When my wrestlers got their hands raised, I jumped for joy.
Interpretation
The quote expresses the joy and fulfillment that comes from witnessing the success of others.
In this quote, Dan Gable shares his deep emotional connection and pride as a coach when his wrestlers achieve victory. It emphasizes the joy derived not just from personal achievements, but also from the accomplishments of those you mentor or support, highlighting the essence of commitment and dedication in coaching.
In practice
In a speech to motivate young athletes after their championship win.
Wrestling is the only sport I've ever competed in that puts you totally in a situation of constant motion without breaks. I could play football or baseball, swim -- but there's always some kind of situation that would break my thoughts, break my concentration.
Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.
Raising your level of performance requires a proper mentality and meaning from within. This gives you the ability and drive to work on the things necessary to go to a higher level. When people ask me how to raise their level of performance, the first thing I ask is, How important is it to you?
More enduringly than any other sport, wrestling teaches self-control and pride. Some have wrestled without great skill - none have wrestled without pride.
We, as a wrestling community, better remember it is more than one individual that makes a winner.
A clean, hard-fought wrestling match is the most honest of athletic contests. There is no technological interventions, no teammates to blame, no panel of judges to bias the score. In wrestling, you compete or you quit. No alibis. I like that
Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner.
Right now, in every big city ghetto, tens of thousands of yesterday's and today's school dropouts are keeping body and soul together by some form of hustling in the same way I did.
Yeah, I think it motivates you as people start to count you out. It doesn't make you play any harder, because every time you go out on the field you give 110 percent, but it does give you more of an edge mentally, knowing that you were in the same situation, because in sports you always find yourself behind.
One is defeated only when one accepts defeat.
I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose.
I think it's healthy for a person to be nervous. It means you care - that you work hard and want to give a great performance. You just have to channel that nervous energy into the show.
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