Re Athlete Quotes & Sayings

When you're a 20-something-year-old athlete and you're getting a six-figure check every week, you're not thinking about next week. You're not thinking, 'I'm going to be broke,' or 'I'm going to need another job.' But I'll tell you, there are a lot of broke athletes out there - I know plenty - and I didn't want to end up as one. — Michael Strahan

We always spend more time on the throwing events and a little bit more on the long jump. They're my weaker events - they don't come as naturally to me as running and jumping. I like the hurdles and the high-jump, I'm a springy, speedy athlete so those suit me. — Jessica Ennis

There aren't too many principles of proper business conduct with which just about everybody will agree. Two come to mind: 1. Unless you're a professional athlete, don't offer co-workers encouragement by patting them on the butt, and 2. Don't burn bridges. — Dale Dauten

I don't believe athletes should be role models ... We're a one-shot deal, one in a million, so we should be the least likely role models ... I think one of the problems in society today is that we don't stress education enough, because we glorify athletes, actors and actresses. — Charles Barkley

At the end of the day, if you're a professional athlete in track and field you are the CEO of your company. — Carl Lewis

Anybody who is a professional athlete who has a social media account on any of the networks, when they sign up for that account, they subject themselves to all of the criticisms and all of the praises that may or may not be out there. So you can't get on social media and complain about the people because that's what you know you're dealing with. You have to hear it. You don't have to respond. Me personally, I don't respond to the negativity. It's gonna be there. I read it. It keeps me grounded. — George Wilson

With any kind of artistic thing, it's a muscle, like any athlete, and the moment you're not doing it, you lose all confidence. That's why I'm terrible with down time. — Daniel Radcliffe

I'm never satisfied, I always want to do better. That's how it is to be an elite athlete, you're never happy. When you start getting happy and you start feeling satisfied, you're done. — Alexander Gustafsson

Curtis looked up into those sparkling green eyes, full of life, full of kindness, full of potential love, with just a hint of mischief. But that was going to make going out with Genesis so much fun. Curtis needed a lot more of that in his life. It'd been lacking for many years. He had his family now and hopefully a new man. He knew Genesis would be the perfect Southern gentleman until he turned eighteen, but that was okay. It was more than okay. He may be a superstar athlete, but he was raised by a good Christian mom who'd taught her sons well. Curtis was going to do everything he could to be a good match for Genesis Godfrey. "You're — A.E. Via

Even while you're in dead earnest about your work, you must approach it with a feeling of freedom and joy; you must be loose-jointed, like a relaxed athlete. — Margaret Bourke-White

I don't think there are many kids who sit around and want to be actors. I don't think there are many kids who want to sit around and want to be senators. But so many of us want to be athletes, so we're envious of them and we put them up on that pedestal. — Frank Deford

It feels amazing - really, really great! It was so nice to be out there and be cherished by all the people. It has been a great event, the best you can experience as an athlete. We are very happy with how everything has worked out in the competition. Everything was very good and we're really happy we accomplished our goal. — Margaretha Sigfridsson

As athletes, we're defined by what we've accomplished. Those are what most people remember and what you get paid for. But I learned more from my failures than from all of my successes put together - failures as an athlete and as a person. — Dan O'Brien

The inspector stood up and reached for his leather jacket. There was a whiff of aftershave. He looked every inch TV's idea of an undercover cop. I had noticed the Princess register his star quality as we arrived at his office half an hour earlier. That was good. An attractive male lead always brought out the best in our unpredictable royal performer. "If you're ready . . ." he said, heading for the door with an athlete's easy grace. His amused expression promised further treats in store.
The Princess followed him meekly. Her eyes were demurely lowered, as if to retain the image she had just seen. I knew she was enjoying herself - she was fascinated by the forbidden. — Patrick D. Jephson

My recruiting key - I looked for PEOPLE first, athletes second. I wanted people with a sound value system as you cannot buy values. You're only as good as your values. I learned early on that you do not put greatness into people ... but somehow try to pull it out. — Herb Brooks

Anything I've asked of MGM Grand, they've done for me in a heartbeat. They're all about making entertainers and athletes happy. — Floyd Mayweather Jr.

I'm tall and thin but not strong, so you're either an athlete or you're funny. — Keegan-Michael Key

I don't want to get too detailed into it, but when you're a good high school running back, you can almost be whatever type of runner you want to be. If you're a good size and a good athlete, you can be whatever type of runner you want. — Barry Sanders

Once you become a professional athlete or once you do anything well, then you're automatically a role model ... I have no problem being a role model. I love it. I have kids looking up to me and hopefully I inspire these kids to do good things. — LeBron James

In the music world, when we're making work, we are obligated to no longer be completely free from what we are to someone else - sort of like an athlete, where you become a role model to someone. — Scott Avett

Any sport you're going to do, you're going to lose more than you win. People don't realize how hard it is to be an athlete. It's difficult. — Diandra Asbaty

I really didn't realise until I got back the work that goes into a performance. You're like an athlete - if you haven't been practising things tighten up. I had to do a lot of practice work, but I got through it. Even when I was 21 I would have a 40-minute nap on the day of a show, and I will still do that. — Michael Crawford

The problem with being married to an athlete who is, like, 19 feet tall and can just eat, like, 17 burgers at 11 o'clock at night is, you're like, 'I'll have just three of those burgers,' and you think you're being good because he had 19 and you had three! — Kaley Cuoco

In the NFL game today, there are a lot of better athletes than I am, and quarterbacks these days are faster than the quarterbacks have always been, they're running like crazy. But I kind of stick to my roots of the disciplined quarterback. You know, I'm doing the same routine every week, studying tapes and working hard, getting ready to play and making good decisions on Sundays. — Peyton Manning

Many, many times, the kids with the less talent become the better athletes because they're more dedicated to achieving their full potential. — Red Auerbach

For an athlete, the biggest pressure comes from within. You know what you want to do and what you're capable of. — Paula Radcliffe

As an athlete, I'd average four hours a day. It doesn't sound like a lot when some people say they're training for 10 hours, but theirs includes lunch, massage and breaks. My four hours was packed with work. — Michael Johnson

You are an athlete when you're onstage. You can't get tired. — Faye Dunaway

Climbing is a process - like yoga or running. We want to go to the spots where we're barely able to hold on. Those are the climbs that force us to become better athletes and grow as climbers. — Chris Sharma

You can wish as hard as you like but all that really matters is the shape you're in on the day of the race. I've always felt these really big races aren't necessarily won by whoever is the fastest. They're won by the athlete who is the smartest and in the best shape on the day. — Paula Radcliffe

Guess what, the cheerleaders in college are the best athletes in college. You think, I'm joking, they're almost all gymnasts, the stuff they do on hard wood, it blows my mind. — Joe Biden

I think the fans, if you want to actually learn about us, I think you have to go way more intricate than just what you see on TV, because that's whatever they want to report. But it's just so much going on, and when you talk about being in our world you have to understand we're individuals too. We're not just athletes. No, we're fathers, we're sons. So when you put us through a job shortage you take away everything that we built. — Ray Lewis

Every good athlete can find the flow," continues Pastrana, "but it's what you do with it that makes you great. If you consistently use that state to do the impossible, you get confident in your ability to do the impossible. You begin to expect it. That's why we're seeing so much progression in action sports today. It's the natural result of a whole lot of people starting to expect the impossible. — Steven Kotler

I think in general, people look at all Olympic athletes, look at all superstar athletes, and they say, "Okay, this guy doesn't have any insecurities." They're almost like these icons who - I don't know how to say it, but like they can't make mistakes. But the reality is, and I'll tell you this firsthand, a lot of great athletes have a lot of insecurities, and they have a really hard time dealing with a lot of so-called losing or however you want to classify it. — Apolo Ohno

If you trust your nerve as well as your skill, you're capable of a lot more than you can imagine. — Debi Thomas

If you're looking to be a professional athlete on the top tier of any sport, my best advice is to put everything you have into it. If you're not, somebody else is. It's got to be all or nothing. — Dominick Cruz

Looking good is important. We're our own premium brand as professional athletes, so you want to be thoughtful about presentation and represent yourself and your city and sport as best you can. — C. J. Wilson

If you're going to play a champion athlete, people expect you to look a certain way, and you also have to have the stamina to be able to continue to perform. — Holt McCallany

We're the Septembers now. The real ones. We are everything to one another. We don't need to say so; it's just true. Sometimes it seems like we're so close we form one single complete person rather than four separate ones. We settle into types- Bridget the athlete, Lena the beauty, Tibby the rebel, and me, Carmen, the ... what? The one with the bad temper. But the one who cares the most. The one who cares that we stick together. — Ann Brashares

When you put the interest of a kid on money instead of heart then you're destroying the beauty of our lives and our thought process, which should be about how much responsibilities you carry as an athlete and a citizen. — Alexis Arguello

The shortstop is a perfectly conditioned athlete. You're running out on relays all the time. You're covering second base. On every pitch, you're moving. — Lou Boudreau

When you're as small as I am, people don't expect you to be much of an athlete. You either wilt under the weight of low expectations, or you rise above them. — Daniel Rodriguez

My punishment lasted a month. Knowing I could push through pain and succeed has lasted a lifetime. Pain was just something I became accustomed to as part of life. If you're an athlete and want to win, something always hurts. You are always dealing with bruises and injuries. You're testing how far you can push the human body, and whoever pushes it the furthest wins. — Ronda Rousey

It's amazing how two thin pieces of clothing can hold such deep memories. Laughter, pain, victory, defeat, friendship, fatigue, elation ... they're all there, but only to the person who's worn the uniform — Wendelin Van Draanen

I learned that the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to work hard at it. Whether you're a musician, a writer, an athlete or a businessman, there is no getting around it. If you do, you'll win - if you don't, you won't. — Caitlyn Jenner

We're not meant to do it on our own. We're meant to do life with God and with each other. I've been fortunate to have friends that are willing to invest in me even on the days when I'm not able to invest back into them. I'm thankful for people that have that selfless attitude and have helped me become a successful person and a successful athlete. — Kelly Clark

Ideally we're going to stay at an American hotel. We just want to take every precaution. Because if you get sick out there, and you're playing in that hot sun and you get depleted, it's going to be a problem. So that would be the only other thing I think that athletes on a whole are going to be worried about. But again, we have to do our part and take every precaution and be smart. — Kerri Walsh

In my 20s, it was easy. In your 40s, it's a lot more challenging. You have to look at it like you're an actor, but you're also a professional athlete. You have to train. — Daniel Wu

I had a job on college campus. I lost that job, but on my way home I heard an inner voice that said go out for the baseball team. I was a walk-on, and I was actually petrified as a walk-on because you're not an athlete. — Lou Brock

You don't have to be pretty for people to come and see you play. At the same time, if you're a good athlete, it doesn't mean you're not a woman. — Martina Navratilova

Whether you're a veteran like me or a high school athlete, the most important thing you can do is keep your body healthy. — Jason Terry

As an athlete, you're brought up with that mentality that you finish everything you start. If you're going to start a meal, you're going to finish it until the plate is clean. I had to change that mentality to one of where, 'I eat until I'm full and leave the rest.' — Michael Strahan

If you're an athlete and you completely focus on the body, you're missing other components. Similarly, if you're trying to broaden your mind but not also being attentive to your sense of humour and your spirit, then you're not going to grow and develop so fast. — Aimee Mullins

There are a lot of young great athletes out there; they're much better athletes than what we were. They're bigger, faster, stronger, unfortunately, there're fewer places to go. — George Steele

We're the greatest athletes in the world without a doubt. — Hulk Hogan

The sport has changed so much since 2004, it's incredible. If you look even at me, the way I'm fencing now compared to 2004, it's a completely different sport. They've changed so many things just with what [the referees] are calling, they've changed the timing of the [scoring] lights. You always have to be evolving as a fencer. The Olympics is interesting because it's such a small field compared to what we're used to. This world championships, I think we had a hundred and something [athletes]. The Olympics is going to be less than 32. — Mariel Zagunis

As we all know, when you're an athlete things are a little bit easier for you. It didn't mean that what was going on inside my heart wasn't a bit of a thunderstorm, but outwardly I got along ok. I was really shy in seventh grade. — Stephen Chbosky

My three keys to success: One, work hard. Two, be your own person. And three, have a passion for what you're doing. — Juli Inkster

(About plan during Texas Relays) Have fun, be healthy, and enjoy the Relays for what it is. I'll just try to use the crowd and get some adrenaline and have a good time; just work on some things in this environment. This is almost a championship environment when you get down to it- with all of the fans, the energy and the adrenaline you get lining up. It's good rehearsal for the bigger stages and it's the season opener. This is the starting point. We're just looking for some starting points and to use some adrenaline to our advantage. — Trey Hardee

When you're an athlete and you play every day and are conditioning yourself every year, the aging is gradual. — Cal Ripken Jr.

I'm sick of the media making female sports athletes into supermodels, when they're clearly sixes at best. — Daniel Tosh

The doors fly open when you're a professional athlete. — Dennis Rodman

To a sprinter, the hundred-yard dash is over in three seconds, not nine or ten. The first 'second' is when you come out of the blocks. The next is when you look up and take your first few strides to attain gain position. By that time the race is actually about half over. The final 'second' - the longest slice of time in the world for an athlete - is that last half of the race, when you really bear down and see what you're made of. It seems to take an eternity, yet is all over before you can think what's happening. — Jesse Owens

When you grow up in life and you're poor, and because you're an athlete or you got rich overnight in music, unless you have access to financial advice or for the transition or matriculation of that process, then of course, you're going to go broke. — Steve Stoute

When you talk about an injury and the kind of depression you go through, it's not just because you're out of shape and you can't go out and play. You're missing a part of you. That's what's painful. That's what hurts. — Jamila Wideman

It's like getting the Williams sisters to play (tennis) against a man, and they're far better athletes than she (Sorenstam) is. — Vijay Singh

You're not on scholarship for school, and it sounds crazy when a student-athlete says that, but that's - those are the things coaches tell them every day: 'You're not on scholarship for school.' — Richard Sherman

When you are public figure, you're an athlete or actor, that is your job to speak out on certain things. I think you speak out on what you desire to speak out on or your passionate about. — Benjamin Watson

Athletes become our heroes, because they're superhuman. They do things nobody else can do. They're better than 6 billion other people. — Charlie Sheen

Definitely if you're an athlete, you're gonna be having all the baseball fame you can have. That's the great thing about baseball and sports. You can measure ability. — John Leguizamo

What's not realized about good novelists is that they're as competitive as good athletes. They study each other - where the other person is good and where the person is less good. Writers are like that but don't admit it. — Norman Mailer

When we get to the point where a gay pro athlete is no longer forced to live in fear that he'll be shunned by teammates or outed by tabloids, when we get to the point where he plays while his significant other waits in the family room, when we get to the point where he's not compelled to hide his true self and is able to live an authentic life, then coming out won't be such a big deal. But we're not there yet, — Jason Collins

I'm not going to retire because I want the money. We want honest athletes, but at the same time, you're going to have people saying, 'He's so greedy. He's made X amount of money, and he has to take that last little bit.' Yes, I do have to take that last little bit. I'm sorry if that is frustrating to some, but if they were in my shoes, they would do exactly the same thing. — Steve Nash

Every time a player goes out to ply his trade he's got to play from the ground up - from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. You've got to be smart to be Number One in any business. But more important, you've got to play with you heart - with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second. — Vince Lombardi

I'm not angry. As an athlete ... you should be open to criticism, and you're allowed to be criticized, because not everybody has the same opinion, not everybody likes the same players. The rankings are quite volatile: Today you're 'great,' tomorrow you're 'not,' but then you're 'great' again. It makes for great stories. Now, I always look at the long term and by doing that, obviously, I can stay calm through the storm. — Roger Federer

(About importance of focusing on one sport at a time) I've never tried to do that, we have more of a holistic approach. We want to become better decathletes and better competitors. I think for us that means just toeing the line at whatever it is we're doing that day and being confident in preparing as best as we can. Later in the year, late in the season when we have all of the thousands of reps under our belt, we can try to maybe focus on one or two things and leave some stuff off one week. Really, we like to keep everything inside the routine and part of the process. — Trey Hardee

It's easy to forget when you're an elite athlete that everyone else gets nervous as well. Even the best people in the world, at whatever they do, they're still nervous — Leisel Jones

Yeah. No matter what Coach does or doesn't do. Because ... I'm going on my terms. Even if by some miracle he recommends me for the scholarship, I'm not taking it."
That surprises her. "I don't get it."
"That's why I had no choice but to let that pitch go by. I had to prove to myself that I could live without baseball. I can't go to college on their terms. I can't be the ballplayer first and the student second, and if they're giving me an athletic scholarship, believe me - that's what it would be. Athlete-scholar, not the other way around. No one can convince me otherwise.
"So, yeah. I'll have to take out student loans. I'll have to work my ass off. But that's OK. — Barry Lyga

You can't be a creative thinker if you're not stimulating your mind, just as you can't be an Olympic athlete if you don't train regularly. — Ken Robinson

As an athlete, you sort of just win every day. Because you're going to sometimes lose every day. And so you just keep picking yourself up and going forward. — Beth Brooke

Nike told me, 'We can't give you royalties because you're not a professional athlete.' I told them 'I'll go to the Garden and play one-on-no-one.' I'm a performance athlete! — Kanye West

People tend to like an athlete's performance, but if you don't get a feeling for the individual, you're not very emotive about them. — Daley Thompson

So while you're an athlete, and you have that platform, what you want to be able to do is make it work for you as much as possible, because there's going to be life after sports. — Stedman Graham

I can't give other people what I've not experienced to some extent myself. It sharpens your game and also, like any athlete, you're more fit because you have to be. You're getting ready because you have a reason to. — Tony Robbins

When your body is your instrument, it needs maintenance and it needs to be held in a certain way. That's a universal thread, whether you're an athlete, a dancer, an actor or a singer. It's all about maintaining your body because that allows you to do what you do. — Josh Peck

That's something a lot of athletes miss - a lot of them walk away too soon. They don't get everything out of their system. They have a lot of what-ifs when they're sitting around later in life. I don't have that. I got all that out of my system. I pushed it to the brink, I loved it, and when I walked away, I'd had enough. — Jimmy Connors

Every NBA player, every athlete, I think once you get to this level in life, whether you have kids or you're about to have kids, understands that this is so much bigger than this sport. — Allan Houston

My dad was a college football coach, so we're a big athletic family. I was either going to be an athlete or an actor. As an actor, I hoped I would be able to bond the two. — Matt Barr

You're a person a lot longer before and after you're a professional athlete. People always say to me, 'Your image is this, your image is that.' Your image isn't your character. Character is what you are as a person. That's what I worry about. — Derek Jeter

I started playing in '98, but I got hooked by playing celebrity golf tournaments. Tiger had a lot to do with it - his passion, the way that he plays. He's unique and different, and he inspired a lot of my passion. It's a sport you can't master. If you're an athlete, you can do almost anything, but golf is not like that. — Stuart Scott

If it seems like you can see farther than most people, it is because you're standing on shoulders of giants. — Gene Stallings

If I could change on thing about myself, I would: Have better knees. Mine are shot because of injuries. You're only as good as your legs, whether you're an athlete or an actor. — William Petersen

When you invest your time, you make a goal and a decision of something that you want to accomplish. Whether it's make good grades in school, be a good athlete, be a good person, go down and do some community service and help somebody who's in need, whatever it is you choose to do, you're investing your time in that. — Nick Saban

To me the Olympic spirit embodies the magic of competition, hard work and coming to a point in your career when you're around the best athletes in the world, and having the whole world watching. — Julia Mancuso

There are too many false things in the world, and I don't want to be a part of them. If you say what you think, you're called cocky or conceited. But if you have an objective in life, you shouldn't be afraid to stand up and say it. In the second grade, they asked us what we wanted to be. I said I wanted to be a ball player and they laughed. In the eighth grade, they asked the same question, and I said a ball player and they laughed a little more. By the eleventh grade, no one was laughing. — Johnny Bench

I decided to become a teacher because I thought it would be a great career where I could wear different hats. You're an academic one moment, and you're a psychologist the next moment, an athlete the next moment ... when you are out on the playground or coaching ... so it enables you to play different roles. — Erik Weihenmayer

A lot of people probably think I'm not athletic or don't even try to work out or whatever, but I do. Just because you're big doesn't mean you can't be an athlete. And just because you work out doesn't mean you're going to have a 12-pack. I work out to make sure I can do my job to the best of my ability. Other than that, I'm not going up there trying to be a fitness model. — Prince Fielder

I would say that one of the really special gifts about playing an athlete is that it's the best motivation you'll ever have to get in top shape and stay in top shape because you know that you're going to be expected to deliver. — Holt McCallany

Obviously, you're known for what you do. But you still want to be known as a good person. You're a person a lot longer before and after you're a professional athlete. — Derek Jeter

Any athlete or any actor who's preparing for a long time to step on a stage or step on a field or step on a movie set, who suffers an injury right before you're getting ready to perform or to execute - it is a massive challenge that's thrown your way that you didn't expect. — Dwayne Johnson