Athletic Inspirational Quotes:

If you train hard, you'll not only be hard, you'll be hard to beat.

- Herschel Walker

source: Herschel Walker (1989). “Herschel Walker's Basic Training”, Main Street Books

topic: Motivational, Sports, Athlete, Inspirational Athlete, Great Sports

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

- Dean Smith

topic: Inspiring, Basketball, Sports, Inspirational Coach, Inspirational Coaching

There may be people who have more talent than you, but there's no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do - and I believe that.

- Derek Jeter

topic: Motivational, Inspiring, Success, Sports Leadership, Inspirational Winning

Just keep going. Everybody gets better if they keep at it.

- Ted Williams

topic: Inspirational, Life, Motivational, Inspirational Football, Inspirational History

A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.

- Wayne Gretzky

topic: Sports, Athlete, Hockey, Inspirational Hockey, Sports Competition

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.

- Mia Hamm

topic: Girl, Athlete, Practice, Inspirational Athlete, Inspirational Coach

One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

source: Twitter post from Mar 27, 2013

topic: Teamwork, Sports, Athlete, Drills, Inspirational Athlete

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination.

- Tommy Lasorda

source: Twitter post from Aug 24, 2015

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Sports, Baseball Games, Inspirational Determination

You're never a loser until you quit trying.

- Mike Ditka

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Sports, Baseball Games, Inspirational History

If you can't outplay them, outwork them.

- Ben Hogan

topic: Athlete, Sports Stars, Athletic Inspirational, Athletic Motivational

I've always made a total effort, even when the odds seemed entirely against me. I never quit trying; I never felt that I didn't have a chance to win.

- Arnold Palmer

topic: Perseverance, Motivational Sports, Determination, Inspirational Coach, Inspirational Coaching

The difference between the old ballplayer and the new ballplayer is the jersey. The old ballplayer cared about the name on the front. The new ballplayer cares about the name on the back.

- Steve Garvey

source: "There's No I in Team, But Me Plays a Big Role" by Tom Gerdy, www.huffingtonpost.com. January 19, 2012.

topic: Sports, Baseball, Athlete, Inspirational Baseball, Popular Sports

If you don't have confidence, you'll always find a way not to win.

- Carl Lewis

topic: Inspirational, Winning, Way, Inspirational Athlete, Sports Training

Without self-discipline, success is impossible, period.

- Lou Holtz

topic: Inspirational, Success, Sports, Inspirational Athlete, Sports Competition

I learned that if you want to make it bad enough, no matter how bad it is, you can make it.

- Gale Sayers

source: Gale Sayers, Al Silverman (1972). “I Am Third”

topic: Athlete, Want, Matter, Inspirational Football, Sports Spirit

You have to believe in yourself when no one else does.

- Serena Williams

topic: Positive, Believe, Doe, Inspirational Attitude, Just Believe In Yourself

Age is no barrier. It's a limitation you put on your mind.

- Jackie Joyner-Kersee

topic: Sports, Athlete, Mind, Over 50, Sports Stars

If you're fail to prepare, you're prepared to fail.

- Mark Spitz

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Failing, Favorite Sports, Inspirational Athlete

I've learned that something constructive comes from every defeat.

- Tom Landry

topic: Inspirational, Sports, Athlete, Inspirational Athlete, Inspirational History

Set your goals high, and don't stop till you get there.

- Bo Jackson

source: Bo Jackson, Dick Schaap (1990). “Bo knows Bo: the autobiography of a ballplayer”, Doubleday Books

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Sports, Inspirational Coach, Inspirational Football Coach

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

- Michael Jordan

source: "Nike Culture : The Sign of the Swoosh". Book by Robert Goldman, Stephen Papson (p. 49), 1998.

topic: Inspirational, Life, Motivational, Favorite Sports, Best Success

There are only two options regarding commitment; you’re either in or you’re out.

- Pat Riley

topic: Inspirational Athlete, Inspirational Coach, Inspirational Commitment, Basketball Coaching, Great Sports

I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'

- Muhammad Ali

source: Twitter post from Feb 20, 2011

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Fitness, I Am The Best, Inspirational Coach

If you can believe it, the mind can achieve it.

- Ronnie Lott

topic: Graduation, Sports, Football, Inspirational Football, Inspirational Athlete

You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.

- Michael Jordan

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Happiness, Improve Self Esteem, Just Believe In Yourself

To succeed, you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.

- Tony Dorsett

source: Tony Dorsett, Harvey Frommer (1989). “Running tough: memoirs of a football maverick”, Doubleday Books

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Success, Sports Spirit, Professional Career

A champion is someone who gets up when he can't.

- Jack Dempsey

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Positive, Inspirational History, Sportive

If you aren't going all the way, why go at all?

- Joe Namath

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Sports, Inspirational Football, Baseball Games

Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.

- Vince Lombardi

source: President Robert Robbins' Installation Speech, president.arizona.edu. November 29, 2017.

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Business, Striving For Perfection, Inspirational Football Coach

It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.

- Vince Lombardi

source: Vince Lombardi, Jr. (2012). “What It Takes to Be Number One”, p.31, Thomas Nelson Inc

topic: Love, Inspirational, Life, Inspirational Football, Softball Team

You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that it was a one hundred percent effort that you gave - win or lose.

- Gordie Howe

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Sports, Inspirational Hockey, Sports Competition

Make sure your worst enemy doesn't live between your two ears.

- Laird Hamilton

topic: Inspirational, Two, Enemy, Inspirational Athlete, Check Yourself

A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.

- Ara Parseghian

topic: Motivational, Sports, Teamwork, Inspirational Coaching, Sports Coach

The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it.

- Wayne Gretzky

topic: Motivational, Sports, Dog, Inspirational Athlete, Inspirational Hockey

The principle is competing against yourself. It's about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before.

- Steve Young

topic: Change, Self, Principles, Inspirational Football, Inspirational Athlete

It's not whether you win or lose - but whether I win or lose.

- Sandy Lyle

topic: Sports, Motivational Sports, Winning, Sporting Events, Inspirational Tennis

The winners in life think constantly in terms of I can, I will, and I am. Losers, on the other hand, concentrate their waking thoughts on what they should have or would have done, or what they can't do.

- Denis Waitley

topic: Positive, Thinking, Hands, Softball Player, Great Sports

To uncover your true potential you must first find your own limits and then you have to have the courage to blow past them.

- Picabo Street

topic: Athlete, Past, Blow, Inspirational Athlete, Inspirational Winning

The five S's of sports training are: stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit; but the greatest of these is spirit.

- Ken Doherty

topic: Inspirational, Sports, Fitness, Inspirational Runner, Sports Spirit

Never give up! Failure and rejection are only the first step to succeeding.

- Jim Valvano

topic: Giving Up, Athlete, Rejection, Give It Your All, Best Athlete

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.

- Lance Armstrong

source: "It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life". Book by Lance Armstrong and Sally Jenkins, May 22, 2000.

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Perseverance, Love Pain, Sports Mental Toughness

Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't.

- Jerry Rice

source: "Getting Earnest With Movement". Noisey Interveiw, noisey.vice.com.

topic: Athlete, Today, Tomorrow, Inspirational Athlete, Inspirational Football Coach

You owe it to yourself to be the best you can possibly be - in baseball and in life.

- Pete Rose

source: Pete Rose, Peter Golenbock (1985). “Pete Rose on hitting: how to hit better than anybody”, Perigee

topic: Baseball, Athlete, Being The Best, Favorite Sports, Inspirational Athlete

The rewards are going to come, but my happiness is just loving the sport and having fun performing.

- Jackie Joyner-Kersee

topic: Sports, Fun, Athlete, Sports Competition, Sports Psychology

Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost.

- Martina Navratilova

topic: Funny, Sports, Running, Sporting Events, Inspirational Tennis

What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose.

- Andre Agassi

source: Twitter post from Jan 25, 2016

topic: Inspirational, Sports, Athlete, Victory Inspirational, Give 100 Percent