Quotes & Sayings About Coaches And Players

The attitude in terms of how players work both on and off the field has a massive impact on us as coaches but also the performance and how the team does as well. — Warren Gatland

At the high school level, the coaches get these kids in revenue-driven sports and take them away from baseball. There's so much pressure on these kids to even play spring football. We need to get the African-American players back in the game, which I think would make it not only a better game, but more exciting and entertaining for everyone. — Pat Gillick

Now tell me this. What would you consider the greatest spectator sport in the country today? Would you say it was baseball, basketball, football? ... It's politics. That's right, politics. Millions and millions of people following it every day in the newspapers, over the TV and the radio. Now mind you, they wouldn't get mixed up in this themselves for all the tea in China, but they know the names and numbers of all the players. And what they can't tell the coaches about strategy. Oh, you should see some of the letters I get. — Frank Nugent

There's an old saying amongst players in football talking about your general manger and coaches, they speak with a forked tongue. — Joe Namath

I want to use my connections with coaches, players, celebrities, whomever, and if I can take that friendship and use it to help someone else, I'm going to take advantage of that. I'm not going to apologize for that. — Tim Tebow

Chelsea's players, coaches and agents are now football's wealthiest millionaires. Surely the billions taken from the Russian people by an oligarch in questionable privatisations couldn't be better spent? — Simon Kuper

I would like to accept this recognition on behalf of all the staff members that that I've been associated with; all of the office people behind the scenes who never get credit and make this game so great along with the great coaches and players. — Lou Lamoriello

I'm a little skeptical of foreign coaches in our league and in U.S. Soccer just because of how different our league is and our players are than other players around the world. — Landon Donovan

If there is a mutual respect between players and coaches, that keeps the team honest and makes for a very healthy environment which in turn promotes other important qualities such as work ethic, integrity and a positive atmosphere for competing and winning. — Jillian Ellis

There are a lot of things that make players really good coaches. Whether you've played in the NBA or not, there are certain things you have to master and be really good at. They just have to be gifted in these areas. You've got to be competent. Secondly, you've got to be able to communicate. You can have a picture in your mind on how to score but if you can't communicate it, if you can't teach it, what good is it? You've got to be brutally honest and be a man of strong character and then you've got to have class. They've got to respect you. — Avery Johnson

There was no publicity. You had to like it. There was no pressure, just great competition. The attitude of the coaches and players was exceptional. — Jim Brown

I was gratified by the way our players had approached each game throughout the season. They had remained focused on the task at hand, playing hard and smart week after week. We didn't have any turmoil or distractions. We went about our business as usual. To do that in a setting that often was anything but usual is a testament to the character of our players and coaches. Our process worked; we simply picked a bad year to only be very good. — Tony Dungy

At a youth soccer game you'll probably hear parents and coaches on the sidelines yelling, 'Pass the ball! Pass the ball!' ... When we continually tell our young players to pass the ball, we're not allowing them to develop their full potential, especially those who have the ability to take their opponents on and beat them one-on-one. As a result, we run the risk of diminishing a player's artistry and potential. — Tony DiCicco

When you play professionally, you get accustomed to turnover. Players come and go - they get injured, they get transferred, they get cut from the team. Coaches are hired, and coaches are fired. It's just part of the world you live in. — Tim Howard

In Missoula, Grizzly football exists in a realm apart, where there is a pervasive sense of entitlement. University of Montana fans, coaches, players, and their lawyers expect, and often receive, special dispensation. — Jon Krakauer

I truly believe that success is determined not on Friday nights during games but rather in practice away from the lights and glimmer where coaches and players only have each other, their sweat, their discipline and their loyalty to each other. It is at practice where the boys of America become men through hard work, dedication and perseverance. — George M. Gilbert

You are always going to get extreme views around coaches and players. — Rob Andrew

I remember an incident overseas about five years ago where a player punched a referee and knocked him cold. I don't think anything like that will ever happen in the NBA. Emotions run rampant. The games are so intense, and the stakes are so high. (But) At the end of the day, players and coaches really respect officials and really appreciate that they try to do a good job. — Jalen Rose

Some coaches believed they could judge a player's performance simply by watching it. In this they were deeply mistaken. The naked eye was an inadequate tool for learning what you needed to know to evaluate baseball players and baseball games. Think about it. One absolutely cannot tell, by watching, the difference between a .300 hitter and a .275 hitter. The difference is one hit every two weeks. The difference between a good hitter and an average hitter is simply not visible-it is a matter of record — Michael Lewis

The [best] coaches ... know that the job is to win ... know that they must be decisive, that they must phase people through their organizations, and at the same time they are sensitive to the feelings, loyalties, and emotions that people have toward one another. If you don't have these feelings, I do not know how you can lead anyone. I have spent many sleepless nights trying to figure out how I was going to phase out certain players for whom I had strong feelings, but that was my job. I wasn't hired to do anything but win. — Bill Walsh

I don't think coaches should have to wear mic's. It is an invasion of privacy. We are trying to accomplish things, and wearing microphones may hinder development by straining the nature of relationships coaches and players have. — Steve Nash

The common belief that coaches must be abusive to be successful is a myth. Research shows that if you find a task fun, you'll perform better. If more coaches took ... a Golden Rule approach to coaching, treating their players the way they themselves would like to be treated, fewer athletes would drop out of sports in their teens, and more athletes at every level would be happier and more satisfied. — Ralph Nader

I have a senior staff meeting every day, with key personnel who interface with the players - coaches, the medical staff, our analyst department. This is a useful exercise as it means we are all across what is happening and they are aware of my expectations. — Brendan Rodgers

I've always just tried to treat people with respect, build relationships with players and coaches ... build a trust. — Chuck Pagano

You can live by biblical principles, and you can teach by those principles and still be a winner. So many coaches think you've got to kick your players in the rear end. You've got to cuss them out. You've got to hit them across the head. No. You don't have to do that. — Bobby Bowden

I don't know concretely if it's due to superstition, but any time a new rule is implemented into the NBA or a new piece of equipment or a new technology, there is always a transition and adjustment period by players and coaches and anyone involved with the game. — Stu Jackson

I always believe that every song tells a story, so the last thing I want to do is edit out like the meat of the story. I would pick songs based off a), whether I felt like I could do anything with them, and b) whether I felt like I could keep the story intact. And then you sit in with one of the piano players and one of the vocal coaches and kind of work out your arrangements that way. — David Cook

I never thought of what I was doing as a way to sell the NFL. I was making movies about a sport that I loved, about players and coaches that I respected. I wanted to convey my love of the game through film. And most artists convey their love through art. And my art and my love was expressed through film. — Steve Sabol

Great football coaches have the vision to see, the faith to believe, the courage to do - and 25 great players. — Marv Levy

you expect your teams and your players to be disciplined on the court and off, but that you have always been able to have those expectations of your players because your players know first and foremost that you care about them as people. When players know that their coach cares about them and has their best interest at heart, coaches can be demanding and players will always respond. — Carl J. Pierson

During the final two weeks of training, our students work simulated game situations in which our staff members role-play as players, managers, and coaches. They are given immediate feedback following each camp game. — Jim Evans

Every day in practice I have to lead by example. But at the same time, when people aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing, you're responsible as a player. You can't rely on the coaches to say everything. The players have to be responsible and take ownership of the team. Every day in practice there are situations where you need to say something and get a message across, but do it in the right way. — Jeremy Lin

Teenage boys fall in love with girls who have blond hair and blue eyes. Basketball coaches fall in love with players who have a cerebral court sense and a great jump shot. — John Feinstein

You know there are so many people that have touched your life both on the ice and within your career in the NHL whether it be owners, GM's, coaches, players, trainers, all the way down. And that doesn't even account for all of the people that you encountered outside of the game that you met along this trip, too. — Ron Francis

The coaches hate each other, the players hate each other ... There's no calling each other after the game and inviting each other out to dinner. But the feeling's mutual: They don't like us, and we don't like them. There's no need to hide it, they know it, and we know it. It's going to be one of those black and blue games. — Hines Ward

There's a line, players usually don't cross it and coaches usually don't cross it. Every once in a while you get a little temper tantrum on both sides, I certainly have had 'em. I'm not proud of those. — Bill Parcells

Every NBA arena has six cameras in the ceiling. The question is what does the software do with video feeds? How to surface that in a set of analytics? There are some "playbooks," but in most sports these days what you really want to share out with coaches and players is a set of video that lets you visualize what's going on and what's the best way to do things. — Steve Ballmer

I saw greatness in John and he lived up to it. I also saw a tremendous competitor who loved to win. John is a standard bearer, someone that players, coaches, fans and the Raider Nation can all look up to. One of his great virtues, the fire that burned brightest in him, was his love and passion for football, which was seldom ever equaled. — Al Davis

You definitely go through a stage, most coaches do, where you see a good player and you get enamored, you really like what the player does, but then when you put him into your system, it's not quite the same player that he was in another system. He has some strengths, but you cant utilize all those strengths. If you try to utilize all his strengths, you end up weakening a lot of other players who are already in your system. — Bill Belichick

Coaches and players at the start must think their way through problems where a more experienced person would react out of habit and memory. One must not gain this experience, however, without being careful of empty redundancy. Do not fall into the error of the artist who boasts of 20 years of experience at his craft while, in fact, all he has had is one year - 20 times. — John Kessel

From the coaches on down, especially Jim Corsi whose been a great supporter, a true friend who really cares about his players and allowed me the chance to develop. — Ryan Miller

Many of the most successful coaches and managers have come from players who never reached the highest level. The one exception seems to be basketball, where many of the greatest stars at least tried to coach a team. — George Vecsey

But as coaches, we need to get a little more fire and passion and be more demanding that our guys get the job done. I think players will respond to that, and we'll see. — Steve Spurrier

Coaching doesn't start with X's and O's. It starts with believing that players win games and coaches win players. — Bill Courtney

I love sharing my knowledge of hitting with others. Now coaches and players at all levels can learn my systematic approach to hitting a baseball with more consistency, mental strength and accuracy. — Dusty Baker

I don't blame the players, I don't blame the parents, I blame programs and I blame the coaches. — Tony DiCicco

As players and coaches, we all want to reach our goal. It's up to us to go out there and perform. — Hines Ward

I criticize a lot of players and coaches. But I back it up with facts. A lot of times guys get mad at me because someone told them what I said. I say, 'You're wrong: Go check the tape.' — Phil Simms

Man, coaching is a hard job, and it requires a lot of time ... I hear stories from coaches who tell me that players call them in the middle of the night not knowing where they parked their car. — Joe Montana

The coaches will offer a direction, a plan, routine, discipline and the players must develop the desire to work together accepting their roles as they learn in preparation for the season. — George M. Gilbert

This bowl has lived up to all the hype that I heard of it. Coaches ... that have been here rave about the hospitality, rave about the venue and all the activities for the players. The people here have been marvelous. The bowl committee has bent over backwards to make sure that our stay is an excellent one. The players have something to do if they choose every day. You couldn't find a better place. — Barry Alvarez

It's been years since I've had a real input in the game anyway. For this game, I've just tried to keep all the other stuff away from the players and coaches. — Bear Bryant

I go out there with whatever the coaches call, and whatever they do, I just go out there, and I'm the player. Coaches coach, and players play. — Wes Welker

Some coaches prefer players who will just do whatever he tells them to. It's like, if you're at school with a load of 10-year-old boys and you tell them to jump, everyone will start to jump. But the intelligent boy will ask, 'Why should I jump? Why?' That can be difficult for a lot of coaches, and I understand that. — Zlatan Ibrahimovic

In the U.S., coaches could be the father next door. They had no formal training. They're like old hockey players. They don't go to school and study. — Gabe Polsky

It's better to have done because then you know what the player is going through and you understand the pressure, but then on the other hand I know a lot of people that were good players but not good coaches, and vice versa. — Guy Forget

I am very excited to be included in the very first college baseball Hall of Fame class. For me to be honored with these coaches and players that I have grown to admire and respect is very special. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in Lubbock. — Skip Bertman

But people don't know if I can teach the game. I know I can. My experience in Oklahoma was positive. It opened my eyes to how the game is played - the interaction among players, fans and media, how all that works. You have to know about the business of the game and how the actions of players and coaches affect the business. I think I have it down now. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The old lessons (work, self-discipline, sacrifice, teamwork, fighting to achieve) aren't being taught by many people other than football coaches these days. The football coach has a captive audience and can teach these lessons because the communication lines between himself and his players are more wide open than between kids and parents. We better teach these lessons or else the country's future population will be made up of a majority of crooks, drug addicts, or people on relief. — Bear Bryant

It was a wonderful experience to play in the NFL, and I have no regrets. I truly will miss playing for the Lions. I consider the Lions' players, coaches, staff, management and fans my family. I leave on good terms with everyone in the organization. — Barry Sanders

I love football. I love the aesthetics of football. I love the athleticism of football. I love the movement of the players, the antics of the coaches. I love the dynamism of the fans. I love their passion for their badge and the colour of their team and their country. I love the noise and the buzz and the electricity in the stadium. I love the songs. I love the way the ball moves and then it flows and the way a teams fortune rises and falls through a game and through a season. But what I love about football is that it brings people together across religious divides, geographic divides, political divides. I love the fact that for ninety minutes in a rectangular piece of grass, people can forget hopefully, whatever might be going on in their life, and rejoice in this communal celebration of humanity. The biggest diverse, invasive or pervasive culture that human kinds knows is football and I love the fact that at the altar of football human kind can come worship and celebrate. — Andy Harper

What keeps you motivated? The challenge of putting all the elements of a team together and seeing how you do and what you become is the thing that I still enjoy. I also enjoy the associations and relationships with the players and other coaches - to be in the arena, so to speak. I still enjoy that. I'm also at the point, though, that if we're not doing well - it's tough enough as it is - that I'm not going to be hanging on just to be hanging on. Because it's not anything I need from an ego standpoint or anything else. I just thoroughly enjoy what I'm doing. — LaVell Edwards

I was doing all the coaching schools so that I'd be able to stay in the game, and I gave myself a chance by doing that. I was only an average player, could score a goal or two, that sort of thing, but I wasn't a Bobby Charlton or a Messi, or Ronaldo. There are very, very few really great players who have become great coaches. — Alex Ferguson

The one thing about players today is that they're very sensitive, and very fragile. They didn't grow up with tough coaches. — Doug Collins

He has to be a great teacher. You have to have the right stuff and in the right proportions, and you have to convey that to the coaches, and then to the players. — Pete Carroll

The model for an NHL without fighting is right there in front of us. The [playoffs are] the time of year that fans love best; when the best hockey is played ... [The] enforcers don't play. Even mini-enforcers ... remain on the bench. Teams and coaches can't afford anything stupid and unpredictable ... With no one to fight back for them, players go harder into the corners, more determinedly to the front of the net. If they want to fire up the crowd and their teammates, they have to do it themselves. And in the playoffs, they do. — Ken Dryden

Players grunt, coaches yell, and pads and helmets crack, creating a frightening symphony of future early-onset dementia. — Nate Jackson

Free speech is against governments, not against the NBA. So the players and coaches and indeed owners have been fined for their speech, which is costly rather than free. I sort of acknowledge that there is not free speech when you agree to work in the NBA. — David Stern

He already knew he could coach. All you had to do was look at each of your players and ask yourself: What story does this guy wish someone would tell him about himself? And then you told the guy that story. — Chad Harbach

I tell young players who want to be coaches, who think they can put up with all the headaches and heartaches, can you live without it? If you can live without it, don't get in it. — Bear Bryant

I am thankful that in my current role I can mentor other coaches. I interact directly with seventeen coaches on my staff but I'm also trying to be an example to others outside the organization. I want to prove that it's possible to win or lose while maintaining a calm dignity and respect toward your players, officials, and the opposition. My hope is that my profession can have an impact on countless youth who are looking to their coaches for guidance on sportsmanship, how effort pays off, and the other life lessons that come from competing. — Tony Dungy

I think sometimes when it comes to sports, and especially relationships between players and coaches, that people lose track, lose a sense of reality. — Ricky Williams

I never thought that shoes would be the reason that you recruit players, but it's a factor. I think we need to get the shoe companies out of the lives of the athletes. I think we need to get it back to where parents and coaches have more of a say than peripheral people, but that's easier said than done. — Rick Pitino

I think I have some ideas on coaching, but listen, coaches work harder than players. The hours they put in, the headaches that they have. That's the one thing I've never liked about coaching. They have all the emotion, passion and preparation without actually getting to be able to dictate what happens. — Tim Howard

The one thing that has gotten worse for sports media is access. We hardly get to see, talk to and most of all get to know the players and coaches anymore. — J. A. Adande

Sportsmanship is that quality of honor that desires always to be courteous, fair, and respectful, and it is interpreted in the conduct of players, spectators, coaches, and school authorities. — Fielding H. Yost

Coaches who have been players in the league, they get so attuned to playing how they were successful, and who their coaches were. — Jerry West

Players have responsibility, and if they don't do their job, certain things happen. Coaches have responsibility. If they don't do their job, things happen. — Mike Singletary

Coaches are very important to players. They're people that are mentors, people that are advising them, people that should be their friends and somebody you can rely on on the tour. — Novak Djokovic

I could run 200 yards at a stretch, I could duck between players, I felt free to make plays that suited me best. It wasn't like football then and basketball today, where coaches tell you what foot to put down. — Jim Brown

I want to be honest with you: The players I played with and the coaches I had ... they were directly responsible for my being here. I want you all to remember that. I always will. — Johnny Unitas

It's a bit disappointing when board members who don't know a thing about football are making decisions on your career. When you look at it you've got coaches, senior players and CEO's who wanted me but then it gets to a board meeting and you've got fat businessmen who are making the decision on your career. It was frustrating and it made me a bit angry. — Willie Mason

Professional managers, coaches, and players have a right to question an umpire's decision if they do it in a professional manner. When they become personal, profane, or violent, they have crossed the line and must be dealt with accordingly. — Jim Evans

I've had influences from many people including the coaches and players I've worked with. — Roy Keane

My husband is so confident that when he watches sports on television, he thinks that if he concentrates he can help his team. If the team is in trouble, he coaches the players from our living room, and if they're really in trouble, I have to get off the phone in case they call him. — Rita Rudner

After a while, your coaching development ceases to be about finding newer ways to organize practice. In other words, you soon stop collecting drills. Your development as a coach shifts to observing how great coaches teach, motivate, lead, and drive players to performances at higher and higher levels — Anson Dorrance

The biggest difference is in the leadership. It was better for us. We had more coaches and mentors to help us. A lot of the younger players today suffer from a lack of direction. — Isaiah Thomas

First of all, it was such an honor to be chosen. You had to be voted in by players and coaches that time. But having it in Hawai'i was a brilliant idea. — Dan Fouts

I believe every era has its significance and the same holds true for players and coaches. — Sachin Tendulkar

We have very smart players and they've been fortunate to play for three very good coaches. — Joe Dumars

Every era of coaches has their own set of problems and challenges. Today's player is different, but some things (about them) are better than they were in the past. I don't think (coaching today's players) is any tougher. I think we're a little too hard on the current day player because he's different. — Avery Johnson

We have to move the meter in sports in Africa, especially basketball. With the growth of the NBA globally, we have to figure out more ways to develop facilities, coaching, leagues, and youth development in Africa. The talent is incredible. Especially physically. How do we get the youth to start playing at an early age just like in soccer? The future is bright. We now have an NBA office in Africa, we have legends and Hall of Famers, we have African assistant coaches, front office members, and some prominent African players over the last 10 years. So we must plan well for the next 10. — Masai Ujiri

Never underestimate your players; they can do it with enough game-like practice. Coaches must put more emphasis in practice and in life on making student-athletes aware of what they could or can do, rather than what they couldn't or presently can't do. The focus must be on solutions, not problems; what is wanted, not what is feared. — John Kessel

What is true of the NFL is that it has been well-managed over the years. And that has been beneficial to the fans, it's been beneficial to the game itself, it's been beneficial to the players, coaches and everyone involved. — Roger Goodell

Good coaching is about leadership and instilling respect in your players. Dictators lead through fear - good coaches do not. — John Wooden

Whereas many coaches left to others the minutiae of leading an organization, Walsh broke down the minute-to-minute progression of team practices, defined responsibilities for coaches and players, and set rules for how to handle business matters such as negotiating contracts and dealing with the media. He also dispensed with an authoritarian style of leadership and empowered individuals by teaching them to think independently. These innovations amounted to a comprehensive new approach to coaching, one adopted and refined by a generation of Walsh's successors. — Sydney Finkelstein