Declan Donnelly Quotes

I believe in my God-given athletic ability and the coaches that have been blessed around me. I believe I can do the job as a quarterback in the NFL.

I was able to really see that connection as a football player where success requires a lot of hard work and effort, physically and mentally.

I am smarter because I stayed in school, and I am a better football player.

My son, he understands being an athlete and being a student-athlete and how important it is that those two things go hand in hand.

In high school I was on the basketball team, but the coach did something I didn't dig and the next day he looked up and saw me practising with the football team.

I want to see a player on the football field. I want to see what kind of teammate they are, what kind of leadership qualities they have. I want to see how aggressive they are, how much fun they have playing the game.

If I came in to recruit your son, I would tell you, your wife, and your son, that I will be the most demanding coach your son can play for.

Sports were a big part of my life. I was the captain of the basketball team in high school, and captain of the basketball team at Princeton.

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.

Having been a cheerleader, I know all too well what these girls give up to join forces and compete.

I learned a great many things in the Marines that helped me as a football coach. The Marines train men hard and to do things the right way, just as a football team must train.

Football taught me how hard you had to work to achieve something.

Football is like life - it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.

I've always really just liked football, and I've always devoted a lot of time to it. When I was a kid, my friends would call me to go out with them, but I would stay home because I had practice the next day.

Regardless of who you are, what sport you chose, or how much success you achieved, playing the game is all about getting you ready for life.

There were high school coaches such as Charles Boston that took me under his wing and taught me the fundamentals of football. And when I went to college there was Robert Hill who took me there and he showed me what hard work and determination would do if you put forth the effort and you take a little time.

I want to be a great player. I don't want to play for the money. I don't want to play for fame. I'd just as soon no one knew who I was. I want to play football because it's football.

I do genuinely believe that young people who play sport at a competitive level, sensibly controlled, sensibly organised, that has to be a good thing. It will teach them to win, it will teach them to lose with dignity and magnanimity - all the things you want. It's a pretty good metaphor for life.

Thanks to my football experience, I know the value of team play. It is, I believe, one of the most important lessons to be learned and practiced.

What is learned on the athletic field is not forgotten, nor are the lessons of character that are forged there ever lost. Consider the contributions in the field of public life, business, law, medicine, and the military of those who actively participated in athletics.

I always tried to be a guy that plays hard and was committed to giving his all, on and off the court. So that's something I'm really proud of.

I'm focusing on being the best I can for my teammates - catching as many balls and putting in as many good blocks as I possibly can.

Some of the best lessons that I've ever learned are on a ball field - basketball, football, baseball, golf. And I learned great lessons from my coaches - being on time, being mentally tough, having some discipline, and being part of a team.

Wherever I played, I had an opportunity to show my attributes.

I'm very proud because, all my life, I worked very hard to be a football player.