Athlete Quotations

Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.

Everything is practice.

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

My heroes, I couldn't imagine them practicing. Like Bob Dylan, you know? Bob Dylan's a very, very good guitar player, but it's like he's trying to hide it. I always loved this attitude. When you're very good... it's like being an athlete - and I always hated sports!

Much in the way Olympic athletes optimize their game by paying an enormous - borderline maniacal - amount of attention to things like diet, exercise, sleep, and of course the essential R&R, we all would do well to pay more attention to those key aspects of our lives that comprise our overall health equation.

At the end of the day, if you're a professional athlete in track and field you are the CEO of your company.

One of the great lessons I've learned in athletics is that you've got to discipline your life. No matter how good you may be, you've got to be willing to cut out of your life those things that keep you from going to the top.

I was introverted, shy. But if you win a lot you need to be extroverted, or they'll think you're arrogant.

To go to hospitals and see people fight and overcome cystic fibrosis or cancer or any number of illnesses is to see courage that is humbling. And athletes constantly need to be humbled.

I am very much aware that if I am getting good press at the moment I could just as easily be getting bad press. I cannot have the good and forget the bad. You have to accept it both ways.

Someone who wants to write should make an effort to write a little something every day. Writing in this sense is the same as athletes who practice a sport every day to keep their skills honed.

When an athlete has relegated the persistent rumors of cheating to the back room of the mind, he hasn't really forgotten them. And when he glances back to where rumors hunker in the darkness, he hopes with a savage heart that somehow, some day, those cheaters will be brought to justice.

It is the inspiration of the Olympic Games that drives people not only to compete but to improve, and to bring lasting spiritual and moral benefits to the athlete and inspiration to those lucky enough to witness the athletic dedication.

Great champions have an enormous sense of pride. The people who excel are those who are driven to show the world and prove to themselves just how good they are.

I was a terrible athlete and a pretty bad student. I couldn't focus. My imagination was always racing.

Even if you have a bad game, you have to swallow your pride and sign. It takes a little time, but it makes the kids happy. And it makes you feel good, too.

Luck has nothing to do with it, because I have spent many, many hours, countless hours, on the court working for my one moment in time, not knowing when it would come.

Everything in Formula 1 has been sterilised now, the whole thing is controlled too much.

As a youngster, I enjoyed sport and my ambition was to be a great sportsman.

Adopting a new healthier lifestyle can involve changing diet to include more fresh fruit and vegetables as well as increasing levels of exercise.

I always believed I was an ugly duckling in a family of swans, you know? I was such a black sheep, and it was the same way in high school... I was just kind of that awkward theater kid with a bunch of athletes... it was very Glee.

God places the heaviest burden on those who can carry its weight.

Athletes who take to the classroom naturally or are encouraged to focus on grades should be able to do well in the classroom. I believe the reason you go to college is to get your degree. It's not a minor league or an audition for the pros

Skating everywhere is unpredictable, no amount of money or facilities is going to create a skating star. You have to have a skater who is dedicated, passionate, and willing to learn.

He sliced the ball when he had it on a plate.

I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it.

I want to find that defining moment that you're satisfied and you've done what you want to do in your life.

I found the emotion that as an athlete you block out, and it really helped me to understand myself as a person. I'm a really emotional person and it helped make me a better person.

I talk to student-athletes. I try to get them to remember that they're not just athletes, but student-athletes. You need to get an education, keep your hands clean and try to represent the university.

As Israel prepares to enter, my position is well known. It is one that I have taken at previous Olympics. It is wrong that the IOC refuses to have a minute's silence for Israeli athletes that were slaughtered in Munich.

It's not just enough to swing at the ball. You've got to loosen your girdle and really let the ball have it.

Truthfully, this is how I approach my workout: I want to be the best athlete I can possibly be. If I can out-perform some of the better athletes then I'm happy. When I look at the NFL or the NBA, these guys look how I want to look - it's useable, functional muscle.

When we reach the point where the women athletes are getting their pick of dates just as easily as the men athletes, then we've really and truly arrived. Parity at last!

Models are like athletes: You burn hard and fast.

The most important thing for any athlete is to know his ability. If you know your ability and have even a little bit of a strong mindset, you can get success, because your ability takes you to success.

The truth is, I've been on a team my whole life. I'm the youngest of 7, so I've been training to be an athlete my whole life.

An athlete who tells you the training is always easy and always fun simply hasn't been there. Goals can be elusive which makes the difficult journey all the more rewarding.

The problem comes when you say that danger is part of the equation. Then you don't do any more work on safety. That shouldn't happen.

Every kid needs a mentor. Everybody needs a mentor.

Athletes know kids look up to them, and it's important for athletes to be responsible.

I just stay focused, and I always think about gymnastics. I am just doing what I always do... working really hard and pushing myself to the maximum and keeping myself motivated.

The only reason we make good role models is because you guys look up to athletes and we can influence you in positive ways. But the real role models should be your parents and teachers!

I have some cool talents. I'm really flexible and can do all sorts of twisted yoga positions. And I'm a big athlete and especially love soccer.

For a time, at least, I was the most famous person in the entire world.

I didn't aspire to be a good sport; 'champion' was good enough for me.

It's about you. If you win, it's you; if you lose, it's you. Black and white. Nowhere to hide.

I don't know if anything can really prepare you for 'Survivor,' but since I grew up as an athlete, the physical aspect came to me more easily.

If we perform as a unit and if every single player gives it his very best, everything can happen.

I am very optimistic, and I wish that God almighty grants me success to get a qualifying time. Only then can I go to the Olympics. If this happens I will be the first Palestinian athlete to gain a qualifying time. This will be a big achievement.

I have been a Cowboys fan since I was a little bitty boy. And my dream has finally become a reality, of not only just playing a professional, becoming a professional athlete, but playing for the team that I always wanted to play for.

I think England will win a Test. My concern is Australia will probably win two.

It's perseverance that's the key. It's persevering for long enough to achieve your potential.

There was no money in the sport but we'd be out there day in, day out, rain or shine, doing it.

When you've got something to prove, there's nothing greater than a challenge.

Young people and Indian people need to know that we existed in the 20th Century. We need to know who our heroes are and to know what we have done and accomplished in this century other than what Olympic athletes Jim Thorpe and Billy Mills have done.

I think the colleges should be free to give athletes less than a full scholarship, no scholarship and more than a scholarship. And the athletes should be free to bargain.

Advise for anybody - enjoy what you are doing, enjoy the process of learning and don't be impatient.

I think that was a moment of cool panic there.

The reason sport is attractive to many of the general public is that it's filled with reversals. What you think may happen doesn't happen. A champion is beaten, an unknown becomes a champion.

Overall, I think Michael Jordan is the greatest athlete in any particular sport. He dominated the game for the Chicago Bulls and brought the NBA to its greatest peak of popularity.

The actor becomes an emotional athlete. The process is painful - my personal life suffers.

Carl Yastrzemski was the best all-around player. He could run, throw and hit. He had the ability to play a number of different positions. He signed as a shortstop. He could play the outfield, of course, and third base and first, too. He was a tremendous athlete. Mickey Mantle was unbelievable, too.

When I was playing I never wished I was doing anything else. I think being a professional athlete is the finest thing a man can do.

I have great admiration for athletes. They are just like actors in a lot of ways. They have tremendous pressures and conflicts. They have to compete, and they can't stay home just because they have a head cold.

When you're riding, only the race in which you're riding is important.

I remember when I was in college, people told me I couldn't play in the NBA. There's always somebody saying you can't do it, and those people have to be ignored.

Winter testing is essential but there comes a point where you have had enough of all the rehearsals and the pretend racing. You just want to get down to the real action.

The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.

A good athlete always mentally replays a competition over and over, even in victory, to see what might be done to improve the performance the next time.

The pro athlete is a sad tale. He signs a big contract and thinks he's set for life. I didn't think I was set for life, and I don't now. As athletes, we are important, celebrities, in demand and rich. Then we are out of the game and we are not important, not celebrities, not in demand and not rich.

To its great credit, Wimbledon has been a leader in bringing about change and improvement in the sport.

You can't really describe how difficult it is to deal with. It is any athlete's worst nightmare to be accused of cheating by taking drugs. It really is very difficult to put into words how it makes you feel.

Money has changed today's black athletes. Those who have the ability as African men to bring a change in a community that so desperately needs it are concentrating only on their own careers, some charities and how much money they can make.

The ones who want to achieve and win championships motivate themselves.

I've tried everything other than jumping out of a plane, but nothing gives you an adrenaline rush like racing a car.

The first time I walked into the Olympic athlete village seeing the Visa ATM machine with my picture on it and the Chinese characters saying 'Destiny.' For some reason, it just boosted my confidence and it was before I had even worked out or had my first training or competed.

I think there's nothing sadder than a pro athlete who plays past his prime.

To have some idea what it's like, stand in the outside lane of a motorway, get your mate to drive his car at you at 95 mph and wait until he's 12 yards away, before you decide which way to jump.

I'm not just a model who plays volleyball, or a volleyball player who supports herself modeling. I'm a female athlete personality.

There are hurdles to overcome in sport and in life. Sport is a very valuable learning ground for how to live your life in the best possible way.

My first love is the sport, and it will always be my priority.

You can wish as hard as you like but all that really matters is the shape you're in on the day of the race. I've always felt these really big races aren't necessarily won by whoever is the fastest. They're won by the athlete who is the smartest and in the best shape on the day.

Ice dance should not be seen as a rigid conformist form of figure skating. There is a great deal of freedom and originality to be had.

I've had this sneaking feeling throughout the game that it's there to be won.

I wanted to be a neurologist. That seemed to be the most difficult, most intriguing, and the most important aspect of medicine, which had links with psychology, aggression, behavior, and human affairs.

Muhammad Ali is a combination of personality and athlete who is probably better known around the world than any other. He became a great hero.

I always wanted to be a professional athlete. I love my life.

Any athlete has massive reserves in their body and their emotional landscape.

As a little kid, not only is my dad Jo-Jo White, but M. L. Carr is involved in the family, Red Auerbach is my godfather, and my stepmother was an Olympic-caliber sprinter. Athletes were all around. I happened to be a natural athlete. If I wasn't, it might have been hell. But I never got any pressure from my mom and dad to be an athlete.

I always felt that my greatest asset was not my physical ability, it was my mental ability.

Desire is the most important factor in the success of any athlete.

There are a lot of factors in the life of an F1 driver which can combine to make you believe that you are somehow above normality. I think that is a mistake to start believing that. But, at the same time, it is important to be confident.

I was passionate. I found something that I loved. I could be all alone in a big old skating rink and nobody could get near me and I didn't have to talk to anybody because of my shyness. It was great. I was in my fantasy world.

What was most important to me at the Olympics was going out there and performing my best. When I messed up the first jump combination, which was my big move, it hit me that I messed up the program of my life.

I think every athlete has their window of opportunity, and you just have to jump on it. You never know when it can end. So I'm just trying to live large while I have the opportunity.

A White House dinner is the American family assembled, from labor leaders to billionaires, actors, architects, academicians and athletes.

McEnroe has got to sit down and work out where he stands.

For athletes, the Olympics are the ultimate test of their worth.

That's one of the reasons I moved to Florida. Of course, the main reason is the weather and the training. But there's more jealousy in Switzerland because it's so little and they don't have so many athletes.

I wasn't a jock in school, and by the 10th grade, when I was in boarding school I was carrying water buckets for the girls' hockey team. I was the kid with long hair and glasses and acne trying to learn how to play guitar and piano in the music center. I was not an athlete past the age of 13 or 14 when they start throwing the ball really fast.