1.
It is never too late, no matter how old you get because anytime or any point in your life you can always have a chance to make a difference. You can always make a change for the better no matter what background you derived from. You can always do your best and be all that you can be because you will always be uniquely you. It is why it is always wise to listen to your eternal heart, your eternal instincts, and what it had always strove for and/or to do because really anybody can make a difference not only in their own lives but in the lives of others. It is never too late to shine; never.
George Eliot
2.
Chance favors the prepared mind.
Louis Pasteur
Fortune smiles on the ready intellect.
3.
I'd rather have more heart than talent any day.
Allen Iverson
I would rather possess more passion than aptitude any day.
4.
A winner is that person who gets up one more time than she is knocked down.
Mia Hamm
A victor is that individual who rises again more often than they are defeated.
5.
Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.
Vince Lombardi
6.
If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever.
Thomas Aquinas
7.
Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to.
Henry Van Dyke
8.
If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?
Vince Lombardi
9.
Every single day I wake up and commit myself to becoming a better player. Some days it happens, and some days it doesn't. Sure, there are games I'm going to dominate and there are going to be games when I struggle. But it doesn't mean I give up.
Mia Hamm
10.
The team with the best athletes doesn't usually win. It's the team with the athletes who play best together.
Lisa Fernandez
11.
A lot of people notice when you succeed, but they don't see what it takes to get there.
Dawn Staley
12.
Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner. Even if you are behind, a sustained look of control and confidence can give you a mental edge that results in victory.
Diane Arbus
13.
It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone.
A. Bartlett Giamatti
15.
My coach told me, "Larry, no matter how much you work at it, there's always someone out there who's working just a little harder - if you take 150 practice shots, he's taking 200." And that drove me.
Larry Bird
16.
It's a game of failure [softball]. Everybody would play, that was easy and everyone's not playing because it is so tough. But it's a matter of keep plugging away, keep working hard, believing in yourself and it is a team sport and there is nothing better than being out there, having a ball in your hand, playing the game that you love and ultimately that's what it comes down is having fun and enjoying it.
Jennie Finch
17.
Losing a game is heartbreaking. Losing your sense of excellence or worth is a tragedy.
Joe Paterno
18.
The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.
John Bingham
19.
Try not to get lost in comparing yourself to others. Discover your gifts and let them shine! Softball is amazing that way as a sport. Everyone on the field has a slightly different ability that makes them perfect for their position.
Jennie Finch
20.
I never expect to lose. Even when I'm the underdog, I still prepare a victory speech.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
21.
If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it.
Jesse Jackson
22.
To some Softball is a game; to others it's Life.
Jennie Finch
23.
What you do when no one else is looking will determine how good you'll be.
Anson Dorrance
24.
A true champion is someone who wants to make a difference, who never gives up, and who gives everything she has no matter what the circumstances are. A true champion works hard and never loses sight of her dreams.
Dot Richardson
25.
Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to cut all sources of retreat. Only by doing so can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win - essential to success.
Napoleon Hill
27.
And my dad drilled it in my head, you know, 'If you want it bad enough, and you're willing to make the sacrifices, you can do it. But first you have to believe in yourself'.
Jennie Finch
28.
I hate to lose more than I like to win. I hate to see the happiness on their faces when they beat me!
Jimmy Connors
29.
Today is a new day. Even if you were wrong yesterday, you can get it right today.
Dwight Howard
30.
Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.
Helen Keller
31.
I like to put on hardcore when I have to clean my apartment, which I hate to do, but it's motivational. I like old heavy metal when I'm outside working on my car. Music has definite functions for me.
Peter Steele
32.
The minute you start talking about what you're going to do if you lose, you have lost.
George P. Shultz
33.
It's important to know that at the end of the day it's not the medals you remember. What you remember is the process -- what you learn about yourself by challenging yourself, the experiences you share with other people, the honesty the training demands -- those are things nobody can take away from you whether you finish twelfth or you're an Olympic Champion.
Silken Laumann
34.
I am a winner. I just didn't win today.
Greg Norman
36.
It's not so much what you accomplish in life that really matters, but what you overcome that proves who you are, what you are, and whether you are a champion.
Johnny Miller
37.
Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner.
Arthur Ashe
38.
No matter how tough, no matter what kind of outside pressure, no matter how many bad breaks along the way, I must keep my sights on the final goal, to win, win, win-and with more love and passion than the world has ever witnessed in any performance.
Billie Jean King
39.
If a tie is like kissing your sister, losing is like kissing you grandmother with her teeth out.
George Brett
40.
A catcher and his body are like the outlaw and his horse. He's got to ride that nag till it drops.
Johnny Bench
41.
I don't want to deal with problems, and so you want to make sure that you don't give yourself problems by not doing your homework and maybe trying to take a kid that's got great ability but isn't going to get it done in the classroom.
Mike Candrea
42.
You're going to make mistakes in life. It's what you do after the mistakes that counts.
Brandi Chastain
43.
Competition in its best form is a test of self. It has nothing to do with medals. The winner is the person who gets the most out of themselves.
Al Oerter
44.
If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now. Don't spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it.
Priscilla Welch
45.
High school sports: where lessons of life are still being learned, and where athletes still compete for the love of the game and their teammates.
Michael Powers
46.
If my dreams can happen to me, your dreams can happen to you. Champions are not made on the track or field; champions are made by the things you accomplish and the way you use your abilities in everyday life situations.
Bob Beamon
47.
What I love about the game is that the game doesn't know who is supposed to win.
Sue Enquist
48.
Try not to get lost in comparing yourself to others. Discover your gifts and let them shine!
Jennie Finch
49.
I know you're supposed to set goals for yourself. I see all that motivational stuff on television. Think about the future, what's next! But I'm all into the journey. It's fascinating to me. So if I make certain what I want moment to moment, I'm cool at the crossroads.
Cassandra Wilson
50.
The key is that I control my life; my life doesn't control me.
Gabrielle Reece