Quotes for Coaching: Down at Half-time

Every coach has been down at halftime and looking for something to say to change the mindset of their players, a quote might be just that switch needed to turn your team’s performance on. In some cases as a coach, you feel frustration, disappointment, but none of those things will help you to inspire and motivate your team to get up and overcome the adversity in front of them.

A quote can be utilised as a way of bringing a different perspective to the discussion and help sell a message you have as a coach. Remember to use a quote for impact, not detail. It is still your responsibility as a coach to sell the message that needs to change leading into the second half.

Below are some of the quotes especially selected that could be used at halftime if your team is down or momentum is against them.

1. “Either you run the day, or the day runs you” – Jim Rohn
2. “If the wind will not serve, take to the oars” – Latin Proverb
3. “Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them; a desire, a dream, a vision” – Muhammad Ali
4. “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
5. “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will” – Vince Lombardi
6. “The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed” – Richard B. Sheridan
7. “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other” – Walter Elliott
8. “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination” – Tommy Lasorda
9. “There is no education like adversity” – Disraeli
10. “You must be the change you want to see in the world” – Mahatma Gandhi
11. “Sweat plus sacrifice equals success” – Charles Finley
12. “Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned” – Peter Marshall
13. “Vision without action is daydream. Action without vision is nightmare” – Japanese Proverb
14. “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club” – Jack London
15. “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph” – Thomas Paine
16. “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible” – Tony Robbins
17. “It’s always too early to quit” – Norman Vincent Peale
18. “If you’re going through hell, keep going” – Winston Churchill
19. “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending” – Carl Bard
20. “Do you know what my favourite part of the game is? The opportunity to play” – Mike Singletary
21. “After a storm comes a calm” – Matthew Henry
22. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time” – Thomas A. Edison
23. “The biggest failure you can have in life is making the mistake of never trying at all.” – Unknown
24. “Don’t give up at half time. Concentrate on winning the second half” – Paul Bryant
25. “Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for the future, and live in the only moment of time over which you have any control: now” – Denis Waitley
26. “Competing in sports has taught me that if I’m not willing to give 120 precent, somebody else will” – Ron Blomberg
27. “The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That’s real glory” – Vince Lombardi
28. “Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it” – Steve Prefontaine

Quotes are very useful and can be a fantastic way of communicating in a very succinct way with your players. Using quotes all the time will only blunt their effect, but as a tool used sporadically they can be very useful.