Coaching Young Quizzers

“I treat everyone fairly; I don’t treat everyone the same.”—Herm Edwards

I’ve had the pleasure of coaching in Novice (now known as MSQ) for a number of seasons. During that time, I worked with some extremely talented young quizzers and helped them develop their skills. As an A-league coach, I have fewer opportunities to work with young quizzers, but this year I have had the chance to coach youth at a high level.

The first thing to understand is that every quizzer, regardless of age, has a different level of ability/talent/drive/intelligence (by intelligence, I mean the capacity to learn). If you compare the work assigned to each of my quizzers this year, you would assume that I have some sort of vendetta against one quizzer, while another gets a light assignment. While veteran quizzers can typically handle memorizing 8-10 verses per day, a 6^th or 7^th grader may only be able to do 4-6. Additionally, their quoting is usually going to be slower, especially early on in the year.

We try to keep a reasonable time range for a quizzer’s work. This is a graduated system. Early on in the season a quizzer may be expected to spend 45 minutes per day. As we get deeper into the competitive schedule, that time will increase to as much as 2-3 hours per day. However, it’s critical to realize that a 7^th grader can’t always accomplish as much in an hour as a senior. The schedule has to be set up to accommodate the quizzer’s capacity.

Another important factor with young quizzers is what you expect from them. For me, I am more interested in the long-term development of a quizzer’s skills than I am in a “win now” approach. I refuse to sacrifice a quizzer’s future by making unrealistic demands. Instead, I have told my young quizzers that their primary job this year is to learn. This doesn’t mean I don’t expect them to contribute to our success. On the contrary, by taking the pressure off a little, holding them accountable to their commitments, and teaching them essential quiz skills, they will be able to score points and help us win.

There is no magic formula. There is no set determination for when a quizzer is ready. Some students can step in at 11 years old and be a strong force in A-league. Others aren’t ready to start at that level until they’re 15 or 16. How do you know? Some of it goes with instincts, but one good test is to see how consistently they finish their work. If they can’t finish an MSQ schedule regularly, they certainly can’t handle the rigors of A-league work. Also, attitude is important. I won’t promote a young quizzer unless I believe they really want it, and that their parents are on board. For young quizzers, parents are responsible for getting them to practice and tend to be more involved in helping them finish their work. If the parents aren’t excited about it, it’s not going to fly.

A couple final thoughts:

• Don’t automatically assume that the young quizzer should be a 10-point specialist. Instead, have them hit what they’re most comfortable with, even if it’s 20s and 30s.
• Be sure that your older quizzers are leading and encouraging the younger ones. They need to be a part of the team and included in all the team discussions and activities.

Young quizzers can be great assets to your team if you take the time to develop them properly. Just remember, you aren’t just trying to win now. You’re laying a foundation that, if built properly, will help you win for years to come.