David Denman Quotes

I try and have a relaxed attitude and stay quite switched off until about an hour before kick-off.

When I got to match point in the final I was afraid I'd be a little nervous, but I just said, You have to stay focused, just think about what you have to do.

I'd try to channel my nervous energy in a positive way into strength and endurance. It didn't always work.

It is vitally important for me to concentrate on myself, on the work that I have to do on the track and off it with the engineers, without really thinking about what people are expecting from me on the outside.

I don't really put too much pressure on myself. The only time people feel pressure is when they put it on themselves and listen to the outside stuff. I have great teammates and great coaches that do the right things around me that allows me to just focus on the game of football.

I try not to feel pressure, because I feel like it kind of throws you off. I always try to focus on myself. But it does kind of creep into the back of my mind.

When I'm about to play in a big match, I take things easy.

I learn how to put myself in situations at practice that cause me to zone in on what I'm trying to accomplish at meets. I try to make my practice surrounding as close to competition pressure to focus on what I need to do on the big stage.

I like to encourage people to realize that any action is a good action if it's proactive and there is positive intent behind it.

If you sit and feel sorry for yourself, you're wasting your time. You should be in acting class, instead of feeling sorry for yourself. You should be working.

I sort of set myself really high standards which is good and bad. If I know that I've done all I can to prepare, that's when I race the best and in '09 I was going through a lot of emotional ups and downs and I was never as fit as I would have liked to have been. So I never felt comfortable.

I don't feel pressure going into games.

Everyone saying, 'She'll bring back women's skating. This will be the one to watch at the Olympics.' And they say things that are so far away, but really, you have to bring it back in and look at the next competition, the next day, what you want to accomplish because if you get too far ahead of yourself, you can trip yourself up.

You focus on the things that you can control, and that's what I'm doing.

I think I'm realising more and more that I've got a job to do and I can't be doing the big nights out and working to my full potential the next day. I feel much better for it.

I'm good at separating my personal life from racing. When I'm at track, it's race time; when I'm away from it, other than the fact I'm training to be fit for it, there is nothing at home that makes me even want to think about racing. I just want to enjoy my life, and by the time the next race comes around, I'm ready and excited for it.

I'm too impatient to wait for things to happen to me. If I should be out of work for two months I would go crazy. So as soon as I'm free, I start writing. While it is necessary for me to write, I know that if I go too long without acting on the stage I don't feel well.

I'm supposed to relax and concentrate on the image of myself out there skating my race.

There's always ways of motivating yourself to higher levels. Write about it, dream about it. But after that, turn it into action. Don't just dream.

Habits like blogging often and regularly, writing down the way you think, being clear about what you think are effective tactics, ignoring the burbling crowd and not eating bacon. All of these are useful habits.

I like motivational books, because I like the go-getting American spirit - your destiny is in your own hands, life is what you make it, don't accept your limitations, jump before you're pushed, leap before you look.

So I try not to have any actual expectations for myself for any level of success or failure.

When I get on a course that's not very good, that's not tough, I fall asleep. Mentally I must be lazy, like a little kid, but I always seem to do well when there's a tough situation.

I am always nervous before the start of a race. It helps me to say to myself to try my very best. That is my commitment. No matter how bad it gets, I will try my hardest.

Before a race, I block out what's going on in the stadium. It's different for everyone. But for me, I've always been able to block it out. For a sprint race, it's important not to get distracted.