Vince Lombardi is probably the greatest American Football coach : 5 NFL titles (3 consecutive), 2 Superbowl title, Highest Post Season winning percentage (90%). Superbowl trophy is named after him.
Vince Lombardi
He was known for his philosophical coaching, hard discipline, and motivational speech.
Well, read his speech, and you will know what kind of great character he was.
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No.1 Speech, by Vince Lombardi
“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”
“There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that’s first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don’t ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.”
“Every time a football player goes to ply his trade he’s got to play from the ground up— from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That’s O.K. You’ve got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you’ve got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you’re lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he’s never going to come off the field second.”
“Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization — an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win — to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don’t think it is.”
“It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That’s why they are there — to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules — but to win.”
“And in truth, I’ve never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn’t appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.”
“I don’t say these things because I believe in the “brute” nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle — victorious.”
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Some of his famous quotes :
“Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work.”
“Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.”
“If it doesn’t matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?”
“If you can accept losing you can’t win. If you can walk, you can run. No one is ever hurt. Hurt is in your mind.”
“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”
“Mental toughness is many things. It is humility because it behooves all of us to remember that simplicity is the sign of greatness and meekness is the sign of true strength. Mental toughness is spartanism with qualities of sacrifice, self-denial, dedication. It is fearlessness, and it is love.”
“Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.”
“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.”
“The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.”
“We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time.”
“Winners never quit and quitters never win.”
“A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done. “