Nobody's Going to Lift the Weights For You

COACH TEAM TALK

A message for your wrestling room—because what you put on those walls MATTERS.

Some lessons are too important to say only once.

This Coach Team Talk was created to help you take the message on the wall—and bring it into the room.

Play it for your team. Read it in your own voice. Make it your own.

WATCH & LISTEN TO THE COACH TEAM TALK

Use this with your team—or use the written script below to deliver the message in your own voice.

THE MESSAGE

IF I WERE A WRESTLING COACH...

If I were a wrestling coach, I would put this message where every wrestler in the room could see it.

And at some point during the season, I would stop practice, point to it, and say:

Take a good look at those weights.
They're just sitting there.
They don't care how talented you are.
They don't care how badly you want to win.
They don't care what your goals are.
And they're not going to lift themselves.
Neither is anything else in your life.
I can teach you how to wrestle.
I can show you the technique.
I can correct your mistakes.
I can make the practice plan.
I can tell you exactly what you need to do to become better.
But there's one thing I cannot do.
I cannot do it for you.
Nobody's going to lift the weights for you.
Nobody's going to do the drills for you.
Nobody's going to run the stairs for you.
Nobody's going to finish the conditioning for you.
Nobody's going to make weight for you.
And when that whistle blows...
nobody can wrestle the match for you.
That's one of the hardest—and most important—things wrestling teaches us.
There are people all around you who want you to succeed.
Your coaches can teach you.
Your teammates can push you.
Your parents can drive you across the state, sit in the stands all day, encourage you after a loss, and believe in you when you're having trouble believing in yourself.
But eventually...
it's your turn.
You're the one who has to get out of bed.
You're the one who has to walk into the wrestling room.
You're the one who has to do one more repetition when you're tired.
You're the one who has to choose discipline when nobody is watching.
And you're the one who has to step into that circle when the whistle blows.
That's why I don't want you waiting for someone else to make you successful.
Don't wait for me to motivate you.
Don't wait for your teammate to drag you through practice.
Don't wait until tournament day to wish you had worked harder.
Take ownership of it.
Your preparation.
Your effort.
Your choices.
Your match.
Because someday wrestling is going to end.
And you're going to discover something.
Life works exactly the same way.
People will help you.
People will teach you.
People will encourage you.
People will believe in you.
And if you're fortunate, you'll have people standing beside you your entire life.
But there will always be things that only you can do.
There will be difficult decisions nobody can make for you.
Responsibilities nobody can carry forever.
Problems nobody else can solve.
And moments when you'll have to decide just how badly you want something.
That's what I hope you learn every time you walk into this wrestling room.
You don't have to do everything alone.
But you do have to do your part.
So the next time you're tired...
the next time there's another set...
another drill...
another sprint...
another practice...
and that little voice starts telling you that you've done enough...
remember those weights.
They're waiting for you.
And nobody else is coming over to lift them.
Coach can teach you.
Your teammates can push you.
Your parents can believe in you.
But the heavy lifting?
THAT'S UP TO YOU.
NOBODY'S GOING TO DO THE HEAVY LIFTING FOR YOU.

THE LESSON BEYOND WRESTLING

Wrestling gives us moments when life's lessons become real.

The challenge is making sure those lessons aren't lost when the moment passes.

That's why LRZ created this Coach Team Talk.

The message on the wall keeps the lesson in front of your wrestlers.
The Team Talk helps you explain what it means.
And the wrestling room gives you the opportunity to teach it while they're living it.

Someday they may forget the score of a match.

But they may never forget the lesson you taught them because of it.

LRZ SPORTS — THE SPIRIT OF COMPETITION™

Wrestling ends. The lessons don't.