How do you build a great comp team?

[indianagriller]

We are a 2 person team for quite a few comps and a 3 person team when school is out and the fiancé can come, her job is to build boxes, listen to metal music loudly, tell us our food sucks, and run boxes. the rest of the time it is Wampus and me cooking. We generally split the meats up I will prep of Chicken and Pork, he preps brisket and ribs. We both are up to fire the pit and get the meat on then we take turns stoking the fire so we can catch a couple hours sleep. By the end of this season (we cooked 18 ) everything was on auto pilot and we knew what each other was doing at any given time. We also don't party when we go to a comp so that helps us stay in the game so to speak.

 

[Stark-O-Rama]

We have a big crew (10+ with People's Choice). For me - I love people, BBQ, and the experience of community. Last year was an amazing experience for us. We had such a great time meeting, feeding, and talking with competitors & the general public.

As far as who/what you need on your team - pick people that have the same goals as you. Make sure you set expectations early. And also make sure you share the budget with everyone.

 

[Big Ugly's BBQ]

Oh, you are actually friends with Big Ugly? I thought he was like the guest that wouldn't leave...:shock:

Only kiddin Chorus. I don't want you beating mY ass in Delaware!!

Oh, I'll be there..........don't ya worry about that at all.....:biggrin1::biggrin1:

No ass kickin required, even if you cant spell......lol!!!!!

 

[Hawg Father of Seoul]

3 person team when school is out and the fiancé can come, her job is to build boxes, listen to metal music loudly, tell us our food sucks, and run boxes.

Maybe you should date someone who is already out of highschool. You know, for the team.

 

[Red Valley BBQ]

We started as a 4 or 5 person team, but because of family obligations for some of our team members we've basically become a husband and wife team and it's been for the better. I find I can focus more when I don't have to micromanage the actions of others. The wife handles her duties expertly and I can focus on the cooking.

 

[Big Mike]

I am a one person team. However, I do normally find someone to run my boxes for me. I could do it, but I prefer not to if I don't have to. If you do it by yourself and do run your own boxes, I suggest trying to set up as close to the turn in location as possible.

One of the things you need to consider in determining the size of your team is how much control you want over the entire process. If you are someone who wants full control of everything (at least when it comes to the meat) then a multi-person team may not be for you. At most a 2 person team where the other member would help watch the pit through the evening, build and run boxes and help keep things organized would probably be best.

If you are willing to relinquish control/responsibility of certain meats to other members then a 3 or 4 person team may work for you. Personally I would think anything over 4 people would be too much. One advantage to a multi-person team is that the cost can be split among everyone which makes it easier because comps are not cheap.

 

[abangs]

Have not seen this recommendation, but I recommend to guys that are just dipping their toes in: Go to a local contest as a spectator, talk to a few teams and maybe find one that will not mind you 'hanging' around to see how they do things. Maybe post on here and find out when a Brethren team is cooking close to you. We allow guys to hang around all the time to get a feel for the flow of a contest. Then you can piece together what you think you'll need in resources for your first event and adjust from there. We have a couple of base rules for folks hanging around though: 1) BYOB 2) bring your own chair 3) be conscious of us...if we're scrambling...then it is probably not a good time to interrupt with a question.

Otherwise, man just have fun with it. That is by in large the most important rule IMO. Have a good time and if you can involve your family...even better!

For what it is worth: we have 3 team mates. We all practice at home individually, share pictures and results of 'test' cooks with each other (w/ iphones now it is easy to do so), and our personalities compliment each other. Any one of us can cook an event solo, so that makes cooking a contest together easy as any of us can do anything equally well....with families and work, there are usually holes to be plugged and this make it easy.

 

[Wampus]

We are a 2 person team for quite a few comps and a 3 person team when school is out and the fiancé can come, her job is to build boxes, listen to metal music loudly, tell us our food sucks, and run boxes. the rest of the time it is Wampus and me cooking. We generally split the meats up I will prep of Chicken and Pork, he preps brisket and ribs. We both are up to fire the pit and get the meat on then we take turns stoking the fire so we can catch a couple hours sleep. By the end of this season (we cooked 18 ) everything was on auto pilot and we knew what each other was doing at any given time. We also don't party when we go to a comp so that helps us stay in the game so to speak.

Yeah, I personally don't see anything wrong with an equal partnership on a 2 man team at all, as long as you're in sync. This is probably a challenge for a lot of people (2 cooks in the kitchen and all), but for us, we're on the same page. We discuss everything ahead of time, make a plan and stick to it to the letter.

What's nice about having 2 of us is that we keep each other "honest". We don't argue, but we do have some subtle disagreements on minor details, but we always work it out and come to an agreement in the end. The BIGGEST thing to consider if you're cooking with a partner is not to let egos get in the way. We're both in equally financially and we share the work completely. It's definitely nice to take shifts sleeping and all, but in the end, we're EXACTLY on the same page. Just a couple of comps into last season, we don't even have to talk much through the whole routine. We've got it down. Even in the rare instances one of us can't make it to a comp, it's no big deal. The other guy just follows the same plan. We both had to do solo cooks here and there and our scores were consistent even running solo because we stick to the plan without fail.


Personally, I'd rather not do it alone. It's nice to have a teammate you can completely trust in the whole thing to lean on.
I mean I've cooked solo, but having someone to split the cost is nice too. It's not a cheap hobby.

 

[indianagriller]

Maybe you should date someone who is already out of highschool. You know, for the team.

Yea, yea LOL... that did kinda sound bad, she works for the school system so summers are free...

 

[Kave Dweller]

Cool, I can keep you out past 3:00 am then?

Doesn't take a whole lot of effort to keep me up and drinking. . . Libertyville was bad, I left your pit to find my "night watchman" had decided to partake in a handle of jager with the neighbors. He was Toast and I wasn't too far behind.

 

[Scottie]

He should have just come over with us then...

 

[Kave Dweller]

Yeah if we were hot and fast guys it wouldn't have been a big deal, but he had "things" he was suppose to do.

 

[TroyA65]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the honest feedback and insights. This will be very helpful! I'll keep you posted as I get closer to pulling the trigger on my first comp. Hopefully I'll see some of you there.

 

[Kave Dweller]

Kenosha is a great comp, will give you till the end of August to get it together. Ton of great comps around wisconsin.

 

[Scottie]

I got the entry for Kenosha at the banquet. Might just pull in at 10:00 pm on Friday....

 

[Indybbq]

Here's something I've somewhat struggled with, maybe you guys can give some advice...

The friends that like BBQ, are willing to come to a competition and eat leftovers and drink, and occationally help clean but don't want to help pay. As you all know, competiting isn't cheap. How do you handle friends that like to come to comps and enjoy the "fringe benefits" but don't want to pay for anything?

 

[Kave Dweller]

I got the entry for Kenosha at the banquet. Might just pull in at 10:00 pm on Friday....

Its a fun one.

 

[Atlasman]

I was the one interested in BBQ to start as I just love to cook. My wife wanted to hang out and have some fun so we entered a contest. We got 2 calls and she was hooked as well.

Now we have a 26 foot camper and a few cookers and more toys then we should. At first she was not involved in the cooking as she was afraid she wouldn't do well, I wanted us to be a TEAM so I told her she was responsible for chicken from now on. I helped her nail the recipe but then left her alone, I just keep the smokers ready for her and she runs the yardbird show. Her first time solo she took 1st out of 80+ teams and had 5 or 6 calls including another 1st that year.

We rock as a team because we trust each other and we have a blast prepping and cooking. We know what needs to be done so we just do it and have fun.

Here's the BAD part...........try convincing her that anything outside the top 5 is still OK :shock: early success has a way of spoiling some cooks and I keep reminding her how hard it really is to get those top calls. On the other hand though I love that she wants to win so bad.........another way we are a perfect match. We show up to win........everything else is a bonus.

Find someone you REALLY enjoy cooking with and my advice would be agree on your recipes BEFORE the contest. Split the cooking however you want but just do your thing and see what scores you get. Adjust when patterns develop, they don't lie.

 

[indianagriller]

Here's something I've somewhat struggled with, maybe you guys can give some advice...

The friends that like BBQ, are willing to come to a competition and eat leftovers and drink, and occationally help clean but don't want to help pay. As you all know, competiting isn't cheap. How do you handle friends that like to come to comps and enjoy the "fringe benefits" but don't want to pay for anything?

If they are at a comp and you get a call drag them up there with you... Greatest rush in BBQ comps is hearing your name... That should set the hook I know it did with me.

 

[TroyA65]

Wow! Good for her...and for you!

I was the one interested in BBQ to start as I just love to cook. My wife wanted to hang out and have some fun so we entered a contest. We got 2 calls and she was hooked as well.

Now we have a 26 foot camper and a few cookers and more toys then we should. At first she was not involved in the cooking as she was afraid she wouldn't do well, I wanted us to be a TEAM so I told her she was responsible for chicken from now on. I helped her nail the recipe but then left her alone, I just keep the smokers ready for her and she runs the yardbird show. Her first time solo she took 1st out of 80+ teams and had 5 or 6 calls including another 1st that year.

We rock as a team because we trust each other and we have a blast prepping and cooking. We know what needs to be done so we just do it and have fun.

Here's the BAD part...........try convincing her that anything outside the top 5 is still OK :shock: early success has a way of spoiling some cooks and I keep reminding her how hard it really is to get those top calls. On the other hand though I love that she wants to win so bad.........another way we are a perfect match. We show up to win........everything else is a bonus.

Find someone you REALLY enjoy cooking with and my advice would be agree on your recipes BEFORE the contest. Split the cooking however you want but just do your thing and see what scores you get. Adjust when patterns develop, they don't lie.