Quotes & Sayings About Sports Motivation

Sports can do so much. They've given me a framework: meeting new people, confidence, self-esteem, discipline, motivation. All these things I learned, whether I knew I was learning them or not, through sports. — Mia Hamm

You don't have to win to be a winner. If you give 100 percent, getting yourself mentally and physically prepared to play the game, if you look in the mirror and can say you give it everything to win, that's it. You're not going to win every time. — Duke Snider

I'm not exceptionally fast or overly powerful. But I have a good work ethic, and I make up for it by using technique and trying to be smarter. — Dot Richardson

Set goals for things you can control. In my case, I can't control the marks from the judges, but I can control how I train every day, and I can control my performance. — Claire Carver-Dias

A lot of times the expectations of you are so high that no matter what you do you are never going to be able to live up to those expectations. So you better go out and do the best you can and enjoy it. — John Elway

In team sports the athletes were bonded by each other, there was an immense peer pressure to keep going. One dared not miss a practice for fear of letting his teammates down. Every time an athlete thought of getting back into bed in the morning he knew he would have to face the anger of his closest friends. But the sculler had to find motivation entirely within himself. No one else cared. — David Halberstam

I get over bad games right away. Sometimes I've let it go even before I've left the mound. That quick. Why? Because it's over. What can you do about it? Nothing. The only thing you can do is fight if you're still in the game. After that you can do nothing. — Mariano Rivera

You're going to make mistakes in life. It's what you do after the mistakes that counts. — Brandi Chastain

The NBA has a voice that's why they have a lockout. The NFL has a voice that's why they had a lockout. Boxing is the only sport that's individually represented the individual people - Managers, Promoters and Boxers. — Bernard Hopkins

I don't know nothing about the sport. Just tune in August 28th and y'all find out how much I know about the sport. — James Toney

I don't think you ever will yourself to win. I think you prepare yourself the best you can, get yourself in the best mindset you can get in, and go after it. — Jack Nicklaus

After I knock out Randy Couture, I'll fight for the heavyweight title, the real heavyweight boxing title in October or November, come back and fight in the UFC in January or February. It doesn't matter, I'm a two sport athlete. The oldest man to ever do that. — James Toney

For example, the ancient Japanese had onna-zumo (women's wrestling), but as the sports historian Allen Guttmann writes, "The debased motivation for this activity is suggested by the names of the wrestlers: 'Big Boobs,' 'Deep Crevice,' and 'Holder of the Balls. — Jonathan Gottschall

I don't like to get hit, who likes it? I probably wouldn't do this sport if I was getting hit that much. — Wladimir Klitschko

Everyone is really afraid of getting out there and not being good. That's the challenge: To be afraid and know people are staring at you and know you might not do all that well, but you do it anyway. What singles out the successful athlete from the ones who never make it past a plateau, it that successful athletes risk failure, even though they are terrified. — Aimee Mullins

I will never sacrifice my morals and ethics for anyone or any win. — Mike Candrea

You're only as good as your last fight. It's just the way things are. It's the way that the sport is built. — Andre Ward

You can never meet everyone's expectations. It's hard enough to meet your own. — Andrea Jaeger

A lot of people notice when you succeed, but they don't see what it takes to get there. — Dawn Staley

To be successful in anything, a person must always want to be better, not only than your opponent but better than your last performance. Done correctly, being competitive is a wonderful way to always try to be a better person by learning from your mistakes and capitalizing on your successes. — Hale Irwin

Success is doing what it takes in spite of one's fear. — Johnny Rutherford

Competitive Skaters must be prepared for a lot of work, challenges, self-discipline, and motivation. The desire must be there, but more importantly, your love for the sport. — Oksana Baiul

As soon as you start focusing on the negative you're dead. — Libbie Hickman

The sport needs the cash cow back. — Floyd Mayweather Jr.

When I stood up there as a pinch hitter, I honestly believed I was the best hitter in the game. That's the only attitude to have. — Manny Mota

What you do when no one else is looking will determine how good you'll be. — Anson Dorrance

Sports taught me that I can make a mistake one minute, let it go, and be brilliant the next. — Lynn Sherr

I drew my strength from fear. Fear of losing. I don't remember the games I won, only the games I lost. — Boris Becker

Your longevity in the sport is governed by how you live in between the fights. — Carl Froch

You could be the world's best garbage man, the world's best model; it don't matter what you do if you're the best. — Muhammad Ali

We have the misconception that competitiveness means winning at all costs, but that's not what competition is. Competition is just doing your best and not giving up. We all face a moment in a race or in a competition in which we want to give up. We can either give in and not keep pushing, or we can charge forward and work through it. — Lisa Rainsberger

Sometimes we get so afraid of hitting bad shots (making bad pitches), we don't let ourselves hit (pitch) good ones. — Butch Harmon

It's one thing to have an eye for the sport, and it's another to have a feel for the sport. He has both. — Andre Ward

As a general man I tried watching movies, playing sports, going to picnics and other entertainments but I still got bored, then I tried heroism and now I am hero, and I never get bored. — Amit Kalantri

I'm not afraid to take a step and if I fall, I fall. I pick myself up and move on. If we can all learn one thing in life, it's don't be afraid to take on something that you believe you're capable of achieving. — Michael Jordan

I am a winner. I just didn't win today. — Greg Norman

I think that there's only one nationality and one language in the sport, and you call it performance. — Wladimir Klitschko

The one strongest, most important part of my game is that I want to be the best. I won't accept anything less that that. My ability to concentrate and work toward hat goal has been my greatest asset. — Jack Nicklaus

The best activities for your health are pumping and humping. — Arnold Schwarzenegger

Maintaining concentration depends on what I call tunnel vision; nothing else in the world exists but the catcher's target, the hitter and my perfect delivery. — Nolan Ryan

Years of concentration solely on work and individual success meant that in his retirement [Lyndon Johnson] could find no solace in family, in recreation, in sports or in hobbies. It was almost as if the hole in his heart was so large that even the love of a family, without work, could not fill it. — Doris Kearns Goodwin

When everything seems worse, impossible to achieve, thinking about giving up, quitting? Remember why started first? Trust yourself, tap yourself and say if you cannot make it, no one is going to. Look back, the whole team believes in you, go for it and be a CHAMPION. — Vivek Thangaswamy

Money was never the motivation. It never should be in sports. — Katarina Witt

I'd rather have more heart than talent any day. — Allen Iverson

You have to remember that no matter how big your goals or how many you have, there are going to be times when you miss by a little bit. You have to be realistic and flexible. One reason I have so many smaller goals is that even if my big goals don't happen, I've still achieved so much along the way, I don't feel the loss. — Shannon Miller

I train harder than anyone else in the world. Last year I was supposed to take a month off and I took three days off because I was afraid somebody out there was training harder. That's the feeling I go through every day - Am I not doing what somebody else is doing? Is someone out there training harder than I am? I can't live with myself if someone is. — Marion Jones

You only fail if you don't finish the game. If you finish you win. You have to measure what you started out with by what you overcome. — Mike Webster

My advice is that going to the Olympics and winning a gold medal are great goals, but the real goal should be to be the best that you can be. — Debi Thomas

It's better to throw a theoretically poorer pitch whole-heartedly, than to throw the so-called right pitch with feeling of doubt-doubt that's it's right, or doubt that you can make it behave well at that moment. You've got to feel sure you're doing the right thing-sure that you want to throw the pitch you're going to throw. — Sandy Koufax

A pitcher never gets me out. I get myself out. That's no disrespect to the pitcher, but there should be no excuse for failure. You can't have an excuse to fail. — Mike Piazza

A good coach must celebrate in private. He cannot gloat to the press after a victory or criticize heavily after defeat ... His game is of such motivation and strategy that only a few people understand his craft. — Bill Bradley

One of the most awesome things about sports, particularly team sports, is that everything you need to do to be successful on the playing field carries over directly into life. In a team sport you have to learn how to work together, to set goals, and then work toward those goals in a productive way. You learn to be responsible and you learn how to not only depend on others, but also be independent so you can support others. — Sheila Cornell-Douty

Having the chance to play sports growing up teaches you all kinds of life lessons. It gives young people confidence and instills in them motivation and drive to be the best one can be. It's absolutely invaluable, — April Ross

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

Physical activity promotes high productivity. — Lailah Gifty Akita

The ones who are successful are the ones who really want it. You have to have that inner drive otherwise it's not going to work out. — Kerri Strug

There is a scene in one of the Rocky movies where after the match Apollo Creed and Rocky are waiting for the scoring of their brawl all beat up and battered, obviously both fighters gave all they had to win, and Apollo Creed says to Rocky - "Your not getting a rematch" and Rocky says "I don't want one".
I love that scene.
That's when you know that you left no doubt - that your opponent, win or lose, never wants to compete against you ever again.
That's fighting. — JohnA Passaro

Sports have always been a big part of my life. At school, I played a lot of different sports, and I was competing with other schools. I did everything: running, volleyball, basketball, soccer, Olympic-style gymnastics, and more! My history with sports gave me good concentration, focus, strength, and motivation to stay healthy. — Izabel Goulart

You expect success, you respect failure. — Greg Norman

Success shouldn't be measured by how much you have but by how much you give back. — Danny Villanueva

Getting more exercise isn't only good for your waistline. It's a natural anti-depressant, that leaves you in a great mood. — Auliq Ice

Every single day I wake up and commit myself to becoming a better player. Some days it happens, and some days it doesn't. Sure, there are games I'm going to dominate and there are going to be games when I struggle. But it doesn't mean I give up. — Mia Hamm

You have to have a lot of motivation, a lot of heart and be able to work hard. You can never be down on yourself because baseball is a sport that will bring you down [at times]. — Bengie Molina

People don't win because they're physically stronger. It's because they're stronger between the ears. — Alex Shaffer

Boxing is an all year round sport. You never know when they're going to call you, so you got to stay ready. — Adrien Broner

Pressure bursts pipes. I thank God for giving me peace of mind to overcome pressure. The difference between winning and losing is when pressure hits. — Evander Holyfield

Confidence comes from hard work. It comes from facing different situations and making putts. It comes from knowing you've worked on the right things, so when you get under the gun, you can execute what you've practiced. — David Duval

For to keep at the top is harder almost than to get there — James Gibbons

The key is that I control my life; my life doesn't control me. — Gabrielle Reece

View every problem as an opportunity ... — Joseph Sugarman

The artful pitcher must take the inevitable peaks and valleys of pitching in stride and never give in to the batters or lose sight of his/her own strengths. — Tom Seaver

To a winner, complacency and overconfidence can be destructive. To losers, desperation and despondency are just as harmful. — Bill Walsh

I don't want to give anyone an edge in my mind. Every time I walk out on the court, I have to feel I'm the best so I can compete well. A lot of times, my chief rival is just me. — Venus Williams

I love to work out and really enjoy the outdoors. I like to immerse myself with sport-related activities and spending quality time with people. I find people to be very inspiring, and I get a lot of motivation from listening and interacting with them, sharing stories and similarities - and differences - in our lives, and learning from each other. — Apolo Ohno

Everyone wants to win, but I think winners believe they deserve to win. They've made the commitment, they've followed the right path, and they've taken the right steps to be successful. — Amy Ruley

Only three or four outs directly affect the outcome of any given game ... One of the greatest challenges of pitching is to recognize these critical situations and rise to the occasion with consistency and a competitive spirit. — Tom Seaver

I think competing is more important than winning. There have been a lot of times when I've teed it up and I didn't win but I felt like I competed. I felt like this was not my day, but I never gave up, and I tried on every shot, and then next week I'd go get them. — Juli Inkster

Have confidence in yourself and don't let people put you down or make you feel weak or worthless, because the more they put you down, the more you need to get back up and prove how wrong they are. — Layne Beachley

If you don't think like a winner, you're not going to be a winner. — Zak Kustok

If you're not prepared, it's not pressure you feel, it's fear. — Bruce Bochy

Being gifted intellectually is only a small part of the equation of success. Concentrate on the factors you have control over: persistence, self-discipline, confidence. Far more failures are due to lack of will than lack of ability. — Terry Bradshaw

A successful pitcher keeps the leadoff hitter from reaching first base and puts the first pitch over for a strike - the two most important rules of pitching. — Nolan Ryan

Things that aren't important, that have nothing to do with winning and losing, don't have to be a rule. — Peter Richmond

You have people telling you how good you are and all of a sudden, you might start believing it and forget what it takes to be good. — Lou Lamoriello

Everybody thinks this is a tough man's sport. This is not a tough man's sport. This is a thinking man's sport. A tough man is gonna get hurt real bad in this sport. — Mike Tyson

The most important thing about motivation is goal setting. You should always have a goal. — Francie Larrieu Smith

Some pitchers want to be known as the fastest throwers that ever lived. Some want to win 30 games in one season. Some want to pitch a no-hitter. All I want to do is the best I can, day after day. In other words, I want to prove I am the best. — Tom Seaver

It's not my job to motivate players. They bring extraordinary motivation to our program. It's my job not to de-motivate them. — Lou Holtz

I want my legacy to be that I was a man of character, I was a God fearing man and somebody who bettered the sport in terms of the way I represented the sport. But also that fact that I was a fierce competitor and fought the best in the world and was able to come out on top, so if those things could be said about me, then I look at it as a job well done. — Andre Ward

Your body is a sacred-temple of God. — Lailah Gifty Akita

My coach told me, "Larry, no matter how much you work at it, there's always someone out there who's working just a little harder - if you take 150 practice shots, he's taking 200." And that drove me. — Larry Bird

Successful innovation is not a single breakthrough. It is not a sprint. It is not an event for the solo runner. Successful innovation is a team sport, it's a relay race. — Nguyen Quyen

Attitude is the whole thing in football. Every team has the talent and the coaching. Motivation makes the difference. The teams that win stay healthy and interested. — Sid Gillman

Regardless of where you're pitching, regardless of what goes on before or after your game, you still have to be ready. — Greg Maddux

I love pushing my body to the limit & seeing how far I can take it before it breaks. — Amy Van Dyken

A coach has to worry not so much about creating motivation, esprit de corps, as about destroying it. The true competitor has it; he wouldn't be a star if he didn't. So you have to mold all these egos together and make sure in your selection of people that you don't destroy the feeling of togetherness or morale, because it is a fragile thing. — Dick Motta

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

We spend 8 hours a day, for 10 months a year, for nearly 17 years sending our kids to school to prepare them for life.
In all of that time there is never a course in overcoming adversity, goal setting, sacrifice, perseverance, teammates, or family.
I guess that's what wrestling is for. — JohnA Passaro

The only person who can stop you from reaching your goals is you. — Jackie Joyner-Kersee

It's not so much what you accomplish in life that really matters, but what you overcome that proves who you are, what you are, and whether you are a champion. — Johnny Miller