Pat Summitt was one of the all-time best coaches in NCAA history. As Head Coach of the University of Tennessee’s Women’s Basket Ball, her win-loss record was 1,098–208 (.841). Tragically, she developed Alzheimer’s disease and died in 2016. Her legacy leaves us with words of wisdom to live by. Here are 25 of her most memorable quotes:
- “Here’s how I’m going to beat you. I’m going to outwork you. That’s it. That’s all there is to it.”
- “Success is a project that is always under construction.”
- “I won 1,098 games and 8 national championships. But what I see are not the numbers, I see their faces.”
- “If you don’t admit a mistake and take responsibility for it, you’re bound to make the mistake again.”
- “Attitude is a choice. Think positive thoughts daily. Believe in yourself.”
- “You can’t always be the most talented person in the room, but you can be the most competitive.”
- “Offense sells tickets, defense wins games and rebounding wins championships.”
- “If you don’t want responsibility, don’t sit in the big chair.”
- “A guy raised his hand and asked if I had any advice when it came to coaching women. I gave him a death-ray stare and said, ‘Don’t worry about coaching women, just go home and coach basketball’.”
- “Everyone thinks we may curl up and die. I don’t think it’s going to happen, so put away your hankies.”
- “God doesn’t take things to be cruel, he takes things away to make room for other things.”
- “When a player makes a mistake you always want to put them back in quickly. You just don’t berate them and sit them down with no chance for redemption.”
- “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts the most.”
- “Most people get excited about the games, but I get excited about practice because that’s my classroom.”
- “Silence is a form of communication. Sometimes less is more.”
- “When you grow up on a dairy farm, cows don’t take a day off. So you work every day so no one can outwork you.”
- “I remember every player who wore Tennessee orange, a shade that our rivals hate. But to us the color is a flag of pride.”
- “I remember how many of them (her players) fought for a better life for themselves. I just met them halfway.”
- “No one feels strong when she examines her own weakness, but in facing weakness you learn how much there is in you.”
- “A champion is someone who is willing to be uncomfortable.”
- “Teamwork doesn’t come naturally, it needs to be taught.”
- “See yourself as self employed.”
- “I don’t give out compliments easily.”
- “Handle success like you handle failure. You can’t always control what happens, but you can control how you handle it.”
“Change equals self improvement. Push yourself to places you haven’t been.”