John Wooden Quotes

Olympism... exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, mind and will.

Whether you are a genius or an idiot, a thief or, like me, a Zen priest who has cultivated the mind for 30 years - the mind anyway is subject to conditions.

The Bible is very clear that God has a purpose. But even if I know that purpose, I can't fulfill it if I'm out of shape.

I think any of the older guys you can poll throughout the NBA, they're super-regimented. Because as long as that body lasts, your mind should be better; your shot should be better. But the reality is, at some point, your body does break down - you do get older - so it's just, how do you prolong that as long as possible?

As a football player, you would like to play each match.

It is impossible to attain proper physical condition without being sound both mentally and morally.

I think the guys are more conscious of the fact that being in good physical condition under the conditions that they play will make them better players.

Mick Jagger is in better shape than far too many NBA players. It's up in the air whether the same can be said of Keith Richards.

Every day in practice I have to lead by example. But at the same time, when people aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing, you're responsible as a player. You can't rely on the coaches to say everything. The players have to be responsible and take ownership of the team. Every day in practice there are situations where you need to say something and get a message across, but do it in the right way.

The highest level of achievement is attained by the teams with the best conditioned players

There are three things an athlete must do. You must be in physical condition ... You must execute properly and quickly the fundamentals ... and you must have eagerness to sacrifice personal interests or glory for the welfare of the team.

Martial arts are a vehicle for developing your human potential.

To achieve the highest accomplishments within the scope of our capabilities in all walks of life we must constantly strive to acquire strong, healthy bodies and develop our minds to the limits of our ability.

To have a successful team, you have to have great players of course - but you have to have good personalities and good people as well.

This is the shape I'm in for the tournament. I feel or I felt extremely good before the match, and I did train very, very hard to get ready for the tournament.

Without any doubt the best player in the Premiership has to be Paul Scholes. He knows how to do everything, and he is the one who directs the way his team plays. On top of that, he has indestructible mental strength, and he is a genuine competitor.

It's not that difficult to play well and win titles in a team like Barcelona, but it's in the national side where you see a player's true class. That was the case with figures like Pele, Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane. With Spain, Iniesta has shown that he is among the best players of all time and that's why I rate him higher than Messi or Ronaldo. Even though the latter two have incredible scoring records for their clubs, they still haven't won anything with Argentina or Portugal respectively.

Encourage anyone who is trying to improve mentally, physically, or spiritually.

The more I run, the more I want to run, and the more I live a life conditioned and influenced and fashioned by my running. And the more I run, the more certain I am that I am heading for my real goal: to become the person I am.

I guess the worst thing you feel in a fight is being out of shape.

I don't get a big charge out of being the leading scorer. The object of competing is winning. I just try to do what has to be done for us to win. That might be anything at the time - defense, rebounding, passing. I get great satisfaction out of being a team player.

Once you become a good person, then you have a chance of becoming a good basketball player.

Train the body and develop stamina and endurance. But the spirit of competition and power that presides over them is not good, it reflects a distorted vision of life. The root of the martial arts is not there.

He is not injured. He's not fit. He's not fit to play football, unfortunately. He played in a reserve game the other day and I could have run about more than he did. I can't pick him.

The difference between trying to be fit and not being fit really means the difference between life and death.