The best reread strategies

Different coaches employ different strategies with their teams regarding rereads. Depending on the ability of your competition, the knowledge and skill of your quizzers, and the x-factors of someone having an off day, you may use multiple strategies throughout a tournament or match.

It is essential that you put in place a reread strategy before the game. Without it, quizzers will do what comes naturally, and that can often leave you in a tough situation.

Let's say you are quizzing a team with a skill level relatively similar to yours. Early on, they turn over a few 10s and 20s, and your top quizzer picks up the rereads. This gives your best quizzer a quiz out early in the game. This should be a good thing, right? Normally it would be, but what if the other team comes back? They start hitting a few questions, getting some good calls, and before you know it, it's a close game again. Do you see the problem? Your best quizzer is on the bench, and the other team is on a roll.

The strategy I most often employ is very simple, but generally effective. I have one quizzer take 10s, one take 20s, and one take 30s. Usually I have my top quizzer taking 30s, as there are the least of those in the game, and certainly the least of the rereads. This keeps that quizzer in the game to take questions away from the other team. My 2nd chair takes 20s and my 3rd chair takes 10s.

If you have only one strong quizzer, you should try to divert rereads to your other quizzers. This way you keep your top quizzer in to take questions away from the other team. Even if a reread goes no-response, it is often better to let it go than for your top quizzer to take it.

As the game goes on, it may be necessary to adjust your strategy. In a close game, you may need to divert rereads to the quizzer who has the most questions correct, in order to get their quiz-out bonus. If one quizzer gets two incorrect early, it may also be wise to designate that quizzer to take rereads.

The key to solid reread strategy is to give clear instructions to quizzers. Pay attention to the number of questions each quizzer has right, as well as to the point differential in the game. Details like this can make all the difference between winning and losing a close match.