80 Coaching Quotes to Motivate Your Team to The Next Level

By Max Cordova | Published August 15, 2022

These coaching quotes will shed light on this unique career that’s been the inspiration for books and movies for generations.

If you’ve ever played a sport, then it’s likely you have at least one good memory of a coach that played a significant role in your life or taught you something you’ll never forget.

That’s because being a coach is one of the most rewarding professions in the world, though it can also be one of the most difficult.

The experience of being a coach is one that’s exciting and emotional, but also challenging and nerve wracking — especially when it all comes down to one game.

Coaching can take you to heights when your team is winning, but it can also bring you down if your team is losing.

There are no guarantees with coaching, except for the fact that you’ll be sure to learn a valuable lesson.

After all, you are the person who will mold your players into the best versions of themselves and guide them along through adversity or victory.

Don’t forget to also read these coach Carter quotes for more inspiration.

If you like this article, we suggest you explore our most popular quotes article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily encouragement.

Look through our complete collection of inspirational quotes here.

Coaching Quotes on Leadership

1. “I think the most important thing about coaching is that you have to have a sense of confidence about what you’re doing. You have to be a salesman, and you have to get your players, particularly your leaders, to believe in what you’re trying to accomplish on the basketball floor.” ― Phil Jackson

2. “Make sure that team members know they are working with you, not for you.” ― John Wooden

3. “Really, coaching is simplicity. It’s getting players to play better than they think that they can.” ― Tom Landry
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of simplicity quotes to encourage a positive mindset.

You will also enjoy our article on collaboration quotes.

4. “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” ― John Wooden

5. “My best investment, as cliched as this sounds, is the money I’ve spent developing myself, via books, workshops and coaching. Leadership begins within, and to have a better career, start by building a better you.” ― Robin S. Sharma

6. “To be successful in coaching you have to treat your team like a family. The leader needs backing from everyone.” ― Morgan Wootten

7. “You don’t demand respect, you earn it.” ― Steve Seidler

8. “To be as good as it can be, a team has to buy into what you as the coach are doing. They have to feel you’re a part of them and they’re a part of you.” ― Bobby Knight

9. “The definition of courage is going from defeat to defeat with enthusiasm.” ― Winston Churchill

10. “A coach should never be afraid to ask questions of anyone he could learn from.”― Bobby Knight

11. “Who exactly seeks out a coach? Winners who want more out of life.” ― Chicago Tribune

12. “Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching?” ― Dennis E. Mannering and Wendy K. Mannering

13. “If we were supposed to talk more than we listen we would have two mouths and one ear.” ― Mark Twain

14. “Failure is never quite as frightening as regret.” ― Anonymous

You will also enjoy our article on mentor quotes.

Coaching Quotes on Teaching

15. “Teaching players during practices was what coaching was all about to me.” ― John Wooden

16. “Constant, gentle pressure is my preferred technique for leadership, guidance, and coaching.” ― Danny Meyer

17. “I didn’t get into coaching to make money. I got into this for the coaching and teaching part.” ― Dabo Swinney

18. “Coaching takes patience. I’m more enthused when teaching players who want it versus when I have to.” ― Kevin Garnett

19. “Coaching is the great passion of my life, and the job to me has always been an opportunity to work with our student-athletes and help them discover what they want.” ― Pat Summitt (see more quotes from Pat Summitt)

20. “To excel at the highest level – or any level, really – you need to believe in yourself, and hands down, one of the biggest contributors to my self-confidence has been private coaching.” ― Stephen Curry

21. “It’s what you learn, after you know it all, that counts.” ― John Wooden

22. “I fell in love with coaching. I loved interacting with young people, having the opportunity to make a tremendous impression on them.” ― Morgan Wootten

23. “Good coaching may be defined as the development of character, personality and habits of players, plus the teaching of fundamentals and team play.” ― Claire Bee

You might also like these team quotes about collaboration, determination and united success.

Coaching Quotes on Practice

24. “Starting a business is similar to an athletic endeavor, like serving a tennis ball. Telling you how to do it is useless. You actually get better through a combination of practice, coaching, and repetitions with money on the line.” ― Andrew Yang

25. “Most people get excited about games, but I’ve got to be excited about practice, because that’s my classroom.” ― Pat Summitt

26. “Never quit. It is the easiest cop-out in the world. Set a goal and don’t quit until you attain it. When you do attain it, set another goal, and don’t quit until you reach it. Never quit.” ― Bear Bryant

27. “Victory or defeat is not determined at the moment of crisis, but rather in the long and unspectacular period of preparation.” ― Anonymous

28. “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” ― John Wooden

29. “Let me tell you what winning means…. you’re willing to go longer, work harder, give more than anyone else.” ― Vince Lombardi

30. “Nothing will work unless you do.” ― John Wooden

31. “You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.” — Michael Jordan

32. “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” Henry Ford

Coaching quotes about the profession

33. “You don’t go into coaching if you’re not willing to step into that moment and go, ‘OK, this is what it’s going to take, and this is why you do it.’ Everything hinges on winning and losing, right?”― Jill Ellis

34. “We could all use more coaching.” ― Richard Thaler

35. “Look, coaching is about human interaction and trying to know your players. Any coach would tell you that. I’m no different.” ― Bill Parcells

36. “I could not be more proud of the countless lives that I have changed since I began my coaching and mentoring career!” ― Dan Pena

37. “I learned this about coaching: You don’t have to explain victory and you can’t explain defeat.” ― Darrell Royal

38. “I really enjoyed coaching.” ― Joe Paterno

39. “Coaches understand that pressure is part of the rush of coaching. The challenge of trying to outplay your opponent is part of the fun, the adrenaline, the preparation, seeing your team evolve. It’s why coaches become coaches.” ― Jill Ellis

40. “My dad has a certain spirit, a twinkle in his eye, someone who can set a certain standard for players but also convey it with humor. What I learned from him is that coaching is, more than anything, about connecting with people.” ― Jill Ellis

41. “One of the biggest reasons I like coaching college ball is the kids. I feel I can impact players’ lives. I like the fact that they’re student-athletes. I like to see those kids graduate.” ― Rick Majerus

42. “There are certain aspects that I miss of coaching. But you can’t just pick out the good parts. You’ve got to be all-in and understand there’s some negatives, too.” ― Jeff Van Gundy

You might also like these John Madden quotes from the American football coach.

Other inspirational coaching quotes

43. “Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all-time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” ― Vince Lombardi

44. “I went into coaching never worrying about what I was coaching for other than trying to make sure that I can prepare my team, select my team, have an amazing staff around me.” ― Jill Ellis

45. “Failure is good. It’s fertilizer. Everything I’ve learned about coaching, I’ve learned from making mistakes.” ― Rick Pitino

46. “A common mistake among those who work in sport is spending a disproportional amount of time on “x’s and o’s” as compared to time spent learning about people.” ― Mike Krzyzewski

47. “I found out that if you are going to win games, you had better be ready to adapt.” ― Scotty Bowman

48. “People thrive on positive reinforcement. They can take only a certain amount of criticism and you may lose them altogether if you criticize them in a personal way… you can make a point without being personal. Don’t insult or belittle your people. Instead of getting more out of them you will get less.” ― Bill Walsh

49. “All coaching is, is taking a player where he can’t take himself.” ― Bill McCartney

50. “Selecting the right person for the right job is the largest part of coaching.” ― Phil Crosby

Inspirational Coaching Quotes to Ponder

51. “A life coach does for the rest of your life what a personal trainer does for your health and fitness.” – Elaine MacDonald

52. “Only when your consciousness is totally focused on the moment you are in can you receive whatever gift, lesson, or delight that moment has to offer.” – Barbara de Angelis

53. “Life’s short. Live passionately.” – Marc A. Pitman

54. “It takes someone with a vision of the possibilities to attain new levels of experience. Someone with the courage to live his dreams.” – Les Brown

55. “You can’t stop negative thoughts from coming in, but you can make sure they leave as quickly as they enter.” – Nkem Mpamah

56. “When you encourage others, you in the process are being encouraged because you’re making a commitment to that person’s life. Encouragement really does make a difference.” – Zig Ziglar

57. “Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” – Carl Jung

58. “Opportunities don’t knock, they whisper. So shut up and listen.” – Thomas Leonard

59. “I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” – Abraham Maslow

60. “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Encouraging Coaching Quotes For Your Success

61. “There are no failures – just experiences and your reactions to them.” – Tom Krause

62. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” – Fred DeVito

63. “It is action that creates motivation.” – Steve Backley

64. “In a growth mindset, challenges are exciting rather than threatening. So rather than thinking, oh, I’m going to reveal my weaknesses, you say, wow, here’s a chance to grow.” – Carol Dweck

65. “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” – Neale Donald Walsh

66. Being ourselves means sometimes having to find the courage to stand alone, totally alone.” – Brené Brown

67. “A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch, but on its own wings. Always believe in yourself.” – Charlie Wardle

68. “Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.” – Aristotle

69. Know how to listen and you will profit even from those who talk badly.” – Plutarch

70. “I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” – Henry David Thoreau

Coaching Quotes To Bring Out The Best From Players

71. “Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.” ― Timothy Gallwey

72. “The absolute bottom line in coaching is organization and preparing for practice.” ― Bill Walsh

73. “I have been coaching recently. I coached high school basketball in Arizona, and I hope that more opportunities become available.” ― Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

74. “I find young kids. I enjoy coaching and enjoy making them better players.” ― Graham Roberts

75. “We probably spend more time talking about individual players in our coaching sessions than anything else.” ― Hayden Fry

76. “I always stressed that I didn’t have coaching experience, but that I did have a deadline: June 9.” ― Jurgen Klinsmann

77. “Geez, I just played cricket because I loved the game. I never thought about it much, never really had any formal coaching.” ― Steve Waugh

78. “Players suffer coaching changes all the time; it’s life in the NFL.” ― Michael Wilbon

79. “I love to promote our sport. I love grass-roots tennis. I love coaching. I love all parts of the sport. I love the business side.” ― Billie Jean King

80. “But with the right kind of coaching and determination you can accomplish anything and the biggest accomplishment that I feel I got from the film was overcoming that fear.” ― Reese Witherspoon

What did you learn from these coaching quotes?

Coaching is not an easy career to be in.

Even with years of experience, you never know if your team will live up to your expectations.

But no matter what, we all have to learn to take the wins and the losses equally because we learn more from our failures than we do our successes.

It’s not just what you can teach your players but what your players can teach you.

It can be easy to give up on a team that doesn’t perform to the level you expect them to perform but great coaches know that their players depend on them.

Coaching is not just about playing a game — it’s about valuable life lessons that can be applied to all aspects of life.