Chris Smalling Quotes

I spar in the gym, and I take pride in my sparring. But I'm a better fighter when the lights come on because it's right now - there is no tomorrow.

You rewind. You think of your preparation. You think of everything you did throughout the week, your life, the practices, the intensity. Everything flashes, and you come right back to that point. And it's like, game on.

When you're in the middle of a pennant race, you can't go up there thinking about home runs.

At big championships it's not the fastest person, it's the person who gets it right on the day.

When you play with the best in the world, it is important that you not lose focus. You must be fully focused. Even a minor error could result in a massive defeat.

Once you are on court, everything is different. I focus on the match.

It pumps me up - the whole idea of the bowler marking his run-up, popping at the crease, the crowd chanting, nerves building up. It's a very good feeling. Right from the first ball, I know I have to be at the top of my game.

Every game's a big game.

I guess sometimes when the game is on the line you kind of focus a little more.

Football is so intense you don't have time to sit back and look at what you have achieved.

No matter how loud the stadium is, once you're on that field and that offense walks up to the line, it's silent. You can only hear the guys on the field. It's amazing how much concentration you can have when it's required and how powerful your mind is to give it to you.

I decided to do the maximum to hold onto the lead for as long as possible. That is why I pushed so hard from the beginning. I was at 100 percent concentration.

When you're in between the white lines, the game face is on. I was only focused on the task at hand - out, safe, ball, strike - leaving little time to think about how special a player, moment or game happened to be.

A lot of my intensity in wrestling was due to my mental preparation before the matches. I got myself into a different world.

I enjoy the last quarter of all basketball games.

The more you hesitate in a game, the more your chance of getting hit. Your focus isn't there. When you hesitate, usually you're in trouble.

When there's an important tournament going on, I try and stay in a bubble. It's easy that way because then you don't have to worry about anything else.

Sometimes I just get over-excited. I see the pitch and I think, 'I have to get this wicket.' When I am just looking to bowl, I am calm and composed, and most of the time I get it right. The ball lands where I want it to.

When I'm playing my best, like I was at the U.S. Open, I feel on top of the match and able to do exactly what I want. There are other times when you're not in control, but that is tennis and you have momentum changes in every single match.

You try to stay within the rules for the sake of the game, but you can always turn up the intensity.

To me, it's like we're already in the playoffs. Every game is important for our position. We can't relax at all.

The only thing that matters is what happens on the little hump out in the middle of the field.

It doesn't matter the way you're playing, especially the beginning of a grand slam. It doesn't change anything.

A lot of things change in the playoffs.

I don't ever want the players to relax in a game.