180 Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes (About Life)
Elevate your young athlete’s spirit with these inspiring motivational quotes designed to ignite passion and perseverance on the sports field.
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- Best Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes
- Short Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes
- Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes (Life Lessons)
- Empowering Girls in Sports: Motivational Quotes for Young Female Athletes
- Teamwork Triumphs: Inspirational Quotes for Young Athletes
Best Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes
Sports 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
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
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 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
Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you. Arnold Palmer
Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion. Michael Jordan
I’ve never left the field saying, ‘I could’ve done more to get ready,’ and that gives me peace of mind. Peyton Manning
It’s what you learn after you think you know it all that really counts. John Wooden
Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do. John Wooden
The principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before. Steve Young
You don’t play against opponents, you play against the game of basketball. Bob Knight
Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your own two ears. Laird Hamilton
Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game. Michael Jordan
Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you. Bethany Hamilton
There is no ‘I’ in team.
If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you’ll never change the outcome. Michael Jordan
One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better. Pat Riley Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes
The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team. Phil Jackson
Football is just a game. What matters is what you play for. Ernie Davis
Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play. Mike Singletary
Life is gonna throw you curve balls and it’s how you deal with them and your attitude and your work ethic. Kerri Strug
Good is something you do, not something you talk about. Some medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket. Gino Bartali
Continuous effort — not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential. Liane Cardes
Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability. John Wooden
If you fail to prepare, you’re prepared to fail. Mark Spitz
It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up. Babe Ruth
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
It’s not wanting to win that makes you a winner; it’s refusing to fail. Peyton Manning
If you have everything under control, you’re not moving fast enough. Mario Andretti
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
Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is. Vince Lombardi
It’s not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference. Bear Bryant
If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you. Fred Devito
A champion is simply someone who did not give up when they wanted to. Tom Landry
Short Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes
Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts. Dan Gable
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
You can’t win unless you learn how to lose. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. Muhammad Ali
An athlete gains so much knowledge by just participating in a sport. Focus, discipline, hard work, goal setting, and of course, the thrill of finally achieving your goals. These are all lessons in life. Kristi Yamaguchi
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. John Wooden
You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But both those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self-motivation. Homer Rice
On a football team, it’s not the strength of the individual players, but it is the strength of the unit and how they all function together. Bill Belichik
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent. Eleanor Roosevelt
If you do not believe you can do it then you have no chance at all. Arsene Wenger
No man can avoid being born average,but no man has to stay average. Satchel Paige
The ability to conquer one’s self is no doubt the most precious of all things that sports bestows. Olga Korbut
It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up. Vince Lombardi Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes
Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit. Vince Lombardi
The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done. Arnold Palmer
If you want to find the real competition, just look in the mirror. After awhile you’ll see your rivals scrambling for second place. Criss Jami
That’s one thing you learn in sports. You don’t give up; you fight to the finish. Louis Zamperini
I really get motivated when I have doubters. Shaquille O’Neal
Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. Lou Holtz
Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds. Larry Bird
To give any less than your best is to sacrifice a gift. Steve Prefontaine
You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. Michael Jordan
Act as if it was, and it will be. Lailah Gifty Akita
I believe in myself. Muhammad Ali
Good players want to be coached… Great players want to be told the truth. Doc Rivers
In sports, it is not the strongest, who wins, but the most practical and skillful. Sunday Adelaja
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 the loss. Doug Williams
A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning. Pat Riley
Passion first, and everything else will fall into place. Holly Holm
To succeed…You need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you. Tony Dorsett
It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. Jillian Michaels
I’ve had to learn to fight all my life – got to learn to keep smiling. If you smile things will work out. Serena Williams
Anyone who waits for someone else to make a change automatically becomes a follower. Peyton Manning
It ain’t over till it’s over. Yogi Berra Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes
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
So many people along the way, whatever it is you aspire to do, will tell you it can’t be done. But all it takes is imagination. You dream. You plan. You reach. Michael Phelps
Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes (Life Lessons)
The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. Vince Lombardi
The best teams have chemistry. They communicate with each other and they sacrifice personal glory for a common goal. Dave DeBusschere
Champions keep playing until they get it right. Billie Jean King
Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. Satchel Paige
A trophy carries dust. Memories last forever. Mary Lou Retton
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
Every time I step on the field, I’m going to give my whole heart, regardless of the score. Tim Tebow
If you don’t fall, how are you going to know what getting up feels like? Stephen Curry
To play the game is great, to win the game is greater, but to love the game is the greatest of all. Palestra Palque
The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it. Wayne Gretzky
To uncover your true potential, you must first find your own limits and then you have to have the courage to blow past them. Picabo Street
Difficulties in life are intended to make us better, not bitter. Dan Reeves
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
I am facing a challenge, I am not facing defeat. Remember this. Nikki Rowe
I am the greatest. I said that before I knew I was. Muhammad Ali Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes
The rewards are going to come, but my happiness is just loving the sport and having fun performing. Jackie Joyner Kersee
Discipliune is doing 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
Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up. Rocky Balboa
If plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters – 204 if you’re in Japan. Claire Cook
Fall down seven times, get up eight. Naoki Higashida
You’ll never know what you’re capable of until you take that first step and just go for it. Natasha Hastings
Remember, once you set a goal, it’s all about how hard you’re willing to work, how much you’re willing to sacrifice and how badly you truly want it. J.J. Watt
A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t. Jack Dempsey
At a young age winning is not the most important thing… the important thing is to develop creative and skilled players with good confidence. Arsene Wenger
Never underestimate the heart of a champion! Doc Rivers
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
I’ve learned that something constructive comes from every defeat. Tom Landry
For every pass I caught in a game, I caught a thousand in practice. Don Hutson
Victory is in having done your best. If you’ve done your best, you’ve won. Billy Bowerman
Team guts always beats individual greatness. Robert Zuppke Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes
It is not the size of a man but the size of his heart that matters. Evander Holyfield
I’d rather regret the risk that didn’t work out than the chances I didn’t take at all. Simone Biles
For me, winning isn’t something that happens suddenly on the field when the whistle blows and the crowds roar. Winning is something that builds physically and mentally every day that you train and every night that you dream. Emmitt Smith
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 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 Willams
Most talented players don’t always succeed. Some don’t even make the team. It’s more what’s inside. Brett Favre
Empowering Girls in Sports: Motivational Quotes for Young Female Athletes
Competitive sports are played mainly on a five-and-a-half inch court, the space between your ears. Bobby Jones
To me the beauty of teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one. You become selfless. Mike Krzyzewski
Greatness finds us by obstacles in front of us. I don’t look at hurdles as obstacles blocking my path but opportunities to overcome. Lolo Jones
Nobody who gave his best ever regretted it. George Halas
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
I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end. Larry Bird
Some medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket. Gino Bartali Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes
My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging. Hank Aaron
The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else. Martina Navratilova
Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement. Matt Biondi
If you want to be the best, you have to do the things that other people aren’t willing to do. Michael Phelps
The five S’s of sports training are: stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit; but the greatest of these is spirit. Ken Doherty
It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. Archie Griffin
You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good. Jerry West
You don’t win by being good. You win with hard work and sacrifice. Without that, skill is just potential. Bobby Orr
Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t. Jerry Rice
Keep working even when no one is watching. Alex Morgan
I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion. Mia Hamm
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
So many players enter the game with the same approximate skills. The difference is not aptitude but attitude. Dave Winfield Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes
Champions never complain. They are too busy getting better. John Wooden
I will keep smiling, be positive and never give up! I will give 100 percent each time I play. These are always my goals and my attitude. Yani Tseng
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
In the sports arena I would say there is nothing like training and preparation. You have to train your mind as much as your body. Venus Williams
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Tim Notke
College coaches measure success in championships. High School coaches measure success in titles. Youth coaches measure success in smiles. Paul McAllister
Stay focused. Your start does not determine how you’re going to finish. Herm Edwards
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
Being a good teammate isn’t about recognition. I do it because it makes me whole and complete. Dwyane Wade
You learn you can do your best even when its hard, even when you’re tired and maybe hurting a little bit. It feels good to show some courage. Joe Namath
I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I cannot accept not trying. Michael Jordan
Every team is beatable, you never know. The right moment, the right time, every team is beatable. Tom Coughlin
If you don’t have confidence, you’ll always find a way not to win. Carl Lewis
The most valuable player is the one that makes the most players valuable. Peyton Manning
When you see a good move, look for a better one. Emanuel Lasker Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes
Without self-discipline, success is impossible. Period. Lou Holtz
Teamwork Triumphs: Inspirational Quotes for Young Athletes
I really think a champion is defined not by their wins, but how they recover when they fall. Serena Williams
One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than preaching it. Knute Rockne
Just keep going. Everybody gets better if they keep at it. Ted Williams
Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it. Steve Prefontaine
The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender. Vince Lombardi
Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking of pressure, it’s because you’ve started to think of failure. Tommy Lasorda
You’re never a loser until you quit trying. Mike Ditka
When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less. Paul Brown
If you can’t outplay them, outwork them. Ben Hogan
Success isn’t owned; it’s leased. And rent is due every day. J.J. Watt
I’ve always made a total effort, even when the odds seemed entirely against me. I never quit trying; I never felt that I didn’t have a chance to win. Arnold Palmer
Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can. Paul Tournier
I always felt that my greatest asset was not my physical ability, it was my mental ability. Bruce Jenner
The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. Babe Ruth
I got more bruises, grass burns and cuts in practice than in match play. Jonty Rhodes
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Maya Angelou
Love is playing every game as if it’s your last. Michael Jordan
It never gets easier. You just get better. Jordan Hoechlin
Everything negative — pressure, challenges — is all an opportunity for me to rise. Kobe Bryant
Just be patient. Let the game come to you. Don’t rush. Be quick, but don’t hurry. Earl Monroe
Nothing else will show your true character than how you lose. Ken Gleed
Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. John Wooden
Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle. Wilma Rudolph
Never let the fear of striking out get in your way. Babe Ruth
Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful. John Wooden
Show me a guy who’s afraid to look bad, and I’ll show you a guy you can beat every time. Lou Brock
I’ve never lost a game I just ran out of time. Michael Jordan
To achieve great things you have first to believe it. Arsene Wenger
I don’t count my situps. I only start counting once it starts hurting. Muhammad Ali
Wisdom is always an over match for strength. Phil Jackson Motivational Quotes for Kid Athletes
The best motivation always comes from within. Michael Johnson
What do you do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it. Dean Smith
Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up. Jim Valvano
If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right. Henry Ford
It isn’t hard to be good from time to time in sports. What is tough, is being good every day. Willie Mays
Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second. William James
If you are afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful! Charles Barkley
Book Recommendations
Embarking on a journey of athletic excellence involves more than just physical training; it requires a resilient mindset and unwavering motivation. To delve into the psychology of motivation and success in sports, exploring the wisdom found in books is an invaluable resource. Here are some book recommendations that not only offer profound insights but can significantly benefit young athletes in their pursuit of greatness.
1. “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol S. Dweck
Key Takeaway: Dweck introduces the concept of fixed and growth mindsets. Embracing a growth mindset allows young athletes to view challenges as opportunities for learning and development, fostering resilience and a love for improvement.
2. “The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business” by Charles Duhigg
Key Takeaway: Duhigg explores the science behind habits and how they shape our lives. Understanding the formation of habits empowers young athletes to build positive routines, reinforcing discipline and fostering a conducive environment for success.
3. “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Duckworth
Key Takeaway: Duckworth emphasizes the significance of grit – a combination of passion and perseverance. Young athletes discover that sustained effort, even in the face of setbacks, is a crucial element in achieving long-term goals.
4. “The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How.” by Daniel Coyle
Key Takeaway: Coyle delves into the concept of deep practice and how it contributes to skill development. Young athletes learn the importance of deliberate, focused practice in honing their craft and achieving excellence.
5. “Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise” by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool
Key Takeaway: Ericsson and Pool explore the principles of deliberate practice and the role it plays in reaching the pinnacle of performance. Young athletes gain insights into crafting purposeful training regimens to maximize their potential.
6. “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” by James Clear
Key Takeaway: Clear offers practical strategies for habit formation. Young athletes can apply these techniques to cultivate positive habits, creating a foundation for sustained motivation and success in their athletic endeavors.
7. “Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall in Love with the Process of Becoming Great” by Joshua Medcalf
Key Takeaway: Medcalf underscores the significance of enjoying the journey rather than fixating solely on the destination. Young athletes are encouraged to embrace the process, finding joy in the daily grind of improvement.
Incorporating these books into their reading repertoire, young athletes gain not only a deeper understanding of the psychological aspects of success but also practical tools to navigate challenges, cultivate resilience, and foster a mindset that propels them toward greatness on and off the field. These literary treasures serve as beacons, guiding the next generation of athletes on a path toward enduring success.
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