A lot of times I find that people who are blessed with the most talent don't ever develop that attitude, and the ones who aren't blessed in that way are the most competitive and have the biggest heart.
Tom Brady

 

Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise.
Kobe Bryant

 

I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.
Kobe Bryant

 

Any time you try to win everything, you must be willing to lose everything.
Larry Csonka

 

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

 

The time when there is no one there to feel sorry for you or to cheer for you is when a player is made.
Tim Duncan

 

The ballplayer who loses his head, who can't keep his cool, is worse than no ballplayer at all.
Lou Gehrig

 

It's never over. You don't want to be in the position to be down four runs in the ninth inning, but it's not over until the last out.
Derek Jeter

 

Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.
Michael Jordan

 

I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don't do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results.
Michael Jordan

 

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

 

Pressure is something you feel when you don't know what the hell you're doing.
Peyton Manning

 

You have to feel you're the best at what you do. You don't have to come out and say it. But you have to know it within yourself.
Dan Marino



Tiger Woods is the hardest working player on the PGA tour today. He is estimated to hit over eight hundred balls at each practice session and is known to spend hours a day working on his short game. “Whatever he sees as a weakness in his game, he turns into a strength,” says Woods’ coach Butch Harmon, ( Time magazine, August 14, 2000). Although Tiger has won many PGA titles his work ethic has never diminished. After a not so stellar round of golf during 2000 PGA championship Tiger went straight to the practice range. There he hit balls under the watchful eye of his coach until it was dark out. Once dark out, Tiger went to the chipping area where he worked on his short game and stayed until 8:56 pm.



 

In 2004, Haney (Tiger’s coach) asked Earl (Tiger’s late father) about his son's never-quit mentality. Earl recounted a tell-tale incident during the prestigious Orange Bowl junior tournament in Florida when Woods was a celebrated high school player.

 

''Earl told me how Tiger walked to the first tee. It was his birthday, and people sang 'Happy Birthday' to him,'' Haney said. ''Then Tiger hit a bad drive and made bogey. On the second hole, he three-putted and made another bogey. He hit in the water on the third hole, made another bogey, and his head went down.''

 

Every golfer has bad days, but Earl wouldn't let this one pass.

 

''Earl Woods was a Green Beret, a tough guy,'' Haney said. ''He told Tiger he shouldn't act like this. He said, 'Golf doesn't owe you anything, I don't owe you anything, your mother doesn't owe you anything. The only person who owes you anything is yourself. You owe it to yourself to try your hardest.'

 

''Tiger had never seen his dad like that. Earl scared Tiger, and he didn't say anything. The next day they flew back to California, and he didn't say anything then, either. After the second day, he said, 'Pop, I'll never quit again.' That's what makes him so great.''


 

                7 Keys to a Successful Season (Paul Woodside)
1) FOCUS -- totally on what you're doing at the time you're doing it. Be fully present.
2) EFFORT -- you control your actions and decisions; leave it all on the field.
3) DIRECTION -- align your goals, your actions, your mind, your heart.
4) VISION -- you SEE success before you perform it. Your mind is the key.
5) TRUST/COMMITMENT -- believe 100% in yourself and your team or don't play.
6) PERFORMANCE -- they call it "game-time" for a reason.  Bring it on every play.
7) ENJOY -- Appreciate all that is given to you.  Live each day out loud!


MOTIVATING QUOTES FOR GREAT ATHLETES

Walter Payton
I want to be remembered as the guy who gave his all whenever he was on the field.

 

Merlin Olsen
The winning team has a dedication. It will have a core of veteran players who set the standards. They will not accept defeat.

 

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

 

Tommy Lasorda
The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination.

 

Jimmy Johnson
Treat a person as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat him as he could be, and he will become what he should be.

 

Willie Mays
In order to excel, you must be completely dedicated to your chosen sport. You must also be prepared to work hard and be willing to accept constructive criticism. Without a total 100 percent dedication, you won't be able to do this.

 

Babe Ruth
Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.

 

John Wooden
Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should accomplish with your ability.

 

Roger Staubach
There are not traffic jams along the extra mile.

 

John McEnroe
I think it's the mark of a great player to be confident in tough situations.

 

Mike Ditka
Success is never permanent, and failure is never final.

 

Michael Jordan
I've failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

 

Wayne Gretzky
You'll miss 100% of the shots you never take.

 

Casey Stengel
Most games are lost, not won.


"A winner is somebody who goes out there every day and exhausts himself trying to get something accomplished.  Being able to get the most from their ability.  That's what characterizes a winner."
Joe Torre

"Your actions speak so loudly, I can hardly hear you talk."
Coach Greg Robinson

Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory."
William Barclay

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.
Michael Jordan

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

Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-
a desire, a dream, a vision ...
The will must be stronger than the skill.
Muhammad Ali

Ask not what your teammates can do for you.
Ask what you can do for your teammates.
Magic Johnson

It's not the size of the dog in the fight,
but the size of the fight in the dog.
Archie Griffen, two-time Heisman winner ( 5ft. 9in.)

Football is like life -- it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.
Vince Lombardi

The difference between a successful person and others
is not a lack of strength,
not a lack of knowledge,
but rather in a lack of will.
Vince Lombardi

It's not the will to win,
but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference. 
Coach Bear Bryant

Four years of football are calculated
to breed in the average man
more of the ingredients of success in life
than almost any academic course he takes.
Knute Rockne

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