John Wooden Quotes

I hate to play a tournament in which I'm not contending. It's just not any fun for me.

I don't think it's fair to 12-, 13- and 14-year-olds to say 'Show us you're a winner right now!' Winning isn't everything. I'll never buy that thing that if a boy loses a football game, he's a loser in life.

We should tell our kids to just have fun, participate and not get bent on winning or losing. But every coach, when they say that, they say it tongue in cheek, 'Don't worry about winning': If you win I'll get you ice cream, but if you lose I'm going to pout in the car.

To be able to have winning in your blood growing up, whether it was pounding my little brother or trying to beat my dad in something, or just competing on teams with my friends, it was nonstop.

My goal is always the same: to keep the other player from ever scoring a point. That doesn't always happen, but that's what I try for.

Of course I used to smile and laugh in 1976, but not when I was competing. Please show me somebody who laughs when they are concentrating; I always smiled.

I think it's a loser's mentality to get happy with somebody losing.

You get frustrated because you're so competitive and you want to win every drill.

You don't think anything about age when you're playing [golf]. I mean, why would you ever think about that.

Even when I played sports when I was little, I played to win. Otherwise, what's the point of putting the pads on and going to practice? I don't understand.

It's hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them. I'm a winner. It's not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you're not going to congratulate them. That doesn't make sense to me. I'm a competitor.

To go into a competition and not strive to win is to be a dishonest competitor.

What’s the point of playing if winning isn’t the goal?

I don't think I've changed very much. I think I'm the same kid that I was when I got here. When I came here all I wanted to do was win games. I wanted to play baseball for LSU and be the ultimate team player. That's all I want to do. If we don't end up being the last team to win the game at the end of the year then I won't be happy. That's all I'm worried about this year.

If I don't win the match I at least want to improve my game.

There are parents out there screaming as if their kid is going to be in the big leagues someday. C'mon. I chew them out if I see that. Maybe they've got their own idea how to do things, but it's wrong. Just be with the kids. Let 'em make errors. Give them all a chance. It's not about winning. It's spirit, togetherness.

Almost religiously, I step away from everything and close my eyes and breathe deeply for a few moments. It helps solidify my focus and aligns everything in my body to take care of the task at hand - which is winning, of course.

I'm at the top of my game so, when I win or lose, I don't freak out...I don't think we can call it a rivalry yet. There's just to many great players around.

My dad was a great competitor in his own way. He would never let us win at anything, and we had to work our tails off to beat him.

Despite all the pressure and the caliber of accomplishment, I still can honestly say that it's not all about winning.

Fighting for me is a chess game. I'm not angry with my opponent. I just want to go in there and win.

Playing well or playing bad, I have to play aggressive. I must play aggressive.

Whoever said "It's not whether you win or lose but how you play the game" is full of it! Winning makes all the difference in the world. Winning is fun. Losing is not. Losing sucks.

I take my sport damned seriously. Basketball is my life. There are other people who go into important games as if they were any other game. I'm a brooder and I spend a lot of time thinking about my opponent, about the things he can do and about what I have to do to win. I don't think I'll ever be able to change that.

When you step into the batter's box, have nothing on your mind except baseball.