“Once you have a swing or a stroke that works reasonably well, your mental and emotional approach becomes about 95% of the package that determines how well and how consistently you score. That’s a well-known, often-published, often discussed fact, but too many amateurs, as well as a few professionals, don’t pay attention.” - Jack Nicklaus, golf

 

“Before the [Olympic] trials I was doing a lot of relaxing exercises and visualization. And I think that helped me to get a feel of what it was going to be like when I got there. I knew that I had done everything that I could to get ready for that meet, both physically and mentally.”- Michael Phelps, swimming

 

“I lie in bed the night before the game and visualize myself scoring goals or doing well. You’re trying to put yourself in that moment and trying to prepare yourself, to have a ‘memory’ before the game. I don’t know if you’d call it visualizing or dreaming, but I’ve always done it, my whole life.” - Wayne Rooney, football

 

“In terms of playing ability there is nothing to choose between number one and 100. Instead, it’s a question of who believes and who wants it more? Which player is mentally stronger? Which player is going to fight the hardest in the big points? These are the things that determine who is the champion.” – Novak Djokovic, tennis

 

"I do a lot of imagery, seeing myself playing and performing well and making shots in my own mind both in training and before a game. I always do it before I play a game, during the afternoon rest, or when I lie in bed at night. I close my eyes and see myself going through the motions and making every shot. Sometimes I like to look at it like I am watching it through a TV and I also like to watch it from my own eyes so that I can see everything happening from the inside." - Jay Triano, basketball
 

“Injuries are part of an athlete’s career and we try to prepare ourselves and prevent them from happening. If they do, it’s so important to maintain good mental health while you recover.” – Neymar Jr, football

 

“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” - Wayne Gretzky, hockey

 

“I was forced to learn a lot about psychology as a player, and as a captain to get the best out of others. There’s still a lot of scepticism about it in sport and the workplace, but dealing with fluctuations of form, and pressure, and being away from home is more important than your cover drive.” - Andrew Strauss, cricket

 

“The minute you get away from fundamentals – whether its proper technique, work ethic or mental preparation – the bottom can fall out of your game, your schoolwork, your job, whatever you’re doing.” – Michael Jordan, basketball

 

“It will not matter, the pressure I always had it, I was mediated early, I learned to handle it, I got used to it and it’s part of my environment.” – Kylian Mbappé, football

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“The confidence comes from preparation. When the game’s on the line, I’m not asking myself to do something I haven’t done thousands of times before.” – Kobe Bryant, basketball

 

“In the sports arena I would say there is nothing like training and preparation. You have to train your mind as much as your body.” - Venus Williams, tennis

 

"A fight is mental, not just physical and psychological warfare is absolutely part of that." - Conor McGregor, MMA

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“You don’t win tournaments by playing well and thinking poorly.” - Lee Westwood, golf

 

“We overload in our workouts so that the game slows down in real life. It helps you become a smarter basketball player.” – Stephen Curry, basketball

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“If you are confident you have done everything possible to prepare yourself, then there is nothing to fear.” – Michael Jordan, basketball

 

“My greatest strength is my mental game.” – Serena Williams, tennis

 

“Mental strength is one of the important elements for competition. Everything can be trained and that mental strength is something I also worked with my uncle Toni since I was a child.” – Rafael Nadal, tennis

 

“Confidence is the most important single factor in this game, and no matter how great your talent, there is only one way to obtain it-work.” – Jack Nicklaus, golf

 

“Sleep is the number one most important thing for physical and mental health. It’s fundamental to being an athlete.” – Greg Rutherford,  athletics

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“There are five levels to a player’s baseball growth…God given talent, knowing fundamentals, practicing them diligently, staying in shape, and at the top, mental discipline. You don’t care if you’re tired, you don’t care if you are sick, you don’t care if your finger is broken, or your toe is stubbed, or your dog died, or your tractor broke, or you’ve got to pay your taxes. You’re going to be a hard ballplayer on the field. All the people who have been superstars in this game have had this mental approach.” – Pete Rose, baseball 

 

In training everyone focuses on 90% physical and 10% mental, but in the races its 90% mental because there’s very little that separates us physically at the elite level.” — Elka Graham, swimming

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“Before the Olympics I did a lot of relaxation and visualization to get a feel of what it was gonna be like when I got there. I knew that I had done everything physically and mentally.” — Michael Phelps, swimming

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“There is no room in your mind for negative thoughts. The busier you keep yourself with the particulars of shot assessment and execution, the less chance your mind has to dwell on the emotional. This is sheer intensity.” — Jack Nicklaus, golf

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"Every day provides a new opportunity to get even better. Basically, it's a matter of mentality." - Erling Haaland, football

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“If only I could tame the lion inside me without putting out the fire.” - John McEnroe, tennis

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“You have to set yourself goals so you can push yourself harder. Desire is the key to success.” - Usain Bolt,, athletics

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“Every time I feel tired while exercising and training, I close my eyes to see that picture, to see that list with my name. This usually motivates me to work again.” - Michael Jordan, basketball

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“I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp in-focus picture of it in my head.” - Jack Nicklaus, golf

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“When I would visualize, it would be what you want it to be, what you don’t want it to be, what it could be. You are always ready for whatever comes your way.” – Michael Phelps, swimming

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“I think visualization is a big key to success. If you visualize doing something, you won’t be surprised when it happens.” – Quinn Ewers, Football quarterback

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"I used to get nervous, you know if my parents would come watch. And then I would get nervous if my friends came and watched. Today it's not a problem anymore actually, because now I enjoy it. I see that they, you know, respect me immensely, and I try to put on a good show and show that I can still play very good tennis." - Roger Federer, tennis

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“When I train, one of the things I concentrate on is creating a mental picture of how best deliver the ball to a teammate, preferably leaving him alone in front of the rival goalkeeper. So what I do, always before a game, always, every night and every day, is try and think up things, imagine plays, which no one else will have thought of, and to do so always bearing in mind the particular strength of each teammate to whom I am passing the ball. When I construct those plays in my mind I take into account whether one teammate likes to receive the ball at his feet, or ahead of him; if he is good with his head, and how he prefers to head the ball; if he is stronger on his right or his left foot. That is my job. That is what I do. I imagine the game.” - Ronaldinho, football

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“A good athlete always mentally replays a competition over and over, even in victory, to see what might be done to improve the performance the next time.” - Frank Shorter, athletics