87+ Best Motivational Quotes For Athletes To Make You Greatest

Intrinsically motivated athletes typically concentrate on skill improvement and their growth as athletes. Extrinsic motivation refers to athletic behavior that is geared toward earning external rewards or to avoid punishment. Profoundly motivational quotes for athletes will challenge the way you think, and help guide you through any life experience.

If you’re searching for famous sports quotes and powerful running quotes that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of powerful gymnastics quotes, encouraging athlete quotes, and famous bodybuilding quotes.

Most Motivating Quotes For Athletes

You might not be able to outthink, out market or outspend your competition, but you can outwork them. Lou Holtz

My attitude is that if you push me towards a weakness, I will turn that weakness into a strength. Michael Jordan

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

Hard days are the best because that’s when champions are made. Gabby Douglas

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

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

An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head. Emil Zatopek

If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you. Fred Devito

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

If you only ever give 90% in training then you will only ever give 90% when it matters. Michael Owen

Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy. Wayne Gretzky

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. Muhammad Ali

Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man given. Be grateful. Conceit is self given. Be careful. John Wooden

Find the good. It’s all around you. Find it, showcase it, and you’ll start believing it. Jesse Owens

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

What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose. Andre Agassi

What keeps me going is not winning, but the quest for reaching potential in myself as a coach and my kids as divers. It’s the pursuit of excellence. Ron O’Brien

Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man given. Be grateful. Conceit is self given. Be careful. 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

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

I think sports gave me the first place where this awkward girl could feel comfortable in my own skin. I think that’s true for a lot of women sports gives you a part of your life where you can work at something and you look in the mirror and you like that person. Teri McKeever

Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up. Rocky Balboa

Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard to find alloy called guts. Dan Gable

I think team first. It allows me to succeed, and it allows my team to succeed. Lebron James

The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it. Wayne Gretzky

I may win and I may lose, but I will never be defeated. Emmitt Smith

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

One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team. Kareem Abdul Jabaar

Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records. William A. Ward

A man who has no imagination has no wings. Muhammad Ali

Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing. Muhammad Ali

Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. Satchel Paige

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

You just can’t beat the person who never gives up. Babe Ruth

A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning. Pat Riley

Success is where preparation and opportunity meet. Bobby Unser

Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. Vince Lombardi

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

If you think it’s hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball. Jack Lemmon

Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you. Bethany Hamilton

Finding good players is easy. Getting them to play as a team is another story. Casey Stengel

You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get. Michael Phelps

It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up. Vince Lombardi

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

When you’re riding, only the race in which you’re riding is important. Bill Shoemaker

Most of us never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second. William James

Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion. Michael Jordan

Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do. John Wooden

In the end, the game comes down to one thing man against man. May the best man win. Sam Huff

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

Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play. Mike Singletary

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a determination. Usain Bolt

Pain is only temporary but victory is forever. Jeremy H

Show me a guy who’s afraid to look bad, and I’ll show you a guy you can beat every time. Lou Brock

Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is. Vince Lombardi

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

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination. Tommy Lasorda

Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen. Michael Jordan

The principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self improvement, about being better than you were the day before. Steve Young

If you don’t love what you do, you won’t do it with much conviction or passion. Mia Hamm

There are certain basic qualities and characteristics you’ve got to have. Number one you’ve got to have a will to win. Bob Richards

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

A champion is someone who does not settle for that day’s practice, that day’s competition, that day’s performance. They are always striving to be better. They don’t live in the past. Briana Scurry

If you want to be the best, you have to do the things that other people aren’t willing to do. Michael Phelps

Show me a gracious loser and I’ll show you a failure. Knute Rockne

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

Winning isn’t everything, but it beats anything that comes in second. Paul Bryant

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

Just be patient. Let the game come to you. Don’t rush. Be quick, but don’t hurry. Earl Monroe

The strength of the team is in each individual member the strength of each member is the team. Phil Jackson

Nothing is black and white, except for winning and losing, and maybe that’s why people gravitate to that so much. Steve Nash

You have good days, you have bad days. But the main thing is to grow mentally. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. Wayne Gretzky

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

I tell the kids, somebody’s gotta win, somebody’s gotta lose. Just don’t fight about it. Just try to get better. Yogi Berra

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

Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability. John Wooden

Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement. Matt Biondi

Competitive sports are played mainly on a five and a half inch court, the space between your ears. Bobby Jones

Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t. Jerry Rice

Every kid around the world who plays soccer wants to be Pele. I have a great responsibility to show them not just how to be like a soccer player, but how to be like a man. Pele

“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self discipline, and effort. Mark Spitz

You can’t win unless you learn how to lose. Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Driven by the moral imperative of paying the price to be great. Vince Lombardi

An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head. Emil Zatopek