51 Motivational Quotes for Young Athletes

When it comes to youth athletes, hearing the right inspirational sports quotes at the right time can sometimes be the difference between becoming incredibly successful at a sport, or just giving it up altogether.

That's because playing sports can make kids feel inferior at times, but hearing the right inspirational quotes can help motivate a child to achieve the right level of focus needed for success. Just ask both amateur and professional famous athletes, not only do they use motivational sports quotes quite regularly to help themselves, but they've also been known to drop some useful lines of their own to help motivate the rest of us.

Along with iconic sports coaches and some of the great minds of the past century or two, this comprehensive list of 50 motivational quotes for young athletes features an Olympic gold medalist or two, some pro baseball and hockey and football players, and a certain former professional basketball player whose name is still synonymous with the game 20 years after he retired. 
 

In Summary:

• Youth sports can be hard for young athletes at times, and inspirational sports quotes can help motivate kids to get on the right track.
• This list of 50 motivational youth sports quotes features iconic athletes and coaches, and can help youth athletes find the focus they need to help their team win.
   

“If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you’ll never change the outcome.” – Michael Jordan, basketball player

“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I cannot accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan

“Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.” – Michael Jordan

“I failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

 “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

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden, college basketball coach

“Winning takes talent; to repeat takes character.” – John Wooden

“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.” – John Wooden

“The best competition I have is against myself to become better.” – John Wooden

“It’s not how big you are but how big you play.” – John Wooden 

“The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.” – Vince Lombardi, football coach

“The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” – Vince Lombardi

“It does not matter how many times you get knocked down. What matters is how many times you get up.” – Vince Lombardi 

“Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back … play for her.” – Mia Hamm, soccer player

“A winner is a person that gets up one more time than she is knocked down.” – Mia Hamm

“I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.” – Mia Hamm

“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, boxer

“Don't count the days, make the days count.” – Muhammad Ali

“The highest compliment that you can pay me is that I work hard every day, that I never dog it.” – Wayne Gretzky, hockey player

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

It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” – Babe Ruth, baseball player

“No matter how good you get you can always get better, and that's the exciting part.” – Tiger Woods, professional golfer

“Set your goals high, and don’t stop until you get there.” – Bo Jackson, baseball and football player

"If you don't have confidence, you'll always find a way not to win." – Carl Lewis

“If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat.” – Hershel Walker, football player

“Adversity causes some to break; others to break records.” – William Ward, motivational writer

“Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength.” – Phil Jackson, basketball coach

“Do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done the best way it can be done, and do it that 

way every time.” – Bob Knight, basketball coach

"One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than a hundred teaching it." – Knute Rockne, football player and coach

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

Lou Brock, baseball player

“You have to remember that the hard days are what make you stronger. The bad days make you realize what a good day is. If you never had any bad days, you would never have that sense of accomplishment.” – Aly Raisman, American gymnast

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

“Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you.” – Bethany Hamilton, champion surfer

“It doesn’t matter what your background is or where you came from. If you have dreams and goals, that’s all that matters.” – Serena Williams, tennis player

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe, tennis player

“Surround yourself with good people. People who are going to be honest with you and look out for your best interests.” – Derek Jeter, baseball player

“You can't win if you don't play as a unit.” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, basketball player

“Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.” – Pat Riley, basketball coach and executive

“I am not a perfectionist, but I like to feel that things are done well. More important than that, I feel an endless need to learn, to improve, to evolve, not only to please the coach and the fans, but also to feel satisfied with myself. It is my conviction that there are no limits to learning, and that it can never stop, no matter what our age.” – Christiano Ronaldo, soccer player

“May you always remember to enjoy the road, especially when it’s a hard one.” – Kobe Bryant, basketball player

“The measure of who we are is how we react if something doesn’t go our way.” – Usain Bolt, track and field athlete

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein, inventor

“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” – Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker

“To me, teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one. You become selfless.” – Mike Krzyzewski, basketball coach

“You can’t control what people say about you and what they think about you. You can’t plan for bad luck. You can only work your hardest and do your best and tell the truth. In the end, it’s the effort that matters. The rest is beyond your control.” – Maria Sharapova, tennis player

“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.” – Jesse Owens, track and field athlete

“To me, football is so much about mental toughness, it's digging deep, it's doing whatever you need to do to help a team win and that comes in a lot of shapes and forms.” – Tom Brady, football player

“Sport teaches you character, it teaches you to play by the rules, it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose - it teaches you about life.” – Billie Jean King, tennis player

 “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail” – Roy Keane, soccer player

“Talent is never enough. With few exceptions, the best players are the hardest workers” – Magic Johnson, basketball player

“The five S’s of sports training are: stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit; but the greatest  of these is spirit.” – Ken Doherty, snooker player