer Must Be Aggressive Late in the Game

Early in the match, it’s smartest to back off and play it safe. If it’s close late, that’s the time to let it fly. You don’t want to make dumb mistakes, but you don’t want to lose because of timidity.

Quizzing with two wrong is an acquired skill that takes a lot of discipline to master. Help your quizzers work on this, and they’ll win more close games than they’ll lose.

Rules and Contesting

How well should I know the rules?

My best advice to coaches about contesting is simple: You need to know the rules. Obviously, it takes time to master the details, but one of the best ways you can help your team win games is to have a strong working knowledge of the rules.

Bible Quiz is a game, and like every other game in the world, there are rules. These rules are not optional, and cannot be applied arbitrarily. Too often, coaches give away questions by simply not understanding the rules. This is unfair. If quizzers can take the time and effort to memorize and review the material, surely coaches can take the time to develop a firm understanding of the rules.

To learn the rules, start by reading them through. It’s good to start by doing it in one sitting. After that, go back through the rule book one section at a time, and make notes of things that aren’t clear or of scenarios you haven’t seen. It can be confusing and overwhelming at times.

Ask questions about the things you need help with. Experienced coaches are generally more than happy to help you figure things out. Asking questions and finding answers is how we all get better. I have learned a ton from coaches like Greg House, John Porter, and Bryan Turner. There is nothing wrong with asking questions.

Present contests. If you notice a rules violation, don’t just let it go. Contests are meant to correct rules violations, and it’s important that games have rules that are properly enforced. As long as you are respectful in your presentation, there is absolutely nothing wrong with contesting, even if you wind up doing it a lot. I have been in matches that required 4 or 5 contests, and all of them were perfectly legitimate. Contesting doesn’t mean that you are insulting or challenging the officials or the other team. It means the rules were violated, and something needed to be fixed. It’s not personal.

One of the most practical ways coaches can help their teams win is to learn to contest well. Knowing the rules, understanding the game, and being able to present quality contests is essential to building a championship program. If quizzers can do their part, we can do ours, too.

Good contesting is R.A.R.E.

Rules

Every good contest starts with a rule that is the basis for such a contest. There are three sub-types to keep in mind: validity, rules violation, and additional Scripture. Each type has a specific set of rules to cite. For validity, you should start with page 24, and find specific rules relating to questions on the subsequent pages. For additional Scripture, start with the top of page 22, then move on to your argument. For others, the rules citation will vary with the situation, so become as familiar with the rules as possible. Pages 16-17 are usually a good place to start. Be sure to tell the officials which rule you are reading, and give them an opportunity to look it up if they wish. Some officials won’t look it up, as they are very familiar with the rules. Don’t be offended if they don’t, but always give them the chance.

Arguments

After citing a rule, it’s time to make an argument. Generally, try to keep it as simple as possible. Read the applicable Scripture, and inform the officials of what happened. A few “don’ts” to go with this:

• Don’t make the officials feel as though they are stupid or cheaters.
• Don’t go out of your way to be mean to the other team.
• Don’t lose your cool.

The argument is where you win or lose the contest, so be as clear as possible. I like to use examples. I also like to use a little humor, but be careful to not be seen as mocking or irreverent.

Results

Clearly tell the officials what you want to happen. Ask them to void the question and read the substitute for both teams. Ask them to rule your quizzer correct. Ask them to consult the Scripture and verify the answer on their page. Some contests get so convoluted that the judges will deny them because they don’t know how to deal with the issue. Tell them what you want them to do.

End

Thank the officials and sit down. Try to keep it pithy, and don’t over-explain. Remember, officials don’t like to be treated like morons any more than you do.

Contesting is not an exact science, and requires work to master, just like quizzing. Study the rules, watch other good contesters, and keep a positive attitude. This is an important skill for coaches to have, and it can make all the difference in your team’s success.

Responding to a contest

For every contest there should be a response. Sometimes it is a detailed rebuttal of arguments presented by the other team, a passionate discourse on proper interpretation of the rules. Sometimes, it’s a simple, “we agree.”

Contests usually boil down to a dispute over one (or more) of three things:

1. The facts, or what the quizzer actually said.
2. The rules, or how they are applied in a given scenario.
3. The judgment, or collective opinions of the officials. These are often somewhat subjective.

Disputing the facts seems like it shouldn’t be too big of a deal. Unfortunately, people’s hearing tends to become very selective in quiz games. Now, I rarely accuse people of cheating, and I don’t plan to start today, but subconsciously we all have a tendency to hear what we want. Rarely is there a good way to solve this issue as it ultimately comes down to what the judges hear. My best advice is to be as honest as possible. Also, rely on your quizzers if you’re not sure what you heard.

Rules interpretation is a sticky wicket. Some rules are pretty straightforward (“the quizmaster reads the questions”). Most require some form of interpretation, and a few require a doctorate of jurisprudence. The first thing here is to understand that rules are absolute within the context of the game. Just because we don’t like a rule, or feel that applying a rule in a certain situation is unfair, we don’t have license to throw it out or ignore it. The rules are there, for better or for worse, to govern the game. Officials, quizzers, and coaches are all bound by those rules.

To properly interpret the rules, it helps to occasionally read them straight through. As you do this, you tend to see how rules impact other rules and how the context helps interpret individual rules. From there, you do the best you can. I would advise against trying to twist the rules for your own gain. It may yield a short-term benefit, but it may damage your reputation as a coach.

Do the best you can to explain how the rules apply to the situation and be done with it. Fancy maneuvering seldom helps your cause. Be clear, and trust the officials to do their part.

Judgment calls are the most crazy-making part of quiz. Learn this lesson well: unless your quizzer says exactly what’s on the page, your team is subject to the judgment of the officials. Most of the time, most of them get it right. If they don’t, you can contest, but don’t assume you’re going to get it. The best defense against judgment calls is to say exactly the answer, no more or less.

To respond to contests that are judgment calls, you need to give the judges a good reason why your team is right. If you can’t come up with one, don’t bother. For the most part, think about why judges ruled the way they did, and reinforce that. In a response situation, the burden is on the other team to prove their case. Your job is to tell the judges why they got it right the first time.

Above all, don’t lie. Don’t stretch the truth. Don’t obfuscate. If you know the other team is right, just agree with them and move on. Often the response coaches choose to give in that situation is “no rebuttal.” I prefer to go a step further. If you outright agree with the contest, it demonstrates your honesty and sense of fair play. Next time, a close call may go your way just because you did the right thing.

A few general tips for responding to contests:

• Keep it simple. Responses don’t usually require too much explanation. -Don’t lose your cool, even in intense situations where rules are being violated by either the other team or officials. Rise above.
• Sometimes the other team’s contest doesn’t make any sense; try your best to respond to what they say and leave it up to the officials. Chances are that if you can’t understand it, neither can they.
• When the other team is right, just agree. It’s the nice thing to do.
• Don’t give a “buggity-boo” rebuttal…that is, stand up and attempt to confuse the judges into voting your way. Respect your officials, opponents, quizzers, and self more than that.
• Remember that sometimes you get a bad call. The next time, you might get one you don’t deserve. These things tend to even out.

Conquering the Concordance

Concordance Work, Part 1

There are lots of different ways to pull concordance lists. It is important to note that of all the secrets coaches keep, this is probably at the top. At James River, we are no different. We won’t be publishing our list, or our exact methods for creating our list. It should also be noted that, at least in our case, our methods are not always the same every year. These things can change depending on the material being studied and the experience of the quizzers.

So absent an exact roadmap, let me give you some guiding principles for generating your concordance lists.

1. Make a really big list. Literally, sit down with the concordance and list everything that could be asked. The best way to sort the data is by number of answers (all the 2PAs, 3PAs, etc). This is the “wide-net” approach, but it can be effective.
2. Spot-pull weekly lists. This is most effective for younger quizzers who may not be able to handle having a lot of things tossed at them at one time. It was how my coach started me out. You basically pull a new list of 10-20 items that you think are likely to be asked and hand them to the quizzer to learn. Be sure to follow up by testing them on it.
3. Use a former quizzer. If you have access to a former top-level quizzer, you might get them to help you pull together a list. They can be especially helpful at knowing the types of questions that are likely to be asked at Nationals.
4. Study the writer. Look at the kind of questions the writer has previously asked, and see if there are tendencies you can identify.

A couple of additional tips:

• Don’t leave this up to the quizzers to do on their own. Some are capable of it, but most are not. Give them materials that they can study, and encourage them to think creatively about additional items that might be asked.
• Be sure to study Individuals and Geographical Locations. These are almost always a big part of the concordance stuff that is asked.

Concordance material is where coaches earn their money (so to speak). Invest time and energy in this, and with a little trial-and-error, you’ll have your team where they need to be.

Concordance Work, Part 2

Determining what you need study in the concordance is an important first step. Next we need to talk about how exactly you go about teaching these things to your team. As always, there are numerous options. We’ll look at a few ideas and identify their strengths and weaknesses.

Divide and Conquer

A lot of teams will take a master list of concordance items and divide it amongst team members. This has the advantage of not putting too much work on any one quizzer. It also makes it easier to help the quizzers review. The drawback is that it can mean that the person you need to answer that critical question isn’t in the game when you need them. This is a good method, but let me give a couple pieces of advice. First, divide them in a logical way, by number of answers or degree of difficulty. Second, try to have the most important stuff double-covered. That way you’re more likely to avoid losing a game because the wrong person quizzed out.

The Whole Enchilada

The polar opposite of the first strategy, this one requires one or more of your quizzers to know them all. If you have only one really strong quizzer, this may be your strategy out of necessity. The positive side of this is that usually the quizzer who does the work is very self-motivated, so you can be certain they will know their stuff. Ideally, you’ll have two or three quizzers who will do this. The downside of this is obvious. If the only quizzer who knows concordance stuff has a disaster game, you’re in big trouble at Regionals or Nationals.

The Weekly List

The idea here is for you to break the master list into smaller chunks and give it to your team to learn in lists each week. This requires more time from the coach, but can be less intimidating for newer quizzers. It can also allow you to stop and back up if the quizzers don’t seem to be getting it. On the negative side, if you have too many weeks in a row where quizzers have trouble, you’ll find your team in a bad way at competition.

A couple other notes to give your quizzers as they study:

• Review a lot. A good rule of thumb is to review everything you know twice a week. With concordance stuff, you may have to do a little more, especially starting out.
• Don’t try to bite off more than you can chew. If you try to cram too much into one day, you won’t remember any of it.

Concordance Work, Part 3

Once you have your lists figured out and your study strategy developed, you need to know how to practice over your concordance material. It’s important to find practice methods that will allow your quizzers to understand how to recall this knowledge in the game. Here are a few ideas:

Drill Questions

This one’s fairly obvious, but I didn’t want to leave it off. The thing to keep in mind is to ask for the same item two or three different ways. If your quizzers know the 5 verses which mention widgets, they also need to know the references, and they need to be able to quote them all in 30 seconds.

Use Your Marker Board

Have students write the answers on the board. Make games out of it. This gives them visual reinforcement and changes things up by getting them out from behind the buzzers for awhile.

Stopwatch Drill

I’m one of those old-fashioned coaches that carries a stopwatch with me to every practice. On concordance material, it’s important for the quizzers to be able to recall the items quickly. Don’t just base it on 30 seconds. Make them try for 15 or 20 seconds to recall their answers. Watch out for long delays before they start the answers. That usually means they don’t have it down well enough yet.

Concordance work requires a good deal of practice to perfect. Keep working at it, and stay after your quizzers on their studying. They can’t afford to get behind if you want to win at Regionals.