I never took a position we were going to be a good ball club. I took the position we were going to be a winning ball club.
Interpretation
The focus should be on achieving victories rather than merely having potential.
Red Auerbach's quote emphasizes the importance of a winning mindset. Simply being classified as a good team is not enough; true success lies in the ability to achieve victories on the field, which requires dedication, strategy, and a commitment to excellence.
In practice
Use this quote in a motivational speech for a sports team to encourage them to focus on winning.
To be a successful coach you should be and look prepared. You must be a man of integrity. Never break your word. Don't have two sets of standards. Remember you don't handle players-you handle pets. You deal with players. Stand up for your players. Show them you care-on and off the court. Very important-it's not 'how' or 'what' you say but what they absorb.
If you want to be a Champion, you've got to feel like one, you've got to act like one, you've got to look like one.
I don't believe in statistics. There are too many factors that can't be measured. You can't measure a ballplayer's heart.
They said you have to use your five best players but I found you win with the five who fit together the best.
It's not what you tell your players that counts. It's what they hear.
To a father, when a child dies, the future dies; to a child when a parent dies, the past dies.
I am doomed to an eternity of compulsive work. No set goal achieved satisfies. Success only breeds a new goal. The golden apple devoured has seeds. It is endless.
I want to be remembered like Pete Rose. 'Charlie Hustle.' I want people to say, 'Wherever he was, he was always giving it his all.'
I'm still number one and I just recently won a major tournament ahead of my toughest rivals so I think I had a few years ahead of me if I decided to stay.
I wanted to sell a million records, and I sold a million records. I wanted to go platinum; I went platinum. I've been working nonstop since I was 15. I don't even know how to chill out.
Everyone has the brain power to make money in stocks. Not everyone has the stomach.
If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.