Everyone likes feeling inspired, especially when that inspiration comes from the sports greats we admire. Whether it’s pushing your athletes to the next level, motivating staff, or just prepping for the day, here is a list of our top 50 inspirational sports quotes to help drive you and your team to success.
Top 50 Inspirational Sports Quotes
“My attitude is that if you push me towards a weakness, I will turn that weakness into a strength.”
– Michael Jordan
“Hard days are the best because that’s when champions are made.”
– Gabby Douglas
“You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self motivation.”
– Homer Rice
“If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.”
– Fred Devito
“If you only ever give 90% in training then you will only ever give 90% when it matters.”
– Michael Owen
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”
– Muhammad Ali
“Find the good. It’s all around you. Find it, showcase it, and you’ll start believing it.”
– Jesse Owens
“What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose.”
– Andre Agassi
“Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”
– John Wooden
“One thing about championship teams is that they’re resilient. No matter what is thrown at them, no matter how deep the hole, they find a way to bounce back and overcome adversity.”
– Nick Saban
“Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up.”
– Rocky Balboa
“I think team first. It allows me to succeed, and it allows my team to succeed.”
– Lebron James
“I may win and I may lose, but I will never be defeated.”
– Emmitt Smith
“One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.”
– Kareem Abdul-Jabaar
“A man who has no imagination has no wings.”
– Muhammad Ali
“Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way.”
– Satchel Paige
“You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.”
– Babe Ruth
“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”
– Bobby Unser
“Champions keep playing until they get it right.”
– Billie Jean King
“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
“Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you.”
– Bethany Hamilton
“You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.”
– Michael Phelps
“If at first you don’t succeed, try doing what your coach told you to do the first time.”
– Unknown
“The road to success runs uphill.”
– Willie Davis
“Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It’s our goal in life to find it and keep it lit.”
– Mary Lou Retton
“Most of us never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second.”
– William James
“Do not let what you cannot do interview with what you can do.”
– John Wooden
“Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown.”
– Ross Perot
“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in determination.”
– Usain Bolt
“Show me a guy who’s afraid to look bad, and I’ll show you a guy you can beat every time.”
– Lou Brock
“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
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, other make it happen.”
– Michael Jordan
“If you don’t love what you do, you won’t do it with much conviction or passion.”
– Mia Hamm
“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
“If you want to be the best, you have to do the things that other people aren’t willing to do.”
– Michael Phelps
“The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.”
– Pele
“There’s no better feeling than stepping out on the field and stunning them all by doing what none of them thought you could do.”
– Ashlyn Harris
“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 in the loss.”
– Doug Williams
“It never gets easier, you just get better.”
– Unknown
“The strength of the team is in each individual member…the strength of each member is the team.”
– Phil Jackson
“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
“You have good days, you have bad days. But the main thing is to grow mentally.”
– Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“A team isn’t a bunch of kids out to win. A team is something you belong to, something you feel, something you have to earn.”
– Gordon Bombay
“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
“Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.”
– Arnold Palmer
“Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.”
– Matt Biondi
“Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.”
– Jerry Rice
“We all have dreams. But, in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes and awful lot of determination, self discipline, and effort.”
– Mark Spitz
“Driven by the moral imperative of paying the price to be great.”
– Vince Lombardi
“One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 preaching it.”
– Knute Rockne
