These insightful sports quotes encapsulate the profound impact sports have in our lives.
From locker room pep talks to post-match interviews, athletes and coaches have delivered timeless words of wisdom that resonate far beyond the field of play.
Like a great Taylor Swift lyric or a memorable movie line, these sports quotes have become part of our cultural lexicon, shaping our attitudes and inspiring us to reach our potential.
So, grab your favorite jersey and join us as we delve into the power of sports quotes, where each phrase carries the weight of a thousand victories and the spirit of a million fans.
Tell us your favorite inspirational sports quotes in the comment section below.
All athletes need constant motivation and reminders to be at their best during practice and gameplay.
Why?
Because it’s so easy to relax, fall off and fall back. Even when you love what you do!
What are the benefits of reading these inspirational sports quotes?
Most people cannot relate to the extreme work ethic it takes to be an athlete, and as we all know, a few words can go a long way in life.
If you are an athlete who is struggling with the pressure of it all, check out this great list of resources!
When we hear about some of the most successful athletes and sports stars, they were also master motivators.
We can learn many things from their quotes, like:
- How to motivate ourselves and others
- Be better athletes ourselves
- How to handle disappointments and challenges
These athletes were experts at motivating their team to go beyond all previous limits, sending them and their teammates into new territory to achieve the highest performance levels.
And more times than not, the team listens and responds!
Jordan! Kobe! Wayne! Ray Lewis!
Just to name a few, are all master motivators.
We searched the web for the best inspirational sports quotes we could find to inspire athletes of all ages to be the best they can be, on and off the court/field/gym.
Enjoy these wonderful motivational sports quotes for athletes!
Inspirational Sports Quotes For Athletes Who Want To Level Up
1. “Only he who can see the invisible can do the impossible.”
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2. “The man who has no imagination has no wings.” – Muhammad Ali
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3. Today, you have 100% of your life left.” – Tom Landry
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4. “A trophy carries dust. Memories last forever.”
5. “Age is no barrier. It’s a limitation you put on your mind.”
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6. “The only way to prove that you’re a good sport is to lose.”
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7. “It is not the size of a man but the size of his heart that matters.” – Evander Holyfield
8. “The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.” – Pele
9. “One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 preaching it.”
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10. “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” – Michael Jordan
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Inspirational sports quotes for athletes looking for beast mode
11. “Champions keep playing until they get it right.” – Billie Jean King
12. “I always felt that my greatest asset was not my physical ability, it was my mental ability.” – Bruce Jenner
13. “If you have everything under control, you’re not moving fast enough.” – Mario Andretti
14. “You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.”
15. “Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.” – Vince Lombardi
16. “Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.” – Arnold Palmer
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17. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” – Fred Devito
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18. “Victory is in having done your best. If you’ve done your best, you’ve won.” – Billy Bowerman
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19. “You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours.” – Herb Brooks
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20. “The key is not the will to win. Everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” – Bobby Knight
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Motivational sports quotes for athletes from legends
21. “I don’t plan on being disappointed. We plan on being really good, and obviously, we plan on winning.” – Gregg Troy
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22. “A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning.” – Billie Jean King
23. “If you are afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful!” – Charles Barkley
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24. “Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.” – Jerry Rice
Inspirational sports quotes from Hall of Fame athletes
25. “What do you do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.” – Dean Smith
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26. “I’ve failed over & over & over again in my life & that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
27. “You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.” – Jerry West
28. “I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.” – Larry Bird
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29. “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” “Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.” – Babe Ruth
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30. “Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
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Sports quotes for athletes about perseverance
31. “You might not be able to outthink, out market or outspend your competition, but you can outwork them.” – Lou Holtz
32. “You have to do something in your life that is honorable and not cowardly if you are to live in peace with yourself.” – Larry Brown
33. “There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.” – Derek Jeter
34. “An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.” – Emil Zatopek
35. “There are only two options regarding commitment. You’re either IN or you’re OUT. There is no such thing as life in-between.”
36. “Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.” – Wayne Gretzky
37. “Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.” – John Wooden
38. “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”
39. “What keeps me going is not winning, but the quest for reaching potential in myself as a coach and my kids as divers. It’s the pursuit of excellence.” – Ron O’Brien
40. “Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown.”
41. “I think sports gave me the first place where this awkward girl could feel comfortable in my own skin. I think that’s true for a lot of women—sports gives you a part of your life where you can work at something and you look in the mirror and you like that person.” – Teri McKeever
42. “Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.”
43. “The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it.”
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Inspirational sports quotes from winners
44. “The hardest skill to acquire in this sport is the one where you compete all out, give it all you have, and you are still getting beat no matter what you do. When you have the killer instinct to fight through that, it is very special.” – Eddie Reese
45. “Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.”
46. “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. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” – Muhammad Ali
47. “Some people say I have attitude – maybe I do…but I think you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does – that makes you a winner right there. ” – Venus Willams
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48. “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 Atrong
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More inspirational sports quotes
49. “A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning.” – Pat Riley
50. “Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” – Vince Lombardi
51. “If you think it’s hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball.” – Jack Lemmon
52. “Finding good players is easy. Getting them to play as a team is another story.” – Casey Stengel
53. “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.”— Vince Lombardi
54. “When you’re riding, only the race in which you’re riding is important.” – Bill Shoemaker
55. “Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” – Michael Jordan
56. “In the end, the game comes down to one thing: man against man. May the best man win.” ― Sam Huff
57. “Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.”― Mike Singletary
58. “Pain is only temporary but victory is forever.” ― Jeremy H
Inspirational sports quotes to give you motivation
59. “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.” – Vince Lombardi
60. “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.” – Tommy Lasorda
61. “The principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before.” – Steve Young
62. “There are certain basic qualities and characteristics you’ve got to have. Number one: you’ve got to have a will to win.” – Bob Richards
63. “A champion is someone who does not settle for that day’s practice, that day’s competition, that day’s performance. They are always striving to be better. They don’t live in the past.” – Briana Scurry
64. “Show me a gracious loser and I’ll show you a failure.” – Knute Rockne
65. “Winning isn’t everything, but it beats anything that comes in second.” – Paul Bryant
66. “Just be patient. Let the game come to you. Don’t rush. Be quick, but don’t hurry.” – Earl Monroe
67. “Nothing is black-and-white, except for winning and losing, and maybe that’s why people gravitate to that so much.” – Steve Nash
68. “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”– Wayne Gretzky
69. “I tell the kids, somebody’s gotta win, somebody’s gotta lose. Just don’t fight about it. Just try to get better.” – Yogi Berra
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Inspirational sports quotes to help you develop a winning attitude
70. “It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.” – Muhammad Ali
71. “Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.” – John Wooden
72. “Competitive sports are played mainly on a five-and-a-half inch court, the space between your ears.” – Bobby Jones
73. “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.” – Pele
74. You can’t win unless you learn how to lose.” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
75. “I’m excited about the opportunity to get out there and show not only what I can do but, more importantly, what this team can do with me in there.” ― Philip Rivers
76. “At a young age winning is not the most important thing… the important thing is to develop creative and skilled players with good confidence.” – Arsene Wenger
77. “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” – Tim Notke
78. “Passion first and everything will fall into place.” – Holly Holm
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79. “I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it.” – Sandy Koufax
80. “I don’t have to wait for nobody, I move when I wanna move.” – Floyd Mayweather
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Sports quotes about confidence and winning
81. “Most talented players don’t always succeed. Some don’t even make the team. It’s more what’s inside.”– Brett Favre
82. “Show me a guy who’s afraid to look bad, and I’ll show you a guy you can beat every time.”– Lou Brock
83. “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.”– Homer Rice
84. “My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.” – Hank Aaron
85. “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
86. “If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat.”– Herschel Walker
87. “If you can believe it, the mind can achieve it.”– Ronnie Lott
88. “If you don’t have confidence, you’ll always find a way not to win.”– Carl Lewis
89. “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”– Michael Jordan
90. “Without self-discipline, success is impossible, period.”– Lou Holtz
91. “Just keep going. Everybody gets better if they keep at it.”– Ted Williams
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92. “Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds.”– Larry Bird
93. “The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.”– Joe Paterno
94. “Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way.”– Satchel Paige
95. “You’re never a loser until you quit trying.”– Mike Ditka
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Sports quotes to elevate your perspective
96. “I’ve never lost a game. I just ran out of time.” — Michael Jordan
97. “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” – Jim Valvano
98. “Winning solves everything.” — Tiger Woods
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99. “Life is gonna throw you curve balls and it’s how you deal with them and your attitude and your work ethic.” – Kerri Strug
100. “For me, winning isn’t something that happens suddenly on the field when the whistle blows and the crowds roar. Winning is something that builds physically and mentally every day that you train and every night that you dream.” — Emmitt Smith
101. “So many people along the way, whatever it is you aspire to do, will tell you it can’t be done. But all it takes is imagination. You dream. You plan. You reach.” – Michael Phelps
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102. “Losing feels worse than winning feels good.” — Vin Scully
103. “You’ll score a lot of goals in your career but not one of them will happen without the help of a teammate.” – Abby Wambach
104. “It ain’t over till it’s over.” – Yogi Berra
105. “The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.” – Arnold Palmer
Sports quotes that will inspire you to win in the game of life
106. “Victory is fleeting. Losing is forever.” — Billie Jean King
107. “Good is something you do, not something you talk about. Some medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket.” ― Gino Bartali
108. “No matter how much you’ve won, no matter how many games, no matter how many championships, no matter how many Super Bowls, you’re not winning now, so you stink.” — Bill Parcells
109. “To me the beauty of teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one. You become selfless.” – Coach Mike Krzyzewski
110. “Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next.”— George Steinbrenner
111. “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” – Wayne Gretzky
112. “When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less.” — Paul Brown
113. “Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character.” – Vince Lombardi
114. “If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all?” – Joe Namath
115. “What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose.” – Andre Agassi
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Sports quotes to motivate you
116. “Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking of pressure, it’s because you’ve started to think of failure.” – Tommy Lasorda
117. “Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle.” – Wilma Rudolph
118. “I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.” – Mia Hamm
119. “I am no genius; I just worked hard like my other teammates, and I believe all my teammates can win the title as they work hard, too.” – Lin Dan
120. “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.” – Yogi Berra
121. “Kill them with success and bury them with a smile.” – Usain Bolt
122. “I mean, it’s not important what kind of pants you were; it’s how you wear them.” – Ronnie Lott
123. “I’ve had to learn to fight all my life – got to learn to keep smiling. If you smile things will work out.” – Serena Williams
124. “From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.” – Arthur Ashe
125. “I wouldn’t let the boys down, no way. If my arm came off I’d still play.” — Jack Bird
Inspirational sports quotes that will make you think differently
126. “I would have thought that the knowledge that you are going to be leapt upon by half-a-dozen congratulatory, but sweaty team-mates would be inducement not to score a goal.” – Arthur Marshall
127. “In baseball and in business, there are three types of people. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened.” – Tommy Lasorda
128. “Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.” – Matt Biondi
129. “You are the handicap you must face. You are the one who must choose your place.” – James Lane Allen
130. “It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.” – Muhammad Ali
131. “Goals prepare Olympic athletes physically and mentally. Did you know that goals are used by sports psychologists in order to help athletes improve their performance?” – Paul Bailey
132. “Bodybuilding is much like any other sport. To be successful, you must dedicate yourself 100% to your training, diet and mental approach.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
133. “In sports, players need to be reminded of their competition to become motivated to practice. The same can be applied in business.” – Gavin McGinnis
134. “Everybody’s got plans… until they get hit.” – Mike Tyson
135. “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
Sports quotes to inspire you toward success
136. “Winning means you’re willing to go longer, work harder, and give more than anyone else.” – Vince Lombardo
137. “Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up.” – Rocky Balboa
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138. “At one point in your life you either have the thing you want or the reasons why you don’t.” – Andy Roddick
139. “It never gets easier. You just get better.” – Jordan Hoechlin
140. “Winners never quit and quitters never win. Sports do not build character. They reveal it.” – Heywood Broun
141. “It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort.” – Jillian Michaels
142. “Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision.” – Muhammad Ali
143. “Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.” – Lance Armstrong
144. “It’s not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.” – Paul Bryant
145. “Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.” – John Wooden
Sports quotes that will motivate you
146. “The best motivation always comes from within.” – Michael Johnson
147. “The secret of winning football games is working more as a team, less as individuals. I play not my 11 best, but my best 11.” – Knute Rockne
148. “To succeed…You need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.” – Tony Dorsett
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149. “You don’t play against opponents, you play against the game of basketball.” – Bobby Knight
150. “Difficulties in life are intended to make us better, not bitter.” – Dan Reeves
151. The rewards are going to come, but my happiness is just loving the sport and having fun performing.” – Jackie Joyner Kersee
152. “Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.” – Vernon Law
153. “Don’t tell me how rocky the sea is, just bring the ship in.” – Lou Holtz
154. “Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.” – Babe Ruth
155. “Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength.” – Phil Jackson
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More sports quotes and sayings
156. “Soccer forces life to move on. There’s always a new match. A new season. There’s always a dream that everything can get better. It’s a game of wonders.” – Fredrik Backman
157. “There is no getting around the fact that the moment you are at your very best is the moment you begin to become worse and worse. Others will come along who can run faster, jump higher, hit harder, and you will be forgotten. Your winning moment is dated to die.” – Charlie Higson
158. “Never underestimate the heart of a champion!” – Doc Rivers
159. “If you don’t fall, how are you going to know what getting up feels like?” – Stephen Curry
160. “We old athletes carry the disfigurements and markings of contests remembered only by us and no one else. Nothing is more lost than a forgotten game.” – Pat Conroy
161. “Winning is a habit leadership is calmly maintaining that habit against all odds.” – Amit Ray
162. “Losing teaches you how to win, winning teaches you how not to lose.” – Matshona Dhliwayo
163. “You will never get the best out of anyone professionally unless you understand what motivates and makes them tick personally as a human being.” – Rasheed Ogunlaru
164. “Nothing else will show your true character than how you lose.” – Ken Gleed
165. “Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” – Bobby Unser
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Best Motivational Sports Quotes by Football Players
166. “I would never do anything outside of the rules of play.” – Tom Brady
167. “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.” – Archie Griffin
168. “A champion is simply someone who did not give up when they wanted to.” – Tom Landry
169. “For every pass I caught in a game, I caught a thousand in practice.” – Dom Hutson
170. “When you don’t give up, you cannot fail.” – Adrian Peterson
171. “Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.” – Bo Jackson
172. “Stay focused. Your start does not determine how you’re going to finish.“ – Herm Edwards
173. “Success isn’t owned, it’s leased. And rent is due every day.“ – J.J. Watt
174. “Remember, once you set a goal, it’s all about how hard you’re willing to work, how much you’re willing to sacrifice and how badly you truly want it.” – J.J. Watt
175. “Nobody who gave his best ever regretted it.” – George Halas
176. “Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” – Lou Holtz
Sports quotes to live your life by
177. “The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.” — Les Brown
178. “Winners never quit and quitters never win.” — Vince Lombardi
179. “If you come in second, you’re just the first loser!” — Tiger Woods
180. “A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.” — Jack Dempsey
181. “To give any less than your best is to sacrifice a gift.” — Steve Prefontaine
182. “I’ve learned that something constructive comes from every defeat.” — Tom Landry
183. “You don’t win by being good. You win with hard work and sacrifice. Without that, skill is just potential.” ― Bobby Orr
184.“Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it.” — Steve Prefontaine
185. “I’m playing; I’m here. I’m going to fight until they tell me they don’t want me anymore.” —Steve Nash
186. “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger
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Short sports quotes
187. “If you can’t outplay them, outwork them.” – Ben Hogan
188. “Moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else.” – Martina Navratilova
189. “Good is not good when better is expected.” – Vin Scully
190. “The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer.” – John Madden
192. “Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you.” – Bethany Hamilton
191. “Your biggest opponent isn’t the other guy. It’s human nature.” – Bobby Knight
193. “Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.” – Pat Riley
194. “When you see a good move, look for a better one.” – Emanuel Lasker
195. “My definition of a sport is that it’s a physical activity that involves competition. Since bodybuilders certainly train and then compete, we are certainly a sport.” ― Arnold Schwarzenegger
196. “No one ever won a game by resigning.” – Ksawery Tartakower
Motivational sports quotes from Peyton Manning
197. “It’s not wanting to win that makes you a winner; it’s refusing to fail.” — Peyton Manning
198. “Anyone who waits for someone else to make a change automatically becomes a follower.” — Peyton Manning
199. “I’ve never left the field saying, ‘I could’ve done more to get ready,’ and that gives me peace of mind.” — Peyton Manning
200. “Life is about choices. You ask the questions and you listen to the answers. Then you listen to your heart.” — Peyton Manning
201. “You’ve got to remember what your priorities are. When you’re playing, what you do on the field is the most important thing.“ — Peyton Manning
202. “I have to leave the games now if the announcer says something I don’t agree with. I’m thinking, ‘Peyton, it is not healthy to be all worked up before a game.’” — Peyton Manning
203. “I’m not 23 anymore. But the defensive ends and linebackers chasing me are. If I had to chose between youth and experience, I’d take experience every time.” — Peyton Manning
204. “I’ve been a Colt for almost all of my adult life, but I guess in life, and in sports, we all know nothing lasts forever. Times change, circumstances change, and that’s the reality of playing in the NFL.” — Peyton Manning
205. “When you go through a significant injury and have a major career change, you truly do go one year at a time, and you don’t look past what’s going on now, because you are not sure what’s going to happen. Tomorrow is not promised.” — Peyton Manning
206. “Everybody is going to be excited to play in a Super Bowl. When you still enjoy the preparation and the work part of it, I think you ought to be still doing that. I think as soon as I stop enjoying it, if I can’t produce, if I can’t help a team, that’s when I will stop playing.” — Peyton Manning
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Inspirational sports quotes to help you play your best
207. “If you fail to prepare, you’re prepared to fail.” — Mark Spitz
208. “Sports serve society by providing vivid examples of excellence.” — George F. Will
209. “People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” ― Rogers Hornsby
210. “Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your own two ears.” — Laird Hamilton
211. “Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second.” — William James
212. “Continuous effort — not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential.” — Liane Cardes
213. “The five S’s of sports training are: stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit; but the greatest of these is spirit.” — Ken Doherty
214. “How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser.” — Lou Holtz
215. “Never give up, never give in, and when the upper hand is ours, may we have the ability to handle the win with the dignity that we absorbed the loss.” — Doug Williams
216. “Number one is just to gain a passion for running. To love the morning, to love the trail, to love the pace on the track. And if some kid gets really good at it, that’s cool too.” — Pat Tyson
Inspirational sports quotes that will change your mindset
217. “Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.” ― Dean Karnazes
218. “It’s not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference.” – Bear Bryant
219. “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” ― Michael Jordan
220. “You wouldn’t have won if we’d beaten you.” – Yogi Berra
221. “That’s one thing you learn in sports. You don’t give up; you fight to the finish.” ― Louis Zamperini
222. “Seek opportunities to show you care. The smallest gestures often make the biggest difference.” – John Wooden
223. “Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can.” ― Paul Tournier
224. “Your basketball goals should be out of reach, but never out of sight.” – Felicity Luckey
225. “I’ve never lost a game I just ran out of time.” ― Michael Jordan
226. “Some medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket.”— Gino Bartali
Sports quotes about teamwork
227. “You must learn how to hold a team together. You must lift some men up, calm others down, until finally, they’ve got one heartbeat. Then you’ve got yourself a team.” – Paul “Bear” Bryant
228. “Team guts always beats individual greatness.” – Robert Zuppke
229. “Anyone can support a team that is winning — it takes no courage. But to stand behind a team, to defend a team when it is down and really needs you, that takes a lot of courage.” – Bart Starr
230. “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” – Phil Jackson
231. “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success.” – Babe Ruth
232. “The secret to success is good leadership, and good leadership is all about making the lives of your team members or workers better.” – Tony Dungy
233. “On a football team, it’s not the strength of the individual players, but it is the strength of the unit and how they all function together.” – Bill Belichik
234. “One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
235. “Great teamwork is the only way we create the breakthroughs that define our careers.” – Pat Riley
236. “Being a good teammate isn’t about recognition. I do it because it makes me whole and complete.” – Dwyane Wade
Motivational Sports Quotes That Inspire You To Win
237. “Sport is part of every man and woman’s heritage and its absence can never be compensated for.” — Pierre de Coubertin
238. “You play to win the game…Hello. You play to win the game.” — Herman Edwards
239. “You have no control over what the other guy does. You only have control over what you do.” — A. J. Kitt
240. “The integrity and self-esteem gained from winning the battle against extremity are the richest treasures in my life.” — Diana Nyad
241. “I’ll always be Number 1 to myself.” — Moses Malone
242. “We make too much of winning. The mere fact of winning doesn’t make you great.” — Wilt Chamberlain
243. “My only feeling about superstition is that it’s unlucky to be behind at the end of the game.” — Duffy Daugherty
244. “If you can’t win, make the one ahead of you break the record.” — John McKeithen
245. “All I know is, I don’t want to stop coaching, and I don’t want to stop winning, so we’re gonna break the record unless I die.” — Bear Bryant
246. “It isn’t hard to be good from time to time in sports. What is tough, is being good every day.” — Willie Mays
Sports quotes about mindset
247. “I got more bruises, grass burns and cuts in practice than in match play.” – Jonty Rhodes
248. “You must have confidence in your competence.” – Elijah Cummings
249. “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, and others make it happen.” – Michael Jordan
250. “Whatever is going to happen will happen, whether we worry or not.” – Ana Monnar
251. “It’s what you learn after you think you know it all that really counts.” – John Wooden
252. “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” – Naoki Higashida
253. “Comfort the challenged, and challenge the comfortable.” – Ric Charlesworth
254. “I am facing a challenge, I am not facing defeat. Remember this.” – Nikki Rowe
255. “Act as if it was, and it will be.”― Lailah Gifty Akita
256. “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” – William Shakespeare
Motivational Sports Quotes To Help You Achieve Your Potential
257. “The ability to conquer one’s self is no doubt the most precious of all things that sports bestows.” — Olga Korbut
258. “In the sports arena I would say there is nothing like training and preparation. You have to train your mind as much as your body.” — Venus Williams
259. “Sports teaches you character. It teaches you to play by the rules. It teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose. It teaches you about life.”— Billie Jean King
260. “True disputants are like true sportsmen: their whole delight is in the pursuit.” — Alexander Pope
261. “Sport should be in your Blood/Veins, Not in the Joints or Bones.” ― Binoy Boban
262. “You have to have a real love of your sport to carry you through all the bad times.” — Nancy Greene
263. “In the field of sports you are more or less accepted for what you do rather than what you are.” — Althea Gibson
264. “You can’t let success diminish the desire to be a winner. There’s room for improvement in every sportsman.” — Lionel Messi
265. “In sports, it is not the strongest, who wins, but the most practical and skillful” — Sunday Adelaja
266. “Sports creates complicated men, proud enough to refuse to admit their mistakes, but humble enough always to put their team first.” — Fredrik Backman
Motivational Sports Quotes To Boost A Positive Mindset
267. “My thoughts before a big race are usually pretty simple. I tell myself: Get out of the blocks, run your race, stay relaxed. If you run your race, you’ll win… channel your energy. Focus.” — Carl Lewis
268. “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” — Will Rogers
269. “Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.” — Michael Jordan
270. “If you want to be the best, you have to do the things that other people aren’t willing to do.” — Michael Phelps
271. “I don’t count my situps. I only start counting once it starts hurting.” — Muhammad Ali
272. “No man can avoid being born average,but no man has to stay average.” — Satchel Paige
273. “So many players enter the game with the same approximate skills. The difference is not aptitude but attitude.” — Dave Winfield
274. “You learn you can do your best even when its hard, even when you’re tired and maybe hurting a little bit. It feels good to show some courage. “ — Joe Namath
275. “It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.” — Seneca the Younger
Motivational Sports Quotes To Become a Champion
276. “The best and fastest way to learn a sport is to watch and imitate a champion.” — Jean-Claude Killy
277. “No one knows what to say in the loser’s locker room.” — Muhammad Ali
278. “Sport is singularly able to give us peak experience where we feel completely one with the world and transcend all conflicts as we finally become our own potential.” — George A. Sheehan
279. “Football games are generally won by the boys with the greatest desire.” — Bear Bryant
280. “Sport, at its best, at its most human, is able to inspire an innocence and joy that is unique to each of us.” — Richard J. Corman
281. “Good players want to be coached… Great players want to be told the truth.” — Doc Rivers
282. “What makes the difference between a great player and just a normal player is dedication, work, commitment.” — Thierry Henry
283. “I don’t have any ideas; my coaches have them. I just pass the ideas on and referee the arguments.” — Bear Bryant
284. “Close don’t count in baseball. Close only counts in horseshoes and grenades.” — Frank Robinson
285. “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.” — Jim Courier
Motivational Sports Quotes to Motivate Athletes and Sports Enthusiasts
286. “To paly the game is great, to win the game is greater, but to love the game is the greatest of all.” ― Palestra Palque
287. “Sports is human life in microcosm.” ― Howard Cosell
288. “If you watch a game, it’s fun; if you play it, it’s recreation; if you work at it, it’s golf.” ― Evan Esar
289. “You don’t just want to beat a team. You want to leave a lasting impression in their minds so they never want to see your face again.” ― Mia Hamm
290. “A good sport can be contrasted with someone who tries to ‘win at all costs’.” ― Nick Hunter
291. “A baseball game is twice as much fun if you’re seeing it on the company’s time.” ― William Feather
292. “The best athletes in the world are those who are willing to push harder then anyone else, and go through more pain then anyone else.” ― Ashley M.L.
293. “A well-adjusted person is one who can play golf and bridge as if they were games.” ― Evan Esar
294. “Love is playing every game as if it’s your last.” ― Michael Jordan
295. “If he is to become a ball player, he must learn the rules of the game. And, contrary to popular thinking, children appreciate rules.” ― Billy Graham
Top Motivational Sports Quotes By Famous American Coaches
296. “Winning is what happens when commitment, desire, talent, preparation, hard work, and leadership all come together.” — Tom Coughlin
297. “He who gets the best players usually wins.” — Bobby Bowden
298. “Losing a game is heartbreaking. Losing your sense of excellence or worth is a tragedy.” — Joe Paterno
299.“The key to coaching is not what you do, but the way you do it. The intangibles, the motivational parts of the game are the most important facets of it.” — Rick Pitino
300. When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality. — Joe Paterno
301. “If short hair and good manners won football games, Army and Navy would play for the national championship every year.” — Bobby Bowden
302. “Every team is beatable, you never know. The right moment, the right time, every team is beatable.” — Tom Coughlin
303. “Basketball doesn’t build character it reveals it.” — James Naismith
304. “The NBA is all about winning, but at this level (college basketball) winning doesn’t make you happy. You can win, and play lousy, and in my program, feel lousy. To me it’s about: How good can we be.” — Geno Auriemma
305. “Every team is flawed. There hasn’t been a truly complete team in a while.” — Jim Calhoun
Motivational Sports Quotes By Famous Retired Socccer Coaches
306. “Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is.” — Johan Cruijff
307 “To achieve great things you have first to believe it.” — Arsene Wenger
308. “If you do not believe you can do it then you have no chance at all.” — Arsene Wenger
309. “The work of a team should always embrace a great player but the great player must always work.” — Alex Ferguson
310. “It is not the strong one that wins, the one that wins is strong.” — Franz Beckenbauer
311. “I never wanted Manchester United to be second to anybody. Only the best would be good enough.” — Sir Matt Busby
312. “If you want to score a goal, you have to hit the target.” — Fabio Capello
313. “Players lose you games, not tactics. There’s so much crap talked about tactics by people who barely know how to win at dominoes.” — Brian Clough
314. Football is a game of mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins.“ — Johan Cruyff
315. “A good midfielder has eyes in the back of his head, that’s the secret in a nutshell” — Ernst Happel
316. “Football is just a game. What matters is what you play for.” ― Ernie Davis
317. “Greatness finds us by obstacles in front of us. I don’t look at hurdles as obstacles blocking my path but opportunities to overcome.” ― Lolo Jones
318. “Football is something like war. Whoever behaves too properly, is lost.” ― Rinus Michels
319. “Skateboarding doesn’t make you a skateboarder; not being able to stop skateboarding makes you a skateboarder.” ― Lance Mountain
320. “Running reminded me exactly who I am and what I am made of.” ― Lynn Jennings
What motivational sports quotes stood out to you?
To achieve success in their sport, even the most talented athletes have to be at their best during both practice and gameplay.
So it’s not surprising that there are many great athletes and coaches who have produced amazing motivational quotes that we can all draw upon, whether you’re a sports person or not.
Hopefully, these inspirational sports quotes have motivated you to work harder towards your goals and dreams.
What quote stood out for you?
Share your favorite inspirational sports quotes below.
Also, what motivational quotes for athletes would you add to the list?
Dwana Bragado
November 12, 2022 at 5:20 PM
This website was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally, I have found something that helped me. Appreciate it!
David PaCkMaN Ryan
August 16, 2020 at 1:38 PM
About 1/3 of these quotes are garbage (e.g. #3, #4, #5 etc.) A few are contradictory (e.g. #6 vs #64, #22 vs #23). At least 4 are duplicates (#9 & #58, #16 & #75, #20 & #144, #48 & #143).
Elise M. Eriksen
October 23, 2019 at 1:23 AM
Great Quotes by some of the greatest. Going to share
In hopes they will inspire the next generation (my 12yr old
Boy).