A Quote by Tommy Lasorda

I was fortunate enough to coach the US Olympic team in Australia. The parks were full at all times. How can they take away a sport like that? — © Tommy Lasorda
I was fortunate enough to coach the US Olympic team in Australia. The parks were full at all times. How can they take away a sport like that?
I was fortunate enough to coach the U.S. Olympic team in Australia.
Football is such a team sport, so no one individual does it. No one coach or no one assistant coach or no one player, it's a great team sport, so I don't get carried away with a bunch of accolades.
I missed the Olympic team in 1996 - missed making the team. I tried to make a comeback in my sport, and soon after the Olympic trials, Johann Olav Koss, who is a Norwegian speed-skater, called me up and asked me to be a part of Olympic Aid. Now Olympic Aid is Right to Play. It's a wonderful, narrow focus.
To take pressure off myself, I realize how fortunate I am to be playing a sport for a living. If I take that mentality onto the court, there shouldn't be any pressure because I'm already fortunate to do what I do.
When a coach trusts you enough to take you from the youth team and put you into the first team, one of the best teams in the world, it's not easy.
I remember when I went to try out for the Olympic team in 1972, Coach Iba told me he didn't care how many points I could score because if I couldn't guard anybody, I wasn't going to make the team. I knew to make the team I had to become a better defender. If you can play offense, you can defend. It just comes down to competitive will.
I never got into MMA to be famous, I got into it to compete and pursue athletic aspirations. They were my pure intentions. I came from a true sport, an Olympic background, winning multiple national, international and Olympic medals. So I entered MMA as a sport.
No man is more important than The Team. No coach is more important than The Team. The Team, The Team, The Team, and if we think that way, all of us, everything that you do, you take into consideration what effect does it have on my Team?
You make your own luck in life, so I'm not criticizing anyone - and I'm not even talking about myself for that - but I mean, every year, look at the team that wins. You can't control everything in a team sport. So I'm not going to cry about it, but yeah, there are moments where I'm like, "F - k." But I say it almost in an appreciative way, in a way where I realize it's great not everyone can do it. I wasn't fortunate enough to do it, but that's what makes winning a title so special.
I was fortunate enough to visit a lot of beautiful places around the world. The most astonishing and memorable experiences were my trips to Africa and Australia.
Someone who doesn't make the (Olympic) team might weep and collapse. In my day no one fell on the track and cried like a baby. We lost gracefully. And when someone won, he didn't act like he'd just become king of the world, either. Athletes in my day were simply humble in our victory. I believe we were more mature then...Maybe it's because the media puts so much pressure on athletes; maybe it's also the money. In my day we competed for the love of the sport...In my day we patted the guy who beat us on the back, wished him well, and that was it.
Our world today is in need of peace, tolerance and brotherhood. The values of the Olympic Games can deliver these to us. May the Games be held in peace, in the true spirit of the Olympic Truce. Athletes of the 80 national Olympic committees, show us that sport unites by overcoming national, political, religious and language barriers. You can show us a world we all long for.
I really feel like that concept of enjoying the now and not worrying about the future is what my coach has been trying to teach me for 14 years - and that is what has made me such a different athlete 10 years later, and that is what has made me strong enough mentally to make this Olympic team.
I feel like a coach when I'm on the court. I just see basketball as a team sport.
I was fortunate enough to have baseball to teach me the values relative to success. The sport gifted me with leadership and team building skills that translate in a relatable way in the world.
Being named to the Olympic team has special meaning to it because I feel like I've come full circle.
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