Sports and pressure go hand in hand, and depending on how one handles the pressure, it may either be beneficial or detrimental. To manage the pressure they experience both on and off the field, professional athletes employ a variety of strategies. The success they achieve in their respective sports is only a result of how much better they handle pressure than their competitors.
In this blog post, we have gathered some really inspirational quotes and sayings dealing with professional athletes’ off and on–field pressures, how they react to it, and how they use it to their advantage to succeed in life.
Also See: Worthy Sports Quotes from Athletes About Inner Potential
Image Quotes/ Quotes Wallpaper
Guess the quote’s author
Let’s take a quick quiz now before reading these inspiring sports quotes. Your task in this quiz is to identify the authors of the quotes we’ve provided from this post. You’ll have three choices to choose from, so think carefully! Match the words to the person who said them!
- “Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.” – Kobe Bryant, basketball player.
- “I don’t fold under pressure, great athletes perform better under pressure, so put pressure on me.” – Floyd Mayweather Jr, professional boxer.
- “For an athlete, the biggest pressure comes from within. You know what you want to do and what you’re capable of.” – Paula Radcliffe, long-distance runner.
- “Winning comes down to who can execute under pressure.” – Billie Jean King, tennis player.
- “All of us get knocked down, but it’s resiliency that really matters. All of us do well when things are going well, but the thing that distinguishes athletes is the ability to do well in times of great stress, urgency and pressure.” – Roger Staubach, football player.
- “I don’t think that these challenges that I go through and the pressures that I feel are actually harming me or actually something that I find difficult, that I find that is a burden on my back. I find that it’s a privilege because I earned it. I earned this position to be in.” – Novak Djokovic, tennis player.
- “Luck? Sure. But only after long practice and only with the ability to think under pressure.” – Babe Didrikson Zaharias, track and field.
- “To take pressure off myself, I realize how fortunate I am to be playing a sport for a living. If I take that mentality onto the court, there shouldn’t be any pressure because I’m already fortunate to do what I do.” – John Isner, tennis player.
- “The only way of finding a solution is to fight back, to move, to run, and to control that pressure.” – Rafael Nadal, tennis player.
- “Try not to feel any pressure really. Just go out and enjoy yourself, and it’s a great opportunity. Just go out there, and you’ve been practising all your life, so just do what you do.” – Georgia Hall, Professional golfer.
- “The more prepared I can be each week, the less pressure I feel and the more confident I am. As your confidence grows, it’s only natural that the pressure you feel diminishes.” – Aaron Rodgers, football player.
- “The most important thing to remember when you’re dealing with extreme pressure is to stay calm. And it’s in the calmness amidst the calamity that you’re going through that you try to gain your clarity and gain your focus because it helps you make the decision.” – Dwayne Johnson, former professional wrestler.
- “The pressure’s fine. It’s when that pressure when you turn it into stress that’s when it becomes a problem.” – Caeleb Dressel, Professional swimmer.
- “Sport is one of the things that can inspire and cheer people up, Pressure? Honestly you can overthink it. It’s two laps of the baths.” – Adam Peaty, Professional swimmer.
- “I always tried to turn pressure into a positive thing because that just allowed me to really be able to get into the zone and focus on something at a super high level.” – Michael Phelps, Professional swimmer.
- “There’s always pressure at this level. That’s what motivates me to train hard every day. It’s what motivates me to get up and go for my runs. Those are what make me who I am. I enjoy the pressure that it brings on me.” – Steve Molitor, Boxer.
- “Talking about the pressure, as you say, or expectations, I don’t think about it. I’m trying to do my job as good as I can. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t work.” – Daniil Medvedev, Tennis player.
- “I think playing with freedom [is] probably the lesson I learned at a very young age, that’s why you go to training every day. That’s why you work so hard at your preparation, so when you walk onto that big stage under pressure, you just go out and play with freedom.” – Michael Clarke, Cricket player.
- “I enjoy pressure. I look forward to it.” – Kyrie Irving, Basketball player.
- “The only way to relieve that pressure is to build your fundamentals, practice them over and over, so when game breaks down, you can handle anything that transpires.” – Michael Jordan, basketball player.
- “Don’t worry about the pressure or the responsibility. Just live in it, have fun, and when everything seems to be going right, just stay humble and remember your family.” – Roman Reigns, professional wrestler.
- “There is a lot of pressure put on me, but I don’t put a lot of pressure on myself. I feel if I play my game, it will take care of itself.” – LeBron James, basketball player.
- “One of the best sayings in tennis and sport is that pressure is a privilege.” – Ashleigh Barty, tennis player.
- “The challenge is to stay cool enough to handle the pressure in the moment so that you can succeed in the future.” – Jurgen Klopp, football manager.
- “I like pressure. Diamonds are made under pressure, and I definitely enjoy it.” – Caroline Buchanan, Australian cyclist.
- “I’m not playing for other people; if I start thinking in those terms I would put too much pressure on myself. I play basketball because that is what I love to do.” – Jeremy Lin, basketball player.
- “Honestly, I don’t know the word ‘pressure,’ because football is my job. I always enjoy it.” – Sadio Mane, football player.
- “I don’t believe in pressure. The pressure is not being prepared for what you want to do.” – Colin Kaepernick, football quarterback.
- “I don’t take pressure on myself when I am in the middle. I love pressure, and I always believe that pressure makes you more focused.” – Virat Kohli, cricket player.
- “I truly believe that players who tell you they don’t feel the pressure of international cricket, of being away from home for months at a time, are lying to everyone and themselves.” – AB de Villiers, cricket player.
- “The pressure I give myself from within is what drives me.” – Christian Pulisic, American soccer player.
- “Pressure can make a diamond. Pressure makes me play better because I don’t want to let my teammates or my fans down, and that makes me play extra hard.” – Robert Horry, former basketball player.
- “Under pressure is something I thrive on.” – Baker Mayfield, Football quarterback.
- “Pressure can be good. It helps you to see what you’re all about.” – Tim Howard, American soccer player.
- “You live for those pressure moments. Through an international career, you have ups and downs, but you always feel you are going to be tested in moments like that. It has taken me years to feel comfortable and to feel like I have good composure in those situations.” – AB de Villiers, former cricket player.
- “Every great player is more outstanding in the victory, but has more pressure in defeats.” – Zico, Brazilian football coach.
- “Greatness for me is the ability to focus under pressure.” – Anthony Martial, French soccer player.
- “I never put myself under any pressure or anything. I embrace the moment, play in the moment, and I feel strong. Nothing fazes me; I just want to be myself.” – Jordan Pickford, English soccer player.
- “Well, it’s pressure, there’s no doubt. I was nervous and that’s a good thing. That means you care. You can try and use that energy as best you can to heighten your focus and then get into the right situation.” – Tiger Woods, professional golfer.
- “Pressure is a privilege – it only comes to those who earn it.” – Billie Jean King, former tennis player.
- “Under pressure, would I fold and disappear, or would I show everyone that when bad things happen, you fight?” – Drew Brees, Football quarterback.
- “We are under pressure because the competition makes you feel more stress. But, at the same time, we are super lucky persons, you know, because we are able to work on one of our hobbies. The most important thing in this life, in my opinion, is be happy, more than anything else.” – Rafael Nadal, Tennis Player.
- “The pressure we feel as athletes is insurmountable and can be too much at times, I don’t want to focus on the bad though, I want to shed light on the good that has come of this.” – Javion Cohen, Football player.
- “It is very important to stay calm and keep yourself busy. There will be a lot of pressure and responsibilities. It comes to a time where you just have to let go of everything and just be focused on yourself.” – PV Sindhu, Badminton player.
- “Learn along the way. When you’re in a high-pressure environment, and mentally locked in, it can sometimes be hard to realize that there are so many other opportunities and experiences around you.” – Maria Sharapova, tennis player.
- “I need to stay in the moment, focus on my technical cues and it just comes – I don’t have to put enormous pressure on myself.” – Katarina Johnson-Thompson, elite multi-eventer.
- “I’ve never shied away from pressure. You’ve got to look right at it and keep going and keep believing and stay the course.” – Russell Wilson, American footballer.
- “You guys have fun while you can, because stress and pressures are always around the corner, and sooner or later you will find them in front of you, the secret to living well is to have balance.” – Steffi Graf, tennis player.
- “If you want to be great, you’re going to want pressure.” – Derrick Rose, basketball player.
Also See: Inspirational Derrick Rose Quotes - “Without pressure, I wouldn’t be the player that you see playing on the court like you saw before the injury.” – Derrick Rose, basketball player.
- “It’s not the pressure you crumble to, it’s the pressure you want. It’s the good pressure. You want to play up to what the expectations are.” – Paul George, basketball player.
- “I’m accustomed to pressure. It’s what we, as players, live. If you don’t want pressure, then football is not for you.” – Roberto Firmino, Soccer player.
Conclusion
A fun quiz is a great way to summarize the lessons we can take from these inspiring quotes. This fun quiz is intended to help you remember the key ideas and takeaways from the quotes in our blog post.
How to play?
In this quiz, you must complete the quote you’ve just read from various athletes and coaches by selecting the correct option from the options provided. The aim of this quiz is to help you recall key takeaways from the quotes. You will receive one point for selecting the correct option. Are you ready? Let’s get started.
Tags: Motivational
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Featured Image Credit: Ray Terrill, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
