25 Pat Summitt Quotes on Teamwork, Competition, and More

From winning eight NCAA Division 1 Tournaments to receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Pat Summitt is one of the most recognizable coaches ever.

Today, we have curated Pat Summitt quotes that illustrate her endless wisdom.

What do you know about Pat Summitt?

Pat Summitt was an award-winning college basketball head coach.

During her career as head coach for the University of Tennessee’s women’s basketball team, the team won 1,098 times.

Until her retirement, that was the most any college basketball team has ever won during a coach’s career.

Summit is also an award-winning Olympian, winning the silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics as a part of their women’s basketball team. 

Check out these Pat Summitt quotes from the incredible coach. 

Inspirational Pat Summitt quotes

1. “Attitude is a choice. Think positive thoughts daily. Believe in yourself.” – Pat Summitt

2. “It’s harder to stay on top than it is to make the climb. Continue to seek new goals.” – Pat Summitt

3. “No one feels strong when she examines her own weakness. But in facing weakness, you learn how much there is in you, and you find real strength.” – Pat Summitt

4. “Success is a project that’s always under construction.” – Pat Summitt

5. “Hard work breeds self-respect.” – Pat Summitt

6. Winners are not born, they are self-made.” – Pat Summitt

7. “If it doesn’t bother you, it won’t bother them.” – Pat Summitt

8. “With attitude, you can determine your own performance.” – Pat Summitt

Powerful Pat Summitt quotes

9. “The willingness to experiment with change may be the most essential ingredient to success at anything.” – Pat Summitt

10. “Loyalty is not unilateral. You have to give it to receive it.” – Pat Summitt

11. “We keep score in life because it matters. It counts. It matters. Too many people opt out and never discover their own abilities because they fear failure. They don’t understand commitment.” – Pat Summitt

12. “The best way to handle responsibility is to break it down into smaller parts. Take care of one small thing at a time.” – Pat Summitt

13. “My parents taught me a long time ago that you win in life with people, and that’s important, because if you hang with winners, you stand a great chance of being a winner.” – Pat Summitt

14. “Nine-tenths of discipline is having the patience to do things right.” – Pat Summitt

15. “Setting up a system that rewards you for meeting your goals and has penalties for failing to hit your target is just as important as putting your goals down on paper.” – Pat Summitt

16. “Success lulls you. It makes the most ambitious of us complacent and sloppy. In a way, you have to cultivate a kind of amnesia and forget all of your previous prosperity.” – Pat Summitt

17. “In the absence of feedback, people will fill in the blanks with a negative. They will assume you don’t care about them or don’t like them.” – Pat Summitt

18. “Attitude lies somewhere between emotion and logic. It’s that curious mix of optimism and determination that enables you to maintain a positive outlook and to continue plodding in the face of the most adverse circumstances.” – Pat Summitt

19. “You can’t pick and choose the days that you feel like being responsible. It’s not something that disappears when you’re tired.” – Pat Summitt

20. “Belief in yourself is what happens when you know you’ve done the things that entitle you to success.” – Pat Summitt

Pat Summitt quotes on teamwork

21. “Teamwork is what makes common people capable of uncommon results.” – Pat Summitt

22. “The absolute heart of loyalty is to value those people who tell you the truth, not just those people who tell you what you want to hear. In fact, you should value them most. Because they have paid you the compliment of leveling with you and assuming you can handle it.” – Pat Summitt

23. “Teamwork is really a form of trust. It’s what happens when you surrender the mistaken idea that you can go it alone and realize that you won’t achieve your individual goals without the support of your colleagues.” – Pat Summitt

24. “Put the team before yourself.” – Pat Summitt

25. “Teamwork doesn’t come naturally. It must be taught.” – Pat Summitt

How competitive are you? 

As the Pat Summitt quotes above illustrate, there is nothing wrong with being competitive.

I’ve found that being competitive keeps me motivated as a writer.

Competition pushes everyone competing to be better and do better whether they win or lose. 

Competition isn’t an obsession with winning.

It’s more of an obsession with growth.

Competition encourages us to evolve and accept change.

Today, accept competition as it comes.

Take it as an opportunity to grow within your craft and sharpen your skills. 

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