“Lobo Throws” trains with Qatari professional discus thrower

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - As the sun sets over Amarillo High, every now and then, you may see something fly. It’s not a frisbee, but a discus, and it’s being thrown by Reed Murja.

Reed placed first in the city as an eighth grader, winning by over 30 feet and ranking third in the nation. Now, he’s in high school, which means a larger disc and a larger stage.

“It goes from arm power to completely technique,” Murja said. “You have to really stay loose for the new disc. You can’t have anything tense or it just doesn’t work out.”

Reed’s coach is Mahmoud Massoud, a decorated professional discus thrower from Qatar. He knows the jump to high school is no issue for an athlete of Reed’s caliber.

“I believe in talent,” Massoud said. “I was a professional athlete, and I believe in talent, but I also believe in hard work. Reed used to throw in 20 degrees or 15 degrees, and I always tell him ‘there’s no excuses. We have to go out we have to find something to do.’ He jumped 55 feet in four or five months, in one season.”

Reed isn’t the only young star. They’ve assembled a group training under Massoud titled Lobo Throws> It’s named after Reed’s motto “last one best one.”

“I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better coach,” Hunter Spier said. “He’s willing to actually work with you and he doesn’t throw you out there on your own.”

Hunter placed first in the city in seventh grade. He’s three feet shy of the eighth grade city record now, but Reed’s father knows the group is about more than just talent.

“What he’s learning... how to work hard, how to overcome, how to get up when everybody else is asleep, how to learn from your mistakes,” Nick Murja said. “Those are things that are going to make him into the man that he’s going to be someday. Watching him be able to achieve those, watching those little steps, there’s nothing better. It’s what being a father is all about.”

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