TAKE THE SHOT. Discover the story, the videos, and the lessons behind this LRZ Sports artwork. |
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YOU CAN’T SCORE ON A SHOT YOU NEVER TAKE.It’s easy to take the shot when you’re winning. It’s different when your legs are dead in the third period. The wrestler who shoots and loses learns something. The wrestler who never shoots learns nothing. The lesson is having the courage to take it. Watch the video and share it with a wrestler. |
PUT SOMETHING ON THE WALL THAT MATTERS.
The lesson doesn't have to end when the video does.
Take the Shot is a daily reminder that courage means acting even when success is uncertain.
TAKE THE SHOT.
33" × 47" Premium Matte Wrestling Wall Art
$49.99
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A COACH'S TEAM TALK
Great coaches teach more than wrestling. They teach lessons that last a lifetime.
Courage is acting when you don’t know whether the shot will work. Hesitation can cost you an opportunity.
Use this talk to remind wrestlers that thoughtful action, even when it fails, can teach more than standing still.
Coaches, make this message your own.
Listen to it. Learn it. Rehearse it. Then draw upon your own experiences, your coaching philosophy, and the lessons you have learned along the way.
Use your own words. Tell your own stories. Make it personal.
Because the most powerful team talks aren't simply delivered.
They're believed.
Play it for your team. Or better yet, stand in front of your wrestlers and deliver the message yourself.
THE WORDS BEHIND THE LESSON.
The words of the short video lesson are below, followed by the complete Coach's Team Talk, so you can read, reflect, and share them.
TAKE THE SHOT
You can't score on a shot you never take.
It's easy to take the shot when you're winning.
It's different when your legs are dead in the third period...
and taking the shot might mean getting taken down again.
Take it anyway.
Because the wrestler who shoots and loses...
learns something.
The wrestler who never shoots...
learns nothing.
You won't make every shot.
That's not the lesson.
The lesson is having the courage...
to take it.
TAKE THE SHOT.
LRZ SPORTS — THE SPIRIT OF COMPETITION™
THE COMPLETE COACH'S TEAM TALK
There are going to be moments in a match when an opportunity is right in front of you.
You see the opening.
You know the move.
And for a split second, you hesitate.
What if I miss?
What if he sprawls?
What if I get taken down?
That's when I want you to remember something.
You can't score on a shot you never take.
It's easy to attack when you're winning.
It's easy when you're fresh.
It's easy when you're completely confident the move will work.
But courage isn't about knowing you're going to succeed.
Courage is acting when you don't know.
You might take the shot and score.
You might take the shot and fail.
But either way, you learn something.
The wrestler who shoots and loses learns something.
The wrestler who never shoots learns nothing.
That's true in wrestling.
And someday you'll discover it's true in life.
There will be opportunities you can't guarantee.
Things you want to try.
Chances you want to take.
Moments when you're afraid you might fail.
You won't make every shot.
That's not the lesson.
The lesson is becoming the kind of person who has the courage...
to take it.
TAKE THE SHOT; because you can't score on a shot you never take.
EXPLORE THE WRESTLING COLLECTION.
One lesson can change a wrestler. A room full of reminders can help shape a culture.
Discipline. Courage. Perseverance. Accountability. The lessons we teach in wrestling reach far beyond the mat.
Explore LRZ Wrestling Wall Art created for wrestling rooms, home gyms, bedrooms, and the places where those lessons deserve to be remembered.
A MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDER
Wrestling ends. The lessons don't.
Where the lessons began
Where the lessons led
I wrestled my first match more than 60 years ago.
I was fortunate enough to become an Ohio high school state wrestling champion and later an NCAA All-American at Miami University.
I'm proud of those accomplishments. But looking back over my life, I realize that the greatest things wrestling gave me had very little to do with winning matches.
Wrestling taught me how to face life.
It taught me that wanting something and earning something are two very different things.
It taught me that preparation matters. That discipline matters. That when things get difficult, you don't look for an excuse. You look for a way forward.
And perhaps most importantly, it taught me that nobody else can do the work for you.
Over the years, I've built businesses, experienced successes, made mistakes, and faced disappointments. Through it all, the lessons I learned on a wrestling mat have stayed with me.
I believe that's the extraordinary gift wrestling gives young people.
A wrestler may never win a state championship. May never stand on a college podium. May never earn a medal.
But that wrestler can still become a champion in the ways that matter most.
A champion of discipline.
A champion of perseverance.
A champion of character.
Because a champion is more than someone who wins.
That's why I created LRZ Sports and Wrestling Advantage.
I want to help preserve and share the lessons that wrestling teaches, not just for the athletes competing today, but for the people they'll become tomorrow.
I wish I had understood more of those lessons while I was still wrestling.
Like many people, I came to appreciate some of wrestling's greatest lessons years later, often through the trial and error of everyday life.
But what if young wrestlers could recognize those lessons while they were learning them?
What if they understood, right now, that every difficult practice, every disappointment, every demand for greater effort was preparing them for challenges far beyond the wrestling mat?
They wouldn't have to wait years to discover the value of what wrestling had already taught them.
That's one of the reasons I created Wrestling Advantage.
I want to help young wrestlers recognize these lessons while they're still being learned, so they can begin applying them to their lives today—not just remembering them years from now.
And I want to honor the coaches and parents who help make those lessons possible.
If you're a coach, I hope you'll find messages here that help you reach your wrestlers in ways that go beyond teaching a takedown or an escape.
If you're a parent, I hope these lessons remind you that the greatest reward of your child's wrestling experience may have nothing to do with the scoreboard.
And if you're a wrestler, I hope you'll remember something long after your final match:
The matches end. The medals get put away. But the person you became goes with you.
That's the real victory.
And that's what Wrestling Advantage is all about.
Walt Podgurski
Founder, LRZ Sports & Wrestling Advantage
The Spirit of Competition™