Home / Authors / Mike Krzyzewski

Mike Krzyzewski

Mike Krzyzewski Quotes

Basketball Coach

Mike Krzyzewski, born on February 13, 1947, is a renowned basketball coach. He is highly respected in the basketball community for his exceptional tactical guidance and leadership. He has been the head coach of the United States men's national basketball team, leading the team to numerous honors.

Filter quotes by topic

All Basketball Team Ifs Coaches Leader Sports Coaching Basketball Coaching Nba People Volleyball Winning Basketball Coach Games Thinking Persons Play Best Coaches Trying Want

Famous Mike Krzyzewski Quotes

“To me, teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one. You become selfless.”

Inspirational Sports Inspiring Acting Five Basketball Teamwork Selfless Inspirational Sports Team Building Basketball Coach Great Coach Basketball Teamwork Team Goal Great Teamwork Teamwork And Love Unity And Teamwork

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“The person who has inspired me my whole life is my Mom, because she taught me commitment. She sacrificed.”

Persons Whole Life Is Mother Sports Taught Mom Commitment Inspired My Mom Whole Life

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“In high school, in sport, I had a coach who told me I was much better than I thought I was, and would make me do more in a positive sense. He was the first person who taught me not to be afraid of failure.”

Firsts Persons School Sports Positive Taught Basketball High School Coaches First Person Afraid Of Failure

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“There are kids don't want to do something because they're afraid of looking stupid to their peers. There comes a time when they start protecting themselves, instead of extending. I want to make sure that they're always trying to extend themselves.”

Want Trying Kids Sports Stupid Peers Always Trying Extending There Comes A Time

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“The life expectancy of a team is about eight months. Then the next year, it's a whole new team.”

Years Whole Next Sports Team Months Eight Next Year Expectancy Life Expectancy

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“Basketball was not my main sport in grade school, or even the first year of high school.”

Years Firsts School Sports Basketball High School Grades Grades In School

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“I had a really bad temper, when I was growing up. Sport helped me channel that temper into more positive acts.”

Sports Growing Up Growing Temper Squash Bad Temper Bad Grades

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“I'm still not a great reader, but my wife is and my daughters are, and I envy them. I think I got into a bad habit of trying to do something all the time, instead of trying to sit down and take my time a little bit.”

Thinking Trying Littles Stills Mother Bits Sports Wife Reader Habit Little Bit Daughter Down And My Wife Envy My Time My Daughter Bad Habits

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“When I was growing up, there weren't any Little Leagues in the city. Parents worked all the time. They didn't have time to take their kids out to play baseball and football.”

Littles Play Kids Sports Parent Cities Growing Up Growing Football Baseball League Little League

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“When I went to high school, an all-boys' school, a Catholic school, I tried out for football, and I didn't make it. It was the first time, athletically, that I was knocked down.”

Firsts School Sports Boys Football High School First Time Catholic Knocked Down Hypnosis Catholic School

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“I've tried to handle winning well, so that maybe we'll win again, but I've also tried to handle failure well. If those serve as good examples for teachers and kids, then I hope that would be a contribution I have made to sport. Not just basketball, but to sport.”

Ifs Wells Made Would Be Kids Winning Sports Teacher Example Basketball Handle Contribution Good Examples

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“If you win a National Championship, or you win two, people think you have not only seen the Holy Grail, but you've embraced it. Basically, I do what a lot of people do, but I've been able to win.”

People Ifs Thinking Two Able Winning Sports Holy Championship Holy Grail National Championships

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“My parents didn't really understand too much about sport. At that time, we were in a Polish community in the inner city of Chicago, and I was the youngest of a bunch of cousins. Polish families are real big, with cousins and aunts and uncles.”

Real Bigs Sports Parent Community Cities Too Much Bunch Chicago Uncles Cousin Aunt Polish Inner City Aunts And Uncles City Of Chicago

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“Once you win a National Championship, how do you do that again? How do you get the passion to do that again? We won it again right away, the next year. A lot of it had to do with the fact that I didn't give myself an opportunity to enjoy the first one.”

Giving Years Firsts Facts Passion Next Opportunity Winning Sports Enjoy Championship Next Year National Championships

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“Playing sport was somewhat frivolous, but I liked it. I rebelled a little bit, and wouldn't go to music lessons and things like that, but I would go and play ball. My parents learned to love it because they saw how much I got out of it.”

Littles Play Bits Sports Parent Saws Lessons Little Bit Balls Frivolous Playing Sports Music Lessons

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“The best teams are team in any sport that lose themselves in the team. The individuals lose their identity. And their identities come about as a result of being in the team first.”

Firsts Individual Sports Loses Results Team Identity Basketball Coaching Basketball Coaching Best Team Team First

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“Every season is a journey. Every journey is a lifetime.”

Source: Leading with the Heart: Coach K's Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life

“I have a rule on my team: When we talk to one another, we look each other right in the eye, because I think it's tough to lie to somebody. You give respect to somebody.”

“First of all, what happens is, when you're good at something, you spend a lot of time with it. People identify you with that sport, so it becomes part of your identity.”

People Firsts Happens Sports Identity Basketball

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“A common mistake among those who work in sport is spending a disproportional amount of time on "x's and o's" as compared to time spent learning about people.”

People Sports Common Mistake Amount Basketball Spending Coaches Coaching Nba Volleyball Basketball Coaching Basketball Coach Time Spent Sports Coach Best Coaches Sports Coaching

Book:Beyond Basketball: Coach K's Keywords for Success

Source: Beyond Basketball: Coach K's Keywords for Success

“That's what I do now: I lead and I teach. If we win basketball games from doing that, then that's great, but I lead and teach. Those are the two things I concentrate on.”

Ifs Two Games Winning Sports Teach Basketball Two Things Basketball Game

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

“I think some parents now look at a youngster failing as the final thing. It's a process, and failure is part of the process. I would like it if the teacher and the parents would connect more. I think that used to be, but we're losing a little bit of that right now.”

Ifs Thinking Looks Littles Used Bits Sports Process Parent Teacher Failing Right Now Little Bit Losing Finals Used To Be Youngsters

Author:Mike Krzyzewski

About the Author

Born: February 13, 1947
Known for: Basketball Coach
Quotes: 168

Related Topics

Basketball Team Ifs Coaches Leader Sports Coaching Basketball Coaching Nba People Volleyball Winning Basketball Coach Games Thinking Persons Play Best Coaches Trying Want

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Leading with the Heart: Coach K's Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and LifeRelated source material

Beyond Basketball: Coach K's Keywords for SuccessRelated source material

Five-Point Play: Duke's Journey to the 2001 National ChampionshipRelated source material

The Gold Standard: Building a World-Class TeamRelated source material

Similar Authors

Don MeyerBrowse related quotes
Bobby KnightBrowse related quotes
Dean SmithBrowse related quotes
Hubie BrownBrowse related quotes
Chuck DalyBrowse related quotes
Phil JacksonBrowse related quotes
John WoodenBrowse related quotes
Pat RileyBrowse related quotes
Rick PitinoBrowse related quotes
Shaquille O'NealBrowse related quotes