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Heyyy, all my volleyball peeps! It’s the fist day of 2019 and if you’re like a bunch of other people out there, you’re probably looking ahead to some big hairy goals for this brand new year! This post will help you find some volleyball motivation and overall life inspiration, too!
If you’re a student-athlete (or a parent of one) you already know what an amazing ride it is! You put in a ton of hours in gyms and training rooms for the love of the sport with the goal of playing college volleyball one day, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. The volleyball life definitely comes with its challenges, so for those days when you just need a little encouragement, I put together a list of my top 25 favorite volleyball motivation sports quotes.
Whether you are new to the game or you’ve been at it for a while, I think you’ll find these success, motivation, and teamwork quotes to be helpful! Plus, who says we need it to be New Year’s Eve for us to get motivated?!
And if you’re new to my blog, WELCOME to Student Athlete Connections! I’m so happy you’re here =)
My blog is filled with tips and resources to help you navigate your way through the sometimes overwhelming recruiting journey, so I hope you stay a while – and find something helpful for you!
Here are some of my favorite posts below!
- NCAA Eligibility: What You Need to Know So You Don’t End Up on the Bench
- Calling College Coaches: What To Do Before Picking Up the Phone
- How to Create a Volleyball Highlight Video that Coaches Want to Watch
- Recruiting Visits: What You Need to Know About the New NCAA Rules
- Am I Being Recruited? How to Gauge Where You Stand as a Volleyball Recruit
- How to Handle Being Caught in the Student-Athlete Comparison Trap
Ok, so let’s dive right in!
Feel free to Pin your favorites for later. You can also grab the free PDF I created so you have the entire list on one sheet!
Volleyball motivation and teamwork – Top 25 inspiring sports quotes for student athletes:
1. It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up. – Babe Ruth

2. It’s not how big you are but how big you play. – John Wooden

3. Mental toughness is when you can find fuel in an empty tank

4. Inhale confidence. Exhale Doubt.

5. Don’t go into a game believing you are already better than your opponent. You must show them first.

6. Never let the fear of getting blocked keep you from swinging.

7. Actions speak louder than coaches.

8. It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts. – John Wooden

9. Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. – Darrel Royal

10. Volleyball is a game of intuition, imagination, improvisation – but most of all, of reciprocity – of teamwork. There is no way to freelance in volleyball. – Marv Dunphy

11. Clear your mind of can’t!

12. In Jesus’ name I play.

13. Do it with passion or not at all.

14. Forget the mistake, remember the lesson.

15. The difference between who you are and you who want to be is what you do today.

16. She believed she could and so she did!

17. Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day. – Jim Rohn

18. A boat does not go forward if each one is rowing their own way. – Swahili Proverb

19. The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will. – Vincent T. Lombardi

20. The key is not the “will to win”—everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important – Bobby Knight

21. A good team can win a volleyball game when they are ahead, a great team can win when they are behind.

22. Be so good they can’t ignore you. – Steve Martin

23. The will to win is more important than the skill to win. – Lloy Ball

24. It’s not how tall you are, it is how good you are. – Marv Dunphy

25. When you’ve done everything you can to train yourself for competition, you’ll sleep well when the tournament is over, win or lose. – Karch Kiraly

So there you have it – my top 25 volleyball motivation quotes for student athletes (and their coaches, too!). I hope you enjoyed reading the list.
If you have a favorite quote of your own, or an inspirational saying you use for volleyball motivation, I’d love to hear it! Drop a comment with your favorite and maybe I’ll put it into my list when I do the next 25…
And don’t forget to PIN your favorites to save for later. You can also download a free one-page PDF of the entire list!
Ready to take it to the next level? Be sure to grab your FREE Done-for-You Email Templates to help you start connecting with coaches from your best fit schools by tonight!


Website Designer, Teacher & Volleyball Mom
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