Sports Quotes – When it comes to sports, everyone has their favorite quotes. Read our best sports quotes to inspire or motivate you all the time.
Whether you’re trying to increase your athletic performance, get motivated to hit the gym, or simply need a pick-me-up, everyone can benefit from a little inspiration and motivation when it comes to sports.
Some people are driven by the desire to win, while others simply enjoy the challenge of competition. Regardless of what inspires you to play sports, there’s no denying that the benefits of physical activity are well worth the effort. Not only can regular exercise improve your physical health, but it can also boost your mental well-being and sense of accomplishment.
No matter what your motivation is, there are always going to be days when you don’t feel like working out or playing your sport. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of our favorite sports quotes, both classic and contemporary. Just a few words of encouragement can make all the difference on those tough days.
Positive sports quotes to elevate determination
Determination becomes obsession and then it becomes all that matters. — Jeremy Irvine
I’m not as talented as others, but I have a determination and will that enable me to work a lot harder than anyone else. — Mark Cavendish
Determination, energy, and courage appear spontaneously when we care deeply about something. We take risks that are unimaginable in any other context. — Margaret J. Wheatley
I think we judge talent wrong. What do we see as talent? I think I have made the same mistake myself. We judge talent by people’s ability to strike a cricket ball. The sweetness, the timing. That’s the only thing we see as talent. Things like determination, courage, discipline, temperament, these are also talent. — Rahul Dravid
If your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair. Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance. — Samuel Johnson
The determination to win is the better part of winning. — Daisaku Ikeda
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
Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen, but give us the determination to make the right things happen. — Horace Mann
Hard work isn’t enough. And more work is never the real answer. The sort of grit you need to scale a business is less reliant on brute force. It’s actually one part determination, one part ingenuity, and one part laziness. — Reid Hoffman
It is not the size of a man but the size of his heart that matters. — Evander Holyfield
Encouraging sports quotes about mental approach
When an idea exclusively occupies the mind, it is transformed into an actual physical or mental state. — Swami Vivekananda
There will always be obstacles and challenges that stand in your way. Building mental strength will help you develop resilience to those potential hazards so you can continue on your journey to success. — Amy Morin
A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug. — Patricia Neal
Tennis is a mental game. Everyone is fit, everyone hits great forehands and backhands. — Novak Djokovic
Every quarterback can throw a ball; every running back can run; every receiver is fast; but that mental toughness that you talk about translates into competitiveness. — Tom Brady
Mental toughness is spartanism with qualities of sacrifice, self-denial, dedication. It is fearlessness, and it is love. — Vince Lombardi
When you reach that elite level, 90 percent is mental and 10 percent is physical. You are competing against yourself. Not against the other athlete. — Dick Fosbury
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
I love challenges, I love intensity, and I also like to challenge my mind. Believe it or not, boxing is not only about physical force. You use a lot of concentration; it’s really mental. — Adriana Lima
Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even. — Muhammad Ali
Uplifting sports quotes to keep you fight
To become a great player, you’ve got to show real dedication and commitment to football, and you’ve got to be very humble and hard-working. And, above all, you’ve got to fight to make your dreams come true. — Sergio Ramos
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
I don’t fight for the money, I fight for my legacy, I fight for history, I fight for my people. — Khabib Nurmagomedov
If you want to be a legend you have to fight with legends. — Aleksei Oleinik
It is much better to have just one idea, and if the idea is clear, then you can fight for it. That is how you can get things done. — Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses — behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights. — Muhammad Ali
Don’t fight a battle if you don’t gain anything by winning. — Erwin Rommel
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
The resistance that you fight physically in the gym and the resistance that you fight in life can only build a strong character. — Arnold Schwarzenegger
I’ve been through a lot of things in my personal and family life. That turned me into a fighter. I always strive to be the best I possibly can. — Hope Solo
Inspirational sports quotes about winning
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 Williams
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
The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies. — Napoleon Bonaparte
You can become a winner only if you are willing to walk over the edge. — Damon Runyon
It’s not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters. — Paul Bryant
The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning. — Pele
Winning is not everything — but making the effort to win is. — Vince Lombardi
Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength. — Arnold Schwarzenegger
In the end, it’s extra effort that separates a winner from second place. But winning takes a lot more that, too. It starts with complete command of the fundamentals. Then it takes desire, determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice. And finally, it takes a great deal of love, fairness and respect for your fellow man. Put all these together, and even if you don’t win, how can you lose? — Jesse Owens
It is necessary for me to establish a winner image. Therefore, I have to beat somebody. — Richard M. Nixon
Powerful quotes about sports to push your limit
Every player can still grow – there is no limit to that. Even when I was 38, I improved myself in certain things, and that is what I will always do with my players to help them get the best out of themselves. — Clarence Seedorf
There’s no limit to what you can accomplish, but there’s always someone one step ahead of you, so it’s a constant uphill battle. — Catherine Mary Stewart
I’m proud of my long career but playing in the World Cup is something special for any player. There is no limit to my ambition and I have always been determined to achieve that objective. — Essam El Hadary
There’s a limit to what each guy physically can do, but there’s no limit on how far you go. — Rudy Ruettiger
The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible. — Arthur C. Clarke
I think there’s no limit to ambition, and if you want something, you can make anything happen, so go for it. — Rex Orange County
There is no limit to what a man can do so long as he does not care a straw who gets the credit for it. — Charles Edward Montague
There’s no limit possible to the expansion of each one of us. — Charles M. Schwab
You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the further you get. — Michael Phelps
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
Inspirational quotations about sports and sportsmanship
One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than a hundred teaching it. — Knute Rockne
I think sportsmanship is knowing that it is a game, that we are only as a good as our opponents, and whether you win or lose, to always give 100 percent. — Sue Wicks
A lot of young players don’t really know much about the history of the game and a lot of them are missing out on what the game is all about, especially the whole concept of sportsmanship and teamwork. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I wanted to be positive. I have good sportsmanship. You leave everything on a good note, you just smile and shake hands. — Vernon Davis
Golf is game of respect and sportsmanship; we have to respect its traditions and its rules. — Jack Nicklaus
Professionalism is not sportsmanship. If you don’t succeed, you won’t be in your profession for long. In our society, it’s not about good or bad. It’s about who’s on top. — Chili Davis
When you go out on to that field it’s going to be war. Sportsmanship is playing to the best of your abilities and then, afterwards, shaking your opponent’s hand. — Bruce Grobbelaar
Sportsmanship 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
Sports is a moral undertaking because it requires of participants, and it schools spectators in the appreciation of, noble things — courage, grace under pressure, sportsmanship. — George Will
It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling. — Mark Twain
Best sports quotes about fair-play
I would advise all youths aspiring to athletic fame or a professional career to practice clean living, fair play and good sportsmanship. — Major Taylor
Fair play doesn’t pertain in bargaining. What matters there is leverage. — Alan Rosenberg
That’s why we love football: it’s not about the money or about the hairstyle or the dancing. We want to see beautiful goals, great tackles, fair play, and all this stuff. — Paul Pogba
It is impossible to run in the whole day bowling at mph. If you can show me someone who does it then fair play. But I’ve not seen any bowler who bowls mph do it for a whole day. — Jofra Archer
Every game has rules. Obey the rules, win the game; disobey the rule, lose it! The game of life has loser and winners. Play fairly and win! — Israelmore Ayivor
Fair play to all those who dare to dream and don’t give up. — Marketa Irglova
Let common sense and common honesty have fair play, and they will soon set things to rights. — Thomas Jefferson
I feel like I’ve always played within the rules, I would never do anything to break the rules, I believe in fair play. — Tom Brady
Fair play with others is primarily the practice of not blaming them for anything that is wrong with us. We tend to rub our guilty conscience against others the way we wipe dirty fingers on a rag. This is as evil a misuse of others as the practice of exploitation. — Eric Hoffer
FIFA stands for discipline, respect, fair-play, not just on the field of play, but in our society as well. — Sepp Blatter
Inspirational sport quotes from pro athletes and coaches
Ahead of a semi-final, there is always the same buzz. You know you are very close to reaching the final, but there is no way you can relax because then you will be punished. — Paolo Maldini
Many people say I’m the best women’s soccer player in the world. I don’t think so. And because of that, someday I just might be. — Mia Hamm
I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life a champion’. — Muhammad Ali
When you’ve got something to prove, there’s nothing greater than a challenge. — Terry Bradshaw
Can I jump over two or three guys like I used to? No. Am I as fast as I used to be? No, but I still have the fundamentals and smarts. That’s what enables me to still be a dominant player. As a kid growing up, I never skipped steps. I always worked on fundamentals because I know athleticism is fleeting. — Kobe Bryant
One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. — Satchel Paige
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
You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. — Michael Jordan
There is no harm in dreaming of becoming the world’s best player. It is all about trying to be the best. I will keep working hard to achieve it but it is within my capabilities. — Cristiano Ronaldo
Short sports quotes to help you achieve your goals
Everybody has a talent, but it’s what you do with that talent to make it great. — Alex Morgan
Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up. — sports quotes by Jim Valvano
If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat. — Herschel Walker
You’re never a loser until you quit trying. — sports quotes by Mike Ditka
You have to believe in yourself when no one else does- that makes you a winner right there. — Venus Williams
Going in one more round when you don’t think you can — that’s what makes all the difference in your life. — Rocky Balboa
You can overcome anything, if and only if you love something enough. — Lionel Messi
If you fail to prepare, you’re prepared to fail. — sports quotes by Mark Spitz
Sometimes the biggest problem is in your head. You’ve got to believe. — Jack Nicklaus
I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end. — Larry Bird
A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are — Ara Paraeghian
A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t. — sports quotes by Jack Dempsey
You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good. — Jerry West
With confidence, you have won even before you have started. — sports quotes by Marcus Garvey
Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up. — Dean Karnazes
Quotes about sports to remind you that anything is possible
Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even. — Muhammad Ali
Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body. — Arnold Schwarzenegger
For me, I’m focused on what I want to do. I know what I need to do to be a champion, so I’m working on it. — Usain Bolt
If you’re bored with life — you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things — you don’t have enough goals. — Lou Holtz
That is what a good manager does – you study and think and discuss, and you come up with a model of playing. — Carlo Ancelotti
We are still Rocky Balboa, not Ivan Drago. It’s not about being the underdog, not one little bit. But, I don’t want to be the underdog. I want to win, and Rocky won. — Jurgen Klopp
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
I have top players and, I’m sorry, we have a top manager. Please do not call me arrogant because what I say is true. I’m European champion, I’m not one out of the bottle, I think I’m a special one. — Jose Mourinho
Whoever said, ‘It’s not whether you win or lose that counts,’ probably lost. — Martina Navratilova
Winning is not everything, but making the effort to win is. — Vince Lombardi
Final thought
Hope our collection of sports quotes will show the importance of never giving up on your dreams. They also highlight the importance of team work and determination. These quotes are sure to motivate and inspire you to achieve your goals. So get out there and start chasing your dreams!
Did you fell inspire enough after explore our the best sports quotes of all time? Did any of these quotes resonate with you? Give your opinion in the comments section below.
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