170 Athletics Quotes

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Famous Athletics Quotes

Athletes need to enjoy their training. They don't enjoy going down to the track with a coach making them do repetitions until they're exhausted. From enjoyment comes the will to win. β€” Arthur Lydiard

The ones who want to achieve and win championships motivate themselves. - Mike Ditka

The ones who want to achieve and win championships motivate themselves. β€” Mike Ditka

For sportsmen or women who want to be champions, the mind can be as important, if not more important, than any other part of the body. β€” Gary Neville

A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning. - Pat Riley

A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning. β€” Pat Riley

Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate. β€” Vince Lombardi

There's always the motivation of wanting to win. Everybody has that. But a champion needs, in his attitude, a motivation above and beyond winning. β€” Pat Riley

Concentration is why some athletes are better than others. You develop that concentration in training. You can't be lackluster in training and concentrate in a meet. β€” Edwin Moses

The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don't want to do, in order to achieve what they've always wanted to be. β€” Tom Landry

Good athletes do not know what tiredness is. They do not know what discouragement is. Good athletes only know what victory is. β€” Fidel Castro

I don't believe in team motivation. I believe in getting a team prepared so it knows it will have the necessary confidence when it steps on a field and be prepared to play a good game. β€” Tom Landry

The potency of group training. Individuals are more highly motivated in a group setting compared to going at it alone. This phenomenon even has a name: the Kohler effect. β€” Rhonda Patrick

You can motivate players better with kind words than you can with a whip. β€” Bud Wilkinson

Mediocre athletes that tried like hell to get good are the best coaches. β€” Mark Rippetoe

To be a top-class athlete, you have to train hard, you have to eat right, you have to get enough rest. I feel the way golf is going nowadays, you have to treat yourself as an athlete. β€” Rory McIlroy

Help your players to control their emotions - do this through example. β€” Norm Sloan

Short Athletics Quotes

  • You have to believe in yourself when no one else does. β€” Serena Williams
  • The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team. β€” Phil Jackson
  • God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure. β€” Eric Liddell
  • He who has overcome his fears will truly be free. β€” Aristotle
  • I want to be remembered as a great athlete. As a boxing champion. β€” Idi Amin
  • There are only two options regarding commitment; you’re either in or you’re out. β€” Pat Riley
  • To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. β€” Bill Bowerman
  • Talent is never enough. With few exceptions the best players are the hardest workers. β€” Magic Johnson
  • The only athletic sport I ever mastered was backgammon. β€” Douglas William Jerrold
  • I'm an athlete, I'm funny, I'm creative, I can tell a story, I'm likable. β€” Logan Paul

Athletics Image Quotes

The potential for greatness lives within  us all. - Wilma Rudolph quote

The potential for greatness lives within us all. β€” Wilma Rudolph

Durability is part of what makes a great athlete. - Bill Russell quote

Durability is part of what makes a great athlete. β€” Bill Russell

A failure isn't a failure if it prepares you for success tomorrow. - Lolo Jones quote

A failure isn't a failure if it prepares you for success tomorrow. β€” Lolo Jones

Nothing can substitute for just plain hard work - Andre Agassi quote

Nothing can substitute for just plain hard work β€” Andre Agassi

Have fun, because that's what life is all about. - Ryan Lochte quote

Have fun, because that's what life is all about. β€” Ryan Lochte

The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand - Vince Lombardi quote

The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand β€” Vince Lombardi

Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement. - Matt Biondi quote

Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement. β€” Matt Biondi

Athlete Motivational Quotes

Somewhere behind the athlete you've become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back... play for her. β€” Mia Hamm

Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. β€” Muhammad Ali

When I'd get tired and want to stop, I'd wonder what my next opponent was doing. I'd wonder if he was still working out. I'd tried to visualize him. When I could see him working, I'd start pushing myself. When I could see him in the shower, I'd push myself harder. β€” Dan Gable

It's not the will to win that matters-everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters. β€” Bear Bryant

The team with the best athletes doesn't usually win. It's the team with the athletes who play best together. β€” Lisa Fernandez

When you fall, get right back up. Just keep going, keep pushing it. - Lindsey Vonn

When you fall, get right back up. Just keep going, keep pushing it. β€” Lindsey Vonn

Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. - Ross Perot

Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. β€” Ross Perot

You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But both those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self motivation. β€” Homer Rice

Natural talent only determines the limits of your athletic potential. It's dedication and a willingness to discipline your life that makes you great. β€” Billie Jean King

Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength. β€” Phil Jackson

Encouraging Athletic Quotes

Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. β€” Satchel Paige

What to do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it. - Dean Smith

What to do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it. β€” Dean Smith

My father's encouragement is what has brought me this far, because when I grew up I wanted to be like him, and I knew I had that ability to become an athlete. Being an Olympian is one of the greatest things, and being an Olympic gold medallist is one of the most prestigious titles in the world. β€” David Rudisha

Encourage kids to enjoy running and play in athletics. Don't force them to run too much competition. β€” Arthur Lydiard

But at the same time, my parents always encouraged my brother and me to be happy with what we were doing. My parents were athletes in high school; my mom and my dad were the stars of the basketball team, but they never pushed my brother and me to be anything we didn't want to be. β€” Jonathan Groff

I think when young kids can see Jason Collins, myself and Michael Sam, and Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe and different athletes come out, it will definitely change and encourage younger gay men and women to play the sport. β€” Robbie Rogers

I think when you are the parents of a gifted athlete, the best thing in the world you can do is to encourage them, in my opinion. My dad didn't push me and I didn't push my children in athletics. β€” Bob Lilly

Of course, rivals do affect athletes mentally, but if you are competing with top-notch athletes, you will push each other, you will encourage each other. β€” Liu Xiang

Athletes who take to the classroom naturally or are encouraged to focus on grades should be able to do well in the classroom. I believe the reason you go to college is to get your degree. It's not a minor league or an audition for the pros. β€” Rebecca Lobo

I would love to encourage all my teammates to eat the best way they possibly can. High school athletes. Now, that's not the way our food system in America is set up. It's very different. They have a food pyramid, and I disagree with that. I disagree with a lot of things that people tell you to do. β€” Tom Brady

Motivational Bodybuilding Quotes

They can crack jokes. They can sit back and analyze and criticize and make all the fun they want. But I'm living my life, I'm doing it. What are you doing? β€” Kai Greene

If I have to die tonight,if this weight is going to kill me tonight,so be it! I am dying where I wanna be β€” Kai Greene

Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but don't nobody wanna lift no heavy ass weight. β€” Ronnie Coleman

I learned from a very young age that no one owes you anything and nobody's gonna give you a damn thing. But you can have anything you want, if you work hard enough for it. β€” Branch Warren

Each workout is like a brick in a building, and every time you go in there and do a half-ass workout, you're not laying a brick down. Somebody else is. β€” Dorian Yates

Biceps are like ornaments on a Christmas tree. - Ed Coan

Biceps are like ornaments on a Christmas tree. β€” Ed Coan

The single biggest mistake that most beginners make is putting 100% of their effort into the positive (concentric) part of the rep, while paying no attention to the negative (eccentric) segment β€” Dorian Yates

Luck is predictable; the harder you work, the luckier you get. β€” Brian Tracy

I originally started in natural bodybuilding because I was picked on a lot in high school and didn’t get much attention from girls. As I learned to love the process of lifting more and more I started becoming more interested in competing. β€” Layne Norton

After being taught sets and reps and working at it for a length of time you can't paint by numbers anymore. It must come from within. Any artist has an emotional contact with their work. A true bodybuilder doesn't just build muscle he creates muscle. You can't be a robot. β€” Tom Platz

Inspiring Athlete Quotes

Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. β€” Muhammad Ali

During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at-bats a season. That means I played 7 years without ever hitting the ball. β€” Mickey Mantle

Remember the saying, What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger? It's true! - Paulo Coelho

Remember the saying, What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger? It's true! β€” Paulo Coelho

You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours. - Herb Brooks

You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours. β€” Herb Brooks

Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It's our goal in life to find it and keep it. β€” Mary Lou Retton

I want to be remembered as the guy who gave his all whenever he was on the field. β€” Walter Payton

I celebrate a victory when I start walking off the field. By the time I get to the locker room, I'm done. β€” Tom Osborne

Sports for me is when a guy walks off the court, and you really can't tell whether he won or lost, when he carries himself with pride either way. β€” Jim Courier

Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. β€” Babe Ruth

I always set my ambitions very high. You want to be the greatest athlete, but I realized that life is not about that. I was a little bit blind. β€” Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Football Motivation Quotes

There is no pressure when you are making a dream come true. - Neymar

There is no pressure when you are making a dream come true. β€” Neymar

Remind your critics when they say you don't have the expertise or experience to do something that an amateur built the ark and the experts built the Titanic β€” Peyton Manning

Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to. β€” Henry Van Dyke

Football linemen are motivated by a more complicated, self-determining series of factors than the simple fear of humiliation in the public gaze, which is the emotion that galvanizes the backs and receivers. β€” Merlin Olsen

If my mother put on a helmet and shoulder pads and a uniform that wasn't the same as the one I was wearing, I'd run over her if she was in my way. And I love my mother. β€” Bo Jackson

Every kid around the world who plays soccer wants to be Pele. I have a great responsibility to show them not just how to be like a soccer player, but how to be like a man. β€” Pele

The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team. As a coach, I play not my eleven best, but my best eleven. β€” Knute Rockne

My only feeling about superstition is that it's unlucky to be behind at the end of the game. β€” Duffy Daugherty

Money is not a motivating factor. Money doesn't thrill me or make me play better because there are benefits to being wealthy. I'm just happy with a ball at my feet. My motivation comes from playing the game I love. If I wasn't paid to be a professional footballer I would willingly play for nothing. β€” Lionel Messi

It's never an upset if the so-called underdog has all along considered itself the better team. β€” Woody Hayes

Winning Motivational Quotes

No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn't trying. β€” Tony Robbins

In life, it's not the genetic guy who wins or the guy with the most potential who wins; it's the person with the greatest perseverance who wins. Always be willing to get up and go at it again and again. That's the guy who has his hands raised later in life. That's the guy you guys need to be. β€” Greg Plitt

I am a Soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight. β€” George S. Patton

Victory is in having done your best. If you've done your best, you've won. β€” Bill Bowerman

Passion is a huge prerequisite to winning. It makes you willing to jump through hoops, go through all the ups and downs and everything in between to reach your goal. β€” Kerri Walsh

Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. β€” Wilma Rudolph

Winning as a team is better than anything. It's great to share success. β€” Jim Harbaugh

Winners don't do different things.They do things differently β€” Shiv Khera

It Is Very Easy To Defeat Someone, But It Is Very Hard To Win Someone - Abdul Kalam

It Is Very Easy To Defeat Someone, But It Is Very Hard To Win Someone β€” Abdul Kalam

You may learn much more from a game you lose than from a game you win. You will have to lose hundreds of games before becoming a good player. β€” Jose Raul Capablanca

Positive Motivation Quotes

Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. β€” Steve Jobs

When the world pushes you to your knees, you're in the perfect position to pray. β€” Rumi

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined... β€” Henry David Thoreau

It is our own mental attitude which makes the world what it is for us. Our thought make things beautiful, our thoughts make things ugly. The whole world is in our own minds. Learn to see things in the proper light. β€” Swami Vivekananda

Happiness doesn't depend on what we have, but it does depend on how we feel toward what we have. We can be happy with little and miserable with much. β€” William D. Hoard

The most reliable way to predict the future is to create it. β€” Abraham Lincoln

Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day. β€” Dalai Lama

Rules for Happiness: something to do, someone to love, something to hope for. β€” Immanuel Kant

You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore. β€” William Faulkner

What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us. β€” Henry David Thoreau

Athlete Quotes

Win or lose you will never regret working hard, making sacrifices, being disciplined or focusing too much. Success is measured by what we have done to prepare for competition. β€” John Smith

A clean, hard-fought wrestling match is the most honest of athletic contests. There is no technological interventions, no teammates to blame, no panel of judges to bias the score. In wrestling, you compete or you quit. No alibis. I like that β€” Dan Gable

The prayer offered to God in the morning during your quiet time is the key that unlocks the door of the day. Any athlete knows that it is the start that ensures a good finish. β€” Adrian Rogers

The answers to these questions will determine your success or failure. 1) Can people trust me to do what's right? 2) Am I committed to doing my best? 3) Do I care about other people and show it? If the answers to these questions are yes, there is no way you can fail. β€” Lou Holtz

I have often been asked whether I am a women or an athlete. The question is absurd. Men are not asked that. I am an athlete. I am a women. β€” Billie Jean King

Think of all the girls who could become top athletes but quit sports because they're afraid of having too many defined muscles and being made fun of or called unattractive. β€” Serena Williams

Friendships born on the field of athletic strife are the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust. β€” Jesse Owens

To be candid with you, free agency hurts all sports. It's great for athletes making an enormous amount of money. But to say it helps the sports, I don't believe that. β€” Jerry West

After I came home from the 1936 Olympics with my four medals, it became increasingly apparent that everyone was going to slap me on the back, want to shake my hand or have me up to their suite. But no one was going to offer me a job. β€” Jesse Owens

I wanted no part of politics. And I wasn't in Berlin to compete against any one athlete. The purpose of the Olympics, anyway, was to do your best. As I'd learned long ago from Charles Riley, the only victory that counts is the one over yourself. β€” Jesse Owens

Soccer Motivation Quotes

My game is based on improvisation. Often a forward does not have the time to think too much. You have a second, rarely more, to decide whether to dribble, shoot or pass to the right or left. It is instinct that gives the orders. β€” Ronaldinho

Every time I went away I was deceiving my mum. I'd tell her I was going to school but I'd be out on the street playing football. I always had a ball on my feet. β€” Ronaldo

Pele called me the greatest footballer in the world. That is the ultimate salute to my life. β€” George Best

I love the game of basketball, and as long as I can do that, keep playing and try to get some more championships with the organization, I’ll be happy. β€” Kawhi Leonard

More than my dream it was my family’s dream that I play for India and they always supported me. β€” Smriti Mandhana

I’m in the team to score goals. I try and score as many as I can in the season to help the team out. β€” Harry Kane

I promise that we are going to win the league again. β€” John W. Henry

I’ve always been working hard on my speed for the last few years. Obviously I’m not slow, but as a striker, the more speed you have, the better you are. β€” Harry Kane

When I think of how special Anfield is and how special Liverpool is, everywhere around the world everyone is talking about Liverpool, it is because of the fan base. β€” John W. Henry

I’m just living in the moment, trying to win every game. That’s all I’m focused on. β€” Kawhi Leonard

Team Motivation Quotes

Trample the weak. Hurdle the dead. β€” Attila the Hun

Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way. β€” George S. Patton

Goals aren't enough. You need goals plus deadlines: goals big enough to get excited about and deadline to make you run. One isn't much good without the other, but together they can be tremendous. β€” Ben Feldman

Synergy - the bonus that is achieved when things work together harmoniously. β€” Mark Twain

The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot. β€” Bill Russell

When building a team, I always search first for people who love to win. If I can't find any of those, I look for people who hate to lose. β€” Ross Perot

A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are. β€” Ara Parseghian

Do you want a collection of brilliant minds or a brilliant collection of minds? β€” Meredith Belbin

The best leaders understand the motivations of their team members and know their people - their lives and their families. But a leader must never grow so close to subordinates that one member of the team becomes more important than another, or more important than the mission itself. β€” Jocko Willink

No individual can win a game by himself. β€” Pele

People Writing About Athletics

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Read quotes by Arthur Lydiard

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More Athletics Quotes

There is no gaming table in the world where loaded dice are tolerated, no athletic field where men must not start fair. Yet Mr. Rockefeller has systematically played with loaded dice, and it is doubtful if there has ever been a time since 1872 when he has run a race with a competitor and started fair. β€” Ida Tarbell

The weird thing about rap is that you don't get compared in the same way that athletes do, even though it's probably the most competitive sport in music. In basketball, they look at a player and say: 'This guy was the best in his prime at this sport.' But in rap it's not until you're dead or retired that people think about it like that. β€” Chance the Rapper

Ballet dancing is arduous, strenuous activity. Students are engaged in physical training that rivals the training Olympic athletes undergo. At the same time, they strive for physical perfection not for the prowess alone but as a way of achieving the means necessary to express the pure nature of their art. β€” George Balanchine

I'm not like a full athlete. But I'm definitely a boxer. β€” Logan Paul

As athletes, we're used to reacting quickly. Here, it's 'come, stop, come, stop.' There's a lot of downtime. That's the toughest part of the day. β€” Michael Jordan

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