Quotes


Quotes

“We learned about honesty and integrity - that the truth matters... that you don't take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules... and success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square.” Michelle Obama

Originally published July/Aug 2019 PS Magazine



As I finished my 13th year as executive director of the PSA, I took a jaunt down memory lane rereading many of my previous editorials. Some good, some not, but one consistent thread are the quotes I use for direction and motivation. Quotes have a way of “hitting the nail on the head.” The quote above by Michelle Obama is one such reference. I read quotes and most often they bring me clarity to those thoughts and ideas swimming freely in my head. Another of my favorite quotes which I’ve used in several editorials is by the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”



I realized however that the quotes I use most often are the lessons I learned while skating. Many of those quotes I use were from my coach, Evy Scotvold. Of course, decorum prevents me from sharing some those quotes in print, but so many are still perfect today. “Practice as you compete, compete as you practice.” Another favorite from Evy, “You want meet the guy who’s going to kick your butt at Nationals? Go look in the mirror!”



Quotes are a very powerful coaching tool. I did a little internet search to see if there were any clues to why they work so well. One thought from Dr. Minette Riordan, Ph.D., is, “…perhaps the reason we love inspirational quotes is for that rush of mental stimulation in an otherwise normal day or a day where we long for a quick mental shift from one emotional state to another. Another answered, quotes are used for comfort, insight, and inspiration. From a coaching perspective, quotes to comfort and inspire do work. Here are some personal favorites:

 “The game is 90% mental and 10% physical” Quoted by many

“Half of figure skating is opinion.” Scott Hamilton

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Michael Jordan

“In group lesson number six I think we learned how to turn backwards and then just kind of wiggle. That wasn't really skating backward, but I guess I was going in the right direction.” Dorothy Hamill

“The most important thing about skating is that it teaches you to do the things you should do before you do the things you want to do.” Barbara Ann Scott

"With steroids in baseball, dog fighting and other arrests in the NFL … game-fixing in the NBA, who knows, maybe the least controversial sport might just turn out to be figure skating." Janice Hough

“I firmly believe that the only disability in life is a bad attitude.” Scott Hamilton

“Sometimes you just have to do something for the greater good.” John Nicks

“To me, figure skating is a diving sport. It's a sport made by the gods. It inspires people to cry, it inspires people to cheer, and it pulls the emotions out of people.” Frank Carrol

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