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So, you’re looking for your daily dose of inspiration with some sports quotes, huh? It’s only natural—we all find ourselves in need of a boost from time to time. Perhaps you’ve hit a wall in your fitness journey or feel a little deflated after your team had a less-than-stellar performance.
In sports, we often find incredible stories of perseverance, triumph, and resilience. Legendary sports figures inspire us to push our limits, strive for greatness, and never give up on our dreams. And what better way to tap into this wellspring of motivation than by exploring the best sports quotes from those who have been there, done that, and earned their place in the annals of sports history?
That’s where we step in! We’ve curated a collection of inspirational sports quotes from some of the greatest athletes and coaches in the world, such as Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, and Vince Lombardi. These powerful words are a window into the minds of the greats, revealing the thoughts, beliefs, and values that propelled them to the top of their respective sports.
The road to greatness is never a smooth one, after all—even the most gifted and accomplished sports heroes have faced their share of obstacles, setbacks, and disappointments. But rather than letting these experiences hold them back, they used them as motivation to keep moving forward. And along the way, what we got are some truly memorable quotes on sports from champions to live by.
Here you go, then—get your head into these famous sports quotes and let them fuel it with motivation. The sports wisdom of these champions will steer you in the right direction, reminding you that setbacks are simply stepping stones to success. And hey, don't forget to give a thumbs-up to your favorites!
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#1
“We don't want to tell our dreams, we want to show them.” - Cristiano Ronaldo
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#2
“I really think a champion is defined not by their wins, but how they can recover when they fall.” - Serena Williams
#8
“If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it - then I can achieve it.” - Muhammad Ali
#9
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” - Muhammad Ali
What Do You Say to Inspire an Athlete?
Even the most hard-working and successful athletes need a bit of encouragement in their endeavors. In fact, it is even necessary to have someone to cheer you on to reach your maximum results! And this is not just a lofty phrase—there have been studies proving the positive effects on athletes’ performance just by the right kind of helpful encouragement. So, what kind of winning motivational quotes should you choose to inspire an athlete?
Turns out, the best way to motivate someone is to share a few helpful words. Those can be instructional, like “keep up the pace,” or motivational, like “you’re doing great.” Just a couple of phrases like these can give someone a tremendous confidence boost and spark a solid winning mood.
There are also some things you should avoid saying if your aim is to motivate an athlete, and those are critical comments, like “you won’t win by slowing down” or saying to someone they’re near the finish line while actually, they’re far from it. These misplaced comments, instead of boosting the morale, work pretty demotivational.
To sum it up, always aim to use positive words and positive comments on performance, or stick to one of the sports motivational quotes from our list.
#11
“The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.” - Kobe Bryant
#12
“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.” - Muhammad Ali
#13
“I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me. And the one guy who didn’t vote for me, thank you, too.” - Shaquille O’Neal
#15
“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths.” - Arnold Schwarzenegger
#16
“I’d rather regret the risks that didn’t work out than the chances I didn’t take at all.” - Simone Biles
#19
"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
#20
"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
Sports have always been a huge cultural part of our lives, and you can find athlete quotes dating back to Ancient times. Remember Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered) coined by none other than Julius Caesar and Citius, Altius, Fortius (Swifter, Higher, Stronger), the official quote of the Olympic Games? Those two might be the most famous sportsmanship quotes that we know of! Heck, there might’ve never been a school Sports Day without mentioning one of them.
#25
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six 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
#28
“Just believe in yourself. Even if you don’t pretend that you do and, and some point, you will.” - Venus Williams
#29
“You dream. You plan. You reach. There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, with belief, with confidence and trust in yourself and those around you, there are no limits.” - Michael Phelps
#30
“If something stands between you and your success, move it. Never be denied.” - Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Although these words were meant as quotes for athletes, there’s definitely something to take away from each of them for any person. Even if you’re not actively involved in sports, believing in yourself and striving for the best is pretty universal no matter what you do. There is a lot to take from these quotes about sportsmanship, and if you want even more encouragement from the people who are the best in their field, continue reading these quotes about sports.
#31
“You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is real joy.” - Arthur Ashe
#33
“Nothing can stop you and nothing can define you.” - Adeel Alam
#35
“When you’ve got something to prove, there’s nothing greater than a challenge.” - Terry Bradshaw
#36
“Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second.” - William James
#37
“Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.” - Mike Singletary
#42
“Many times, I had to dig deep and perform. All of that adversity helped me and drove me to want to be the best.” - Hayley Wickenheiser
#43
“No matter the circumstances that you may be going through, just push through it.” - Ray Lewis
#44
“You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours.” - Herb Brooks
#45
“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
#46
“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
#48
“You must not only have competitiveness but ability, regardless of the circumstance you face, to never quit.” - Abby Wambach
#51
“Leadership, like coaching, is fighting for the hearts and souls of men and getting them to believe in you.” - Eddie Robinson
#52
"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
#53
"During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball." - Mickey Mantle
#55
"What do do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it." - Dean Smith
#56
"There are only two options regarding commitment. You're either IN or you're OUT. There is no such thing as life in-between." - Pat Riley
#57
"Never give up! Failure and rejection are only the first step to succeeding." - Jim Valvano
#58
“If you go around being afraid, you're never going to enjoy life. You have only one chance, so you've got to have fun.” - Lindsey Vonn
#63
“One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than a hundred teaching it.” - Knute Rockne
#64
“You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.” - Michael Phelps
#65
“What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose.” - Andre Agassi
#72
“Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.” - Dean Karnazes
#74
“The only one who can tell you ‘you can’t win’ is you and you don’t have to listen.” - Jessica Ennis-Hill
#77
“The five S’s of sports training are: stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit; but the greatest of these is spirit.” - Ken Doherty
#78
“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
#80
“Continuous effort—not strength or intelligence—is the key to unlocking our potential.” - Liane Cardes
#81
"One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team." - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
#82
"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
#83
"Show me a guy who's afraid to look bad, and I'll show you a guy you can beat every time." - Lou Brock
#85
“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
#86
“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
#92
“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
#95
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don’t do things right once in a while. You do them right all the time. ” - Vince Lombardi
#96
“It’s not the will to win that matters — everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.” - Paul “Bear” Bryant
#100
“When I race my mind is full of doubts – who will finish second, who will finish third?” - Noureddine Morceli
#102
“An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.” - Emil Zatopek
#103
“Somebody gives you an opportunity, say yes to it. So what if you fail? you won’t know if you fail or succeed unless you try.” - Ann Meyers
#104
“You win some, you lose some, and some get rained out, but you gotta suit up for them all.” - J. Askenberg
#105
“Always work hard, never give up, and fight until the end because it’s never really over until the whistle blows.” - Alex Morgan
#106
“Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice.” - Bethany Hamilton
#108
“You’ve got to be confident when you’re competing. You’ve got to be a beast.” -Gabby Douglas
#111
“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
#113
“Once you give them the power to tell you you’re great, you’ve also given them the power to tell you you’re unworthy. Once you start caring about people’s opinions of you, you give up control.” - Ronda Rousey
#114
“The ability to conquer one’s self is no doubt the most precious of all things that sports bestows.” - Olga Korbut
#115
“There is always going to be a reason why you can’t do something; your job is to constantly look for the reasons why you can achieve your dreams.” - Shannon Miller
#116
“You can’t always be the best. You have to remember that everyone makes mistakes sometimes.” - Aly Raisman
#117
“You’re playing a game, whether it’s Little League or Game 7 of the World Series. It’s impossible to do well unless you’re having a good time. People talk about pressure. Yeah, there’s pressure. But I just look at it as fun.” - Derek Jeter
#119
“Continuous effort—not strength or intelligence—is the key to unlocking our potential.” - Liane Cardes
#123
"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination." - Tommy Lasorda
#125
"Push yourself again and again. Don't give an inch until the final buzzer sounds." - Larry Bird
#127
"Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way." - Satchel Paige
#128
“You'll never know what you're capable of until you take that first step and just go for it.” - Natasha Hastings
#130
“As athletes, we have ups and downs. Unfortunately, you can't pick the days they come on.” - Deena Kastor
#131
“The wall is your mind playing tricks on you. You just need to say, 'One more step, I can do this. I have more in me.' You'll be so proud of yourself once you push pass your threshold.” - Kerry Walsh
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