Athletes Quotations | Page 2

We had a young team and we had a lot of sophomores who got a lot of quality playing time. We have quickness and speed and have athletes coming. I don't see why Astronaut couldn't be in the state playoffs this upcoming year or the next year.

We had a very encouraging effort from many of our athletes for the first outdoor meet.

We were coming in at 10-0, but people really weren't sure about us. East is the champion that you have to go through in our conference to get to (PIAA District 1) and the states. They're well coached, and they've had great athletes over the last five or six years. Last year, we came here and lost in overtime. The girls came in determined to show we could play with them.

When you coach different sports, you have to deal with athletes and parents. But with the Special Olympics, these kids are just glad to be out here and play sports.

There are many athletes out there who would covet an X Games gold over an Olympic gold. I've heard it come from athletes mouths - and I'm sure their agents are standing next to them smirking - but when you win an X Games medal, you are instantly afforded a reputation that perhaps you aren't afforded in the Olympics.

We're going after students who are athletes, not athletes who are students. It's about participation as part of their educational experience.

Like all good high school coaches, you walk around and you pilfer athletes from other programs. I was coaching field hockey and watching her play soccer and thinking, 'This kid would be really, really good at lacrosse.' So basically I chased her around with a stick for a couple of months and talked her into playing lacrosse.

Lutcher has good athletes with speed. They are a stout defensive line with good size and quickness. Our offensive line will have to play a good game for us to be in contention.

Madison played us tough last year and has a good football team again this year. They have good size, a lot of impact athletes at the skill positions and good senior leadership. They're playing with a lot of confidence right now and for good reason." ()

Many of our athletes are taking finals during Dead Week. I think our greatest challenge will be balancing finals with trying to win a national championship.

Many top athletes are competing in the March 2 World Cross- Country Championship. Once they've completed that event they'll plan their racing schedules for the year.

Many athletes are seeking new and novel ways of pushing their limits, and the challenge of running back-to-back races is certainly one way to test the boundaries.

Security worked extremely well, the athletes are happy. They were definitely games that pleased the athletes. The competitions were at a very high level.

She wasn't our leader in a lot of categories, but she was the most consistent all-around player for us, our main leader. She plays a constant game. She's someone you can keep in and keep everything going. She controlled the game for us, and it's hard to find athletes who can do that for you. It's been a long time since I had someone like that, for the boys and girls.

She's blended with our other athletes to make them better. She's also set a precedent that, if you're going to be good you're going to have to work, you have to get better, you have to be a team player.

She's got to be one of the top returning athletes in the state.

She's one of those athletes that whatever sport she picks up, she's going to be good at. In track and field, she's going to be great. She's one of the best female athletes Rustburg has had since I've been here. Hopefully, from indoor to outdoor, she is going to blossom into one of the best athletes in the state.

She's one of the finest athletes I've ever coached. She's extremely coordinated and can anticipate things very well.

Some athletes are thinking about maybe not signing with an NHL club just to give them the opportunity to play in the Olympics in Turin.

Shi really did a good job, ... He is always chasing me and the gap is getting closer between him and me. I feel happy that there are two Chinese athletes standing on the podium.

She gets to balls that a lot of times other athletes don't because her feet are in the right position at the right time. She's hitting the ball with a lot more power and reading the ball a lot better off the pitcher's hand. I'm happy for her.

She has a great character and I regard her as one of the most committed athletes I've ever seen. I was so devastated for her and she was robbed (by injury) just when she hit form.

She better be ready. Real athletes play hurt.

Since Illinois is the birthplace of Special Olympics, the first Games were held in July 1968 at Chicago's Soldier Field, many groups felt there was a need for a physical tribute in this state to the athletes and the Special Olympics movement.

She's a great slalom skier and the U.S. needs to have the best team possible. But we'll be racing four women in every event. If she can't, there are other athletes who would go instead.

She's a competitor and she was disappointed. It's the same mentality all our athletes take.

She is probably, without question, one of the greatest female athletes of our time.

She is very deserving of such a night. It was a night that all athletes dream about.

Most of these guys are former athletes and it really was like a competition, to get things working again. I was the foreman on that job, but I didn't have to lead anyone -- those guys really went after it down there.

My kids are good athletes and runners. They run in a bunch of sports.

My first love is the sport, and it will always be my priority. I am a coach on the outside of the establishment and that works. I think the athletes respond well to me because I have been successful. I know what it takes to get to the top. I know what psychological games to play and the importance of mental power.

One of the things you need to be very cautious of is to be dependent on emerging elite athletes coming from other sports because if all of a sudden that dries up, you do want to control your own destiny.

Of course, rivals do affect athletes mentally, but if you are competing with top-notch athletes, you will push each other, you will encourage each other.

On film they don't look that bad to me. They have some good athletes and are well coached. They look like a pretty good football team. They lost their first game, but that can happen to anybody.

My cross county coach in high school made a big impact on me as a athlete. I have been dreaming of having a cross county team to work with and have that impact on them as athletes and young adults.

More than 10,000 athletes came to Atlanta seeking Olympic medals. Only a few of them will be lucky and skilled enough to claim one.

Maybe just the talent level is up a little bit, and the continuity and stability of our coaching staff is solid. Now our athletes know and understand what the coaching staff wants, and we're all in sync.

Maybe athletes and others in sports got a free ride for too long. Maybe it's good that they're being treated like everyone else in the world. One of the major roles of journalism is to be a watchdog of big business and big government and big celebrities. Why should sports be any different?

Nutrition is becoming more and more important to all athletes as far as performance level, ... At this level, it's very serious. The type of food you put into your body can enhance your performance or dehance it. If you want to be the best athlete you can be, you want to be as lean as you can be. The leaner athlete is the better athlete.

Now that we've got it up and running again, we've got a few ideas about that. I don't think there are really enough meetings in Britain for our athletes to compete properly, and because of this a lot of the talent we have has been stunted.

NEVER BEEN SURROUNDED BY SO MANY GREAT ATHLETES

Next March, nearly 2,000 Indian athletes and performers will come to Ballarat as part of the Commonwealth Games in Australia. This would be a fantastic bonus for the local economy.

Nobody wants to see empty seats, because our student athletes deserve the crowds we used to have 20, 25 years ago. We don't want to do anything to hinder crowd participation.

No doubt, it's on his mind, but he should be fine. He's one of the truly best athletes we've ever had. He's become a leader because he plays so hard and everyone respects him. I think we'll wait until the end of the season to see what he's going to do about college.

Nothing attracts audiences better than winning and American athletes tend to perform better in the Summer Games than the Winter Games.

Rick is one of the swimmers who gives so much back to the community, ... The more we have athletes on our national team that can do this, the more our sport will progress.

People who are participating in athletics at UNM know they are in the public eye and they know they are held to a higher standard. I think athletes are aware of that and aware of the consequences.

Plenty of credit should go to Allison and Crystal for getting a high seed in their first year of tennis. Right now, they are good athletes playing tennis and rapidly improving their skills.

My ultimate goal is to make this the destination of choice for elite athletes that are able to get into Ivy League schools. That's a pretty lofty goal and it's going to take a lot of time and work.

Nick is one of the outstanding athletes in the league,

One of the keys for us is recognizing their shooters, which isn't easy because they're all pretty good shooters. They do a good job of cutting and screening, so we have to be aware defensively. They have some good athletes and some good shooters. They are very tough to guard.

If we get our trap going inside, it helps us a lot. We thought we'd run the ball, eat up the clock and keep their offense off the field because they have some good athletes on offense.

I got to watch these athletes show their medals and pictures of competition. It's something I fell in love with the minute I walked into it. It was an awakening to see great young kids do such a good job.

If we create expectations, we can put additional pressure on athletes that may be detrimental.

I have great faith in both my athletes and I'd just like to complement them on how they have handed themselves recently.

I have empathy for these kids because I've been in their shoes. I heard all the comments at school, and I was the guy who was ignored on offense during the game, didn't get the ball as often as smaller players, and was criticized the most. We've drawn on that life experience to design a program that helps our big athletes be more confident, accountable and aware of their big bodies and the powers they hold within.

I'd call this a natural consequence of the changing dynamics of expectation. Being on the cover changes the way people see themselves, and they have to metabolize a different set of conditions. They're supposed to be superstars now, and if they don't live up to that, they've somehow failed. This changing perception causes many athletes to feel pressure and have a much harder time achieving their ideal performance. The Jinx isn't just a cover phenomenon. It occurs whenever an athlete receives a particular level of attention that builds expectation.

I'd be bummed if it left. It's so great to have all these elite athletes in Aspen.

I come from a family of athletes so It was just natural growing up. Plus I come from a big family so there was always someone to play with.

I can hang out in the athletes village and nobody wonders what we're doing there, they know we're there as athletes. I had a guy from the cycling team that came knocking on my door because he needed some tools, and to me, that's what inclusion, integration is all about.

I am delighted to hear that athletes of the Delaware Valley will now have access to the resources and knowledge that Todd brings to the table.

I am happy with our whole team's performance. We didn't do everything we had wanted to do today, but that's OK. We have never had every one of our athletes we have brought to the national meet gain All-American before. This is going to give us some momentum heading into the outdoor season.

I believe there have been high school athletes in Illinois to use steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. It's probably a small number, but I think it would be naive to believe there hasn't been any usage. People like Jose Canseco have brought this to the forefront, and it isn't going away anytime soon.

I believe the Athletes Commission has an important role at this moment. We need to protect the image of athletics all over the world.

I am very excited about getting back into college coaching, ... I have had many athletes go on to great experiences in the college ranks and watched how much they enjoyed it. Cari and I enjoy some common coaching experiences and I feel this will definitely help in the formation of this year's team.

I am thrilled by our athletes continuously winning awards and would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to them.

Ian is just so good for our morale. He enjoys enormous credibility among the athletes for his ability to get up and perform at the highest standard every time he competes. His five Olympic gold medals tells the story that we've got one of the best performers in world sport on our team.

Certainly, the data is trending in the right direction. The increases for all African-American student athletes were between 15 and 18 percent, and that's good, but that doesn't mean the job's over. There's room for improvement, and we hope that institutions are able to continue that trend working upward.

Certainly over the last 15-20 years, the sheer dollars paid to athletes have increased dramatically, but we're also in a cycle where the top athletes get paid extremely well at the expense of the middle class.

Certain athletes make certain sports more popular. I think that's the case above all with Tomba.

But we had a number of other athletes who specialized. Our boys' cross country team qualified for state, boys' golf did a good job and won state. So it's a mixture of the core group of girls and other athletes.

But there's still room for women, and what we see are emerging female athletes and female fans. This is all changing the modern American sports.

Basically she was exhausted and had these nagging coughing problems. She belongs to this group of competitive athletes with asthma and in the oval over the last few weeks it just got a bit worse.

Because they're so limited in time because of what we're asking them as athletes to do for us, they needed to have access to things.

I'm a learning poker player. In certain races, we didn't show our best athletes or used our second best runners on the sled. You can gain a lot of confidence in races by seeing how much you can accomplish. Then you think how much better you can do once you put in the best.

I look for our freshmen to contribute a lot in the relays. We also need them to get into the finals in their respective events, to knock other people out of position to score. Some of the younger athletes, like Lauren Scott , Steven Bach and Terrell Thompson , have the ability to do that. At the Big Ten meet, I tell all of our athletes to focus on beating bodies, not on jumping a certain distance or running a certain time. If you focus on beating people, those things will come.

I have a good feeling. We have some good athletes and good attitudes.

I have always admired the Special Olympics program and its thousands of athletes for their determination and enthusiasm. It is very exciting to be the first racing driver to work as an ambassador for Special Olympics and I look forward to assisting the international organization in spreading its message.

I have always had the highest regard for him both as an individual and as one of the fiercest and most determined athletes in the game.

I have a really good group of athletes and they have taken to the team tremendously. They're having great fun. They've learned very quickly and are doing well.

I have a Ph.D. in philosophy and sports science. At 14, I went through this really tough Soviet training system. A lot of my roommates got psychologically broken or physically injured. Either you came through, or you were out. I made my Ph.D. work in the field of young athletes aged 14-19 because at this age any human is changing.

I feel very good about the core of this team. We have some very good athletes here. We've got some very good character on this team. That's a good place to start, and we'll augment it over the next six months in every way that we can.

I did feel like I was more confident on the court this season, but that's because there were a lot of good athletes on the floor with me. Even if I had a bad game, there were others who could step up and make the points.

Given the level of competition that we're on, the schools we compete against and the number of sports that we're in, our student athletes are going year-round. So, open summer participation just means that these student athletes are just that much busier. But that's OK as long as there's some control, some limitations on it. We try to monitor it a little bit.

Getting the Olympics would be a huge boost for New York economically, developmentally, and spiritually. The most talented people in the world have always come to New York to prove they have what it takes, so it makes perfect sense for the best athletes in the world to come here for the same reason.

Frankly I don't follow Indian athletics to a great extent but I do know that it has started to pick up a bit of late. Five years hence, I expect Indian athletes to be a force to reckon with.

From this regional partnership, we will again provide athletes the environment to be the best.

If any of my runners had a last-second question, I wanted them to be able to find me fast. Nowadays, I wear it so my athletes can make sure I get on the right bus when it's time to go home.

I don't think we have to be as perfect as far as our passes and as perfect as far as our play-calling because we have so many athletes who can do something with the ball after the catch.

I don't sleep in the same room as the athletes and I don't search through their things.

I don't think it's ever been about points for Tatyana. We're all athletes and we all want some competition while we're out there.

I don't think (Pearl) had bad intentions whatsoever. I can't tell you what he was thinking, but I know Coach Pearl is excited about what's going on with Tennessee basketball, which he should be. I just don't think it's a good idea to have the student athletes in the crowd because it breaks down the entire mechanism for protecting the players.

For the thousands of athletes who compete cleanly and fairly, we have a duty to put in place the strongest measures to trap the small minority who cheat.

Glen is one of those rare athletes that comes along once every 20 years. I just don't think he had the mindset to play football, though. I don't think he wants to play.

If it continues to improve then we have a chance to make a statement. Four years ago we had six kids out for track, now, our core group of athletes have been with us for three years and things are looking up.

If that athlete isn't available ... then these companies look for athletes who have the chance to be the next big thing. In Michelle's case, her youth plays very much to her advantage.

If sports are supposed to be good for you, how come athletes are over the hill at 31?

He was almost one of those great athletes who remained a playground legend. He'll freely admit. He tried to flunk his way out of college because all he had passion for was playing ball.

He says he won't sign anything because he knows what they're doing with the stuff, and I don't disagree with him. It's a tough deal. Athletes get bad names because adults see us not signing kids' autographs, and they don't know the reason. But I know the reason. It's because they're being sold.

Greg Hill had a great game for us. We rode him to this victory. Michigan City's tough to play. They're got athletes and quickness, just like us.