The 1st period is won by the best technician. The 2nd period is won by the kid in the best shape. The 3rd period is won by the kid with the biggest heart.
Interpretation
Success in wrestling requires not just skill and fitness, but also determination and heart.
Dan Gable's quote emphasizes the different qualities that contribute to winning in wrestling across three critical stages. The first period is captured by technical skill, underscoring the importance of expertise; the second period highlights the significance of physical conditioning, showcasing the need for stamina; while the final period illustrates that true success is reserved for those who display passion and heart. This encapsulates the multifaceted nature of achievement in competitive sports and life.
In practice
Motivational speech for a sports team before a big match.
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.
When my wrestlers got their hands raised, I jumped for joy.
We, as a wrestling community, better remember it is more than one individual that makes a winner.
Every great and commanding movement in the annals of the world is due to the triumph of enthusiasm. Nothing great was ever achieved without it
Do you love your idea? Does it feel right on instinct? Are you willing to bleed for it?
For the mission's sake, our country's sake, and the sake of the men who carried the Division's colors in the past battles - who fought for life and never lost their nerve - carry out your mission and keep your honor clean. Demonstrate to the world there is "No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy" than a U.S. Marine.
Do not quit! Hundreds of times I have watched people throw in the towel at the one-yard line while someone else comes along and makes a fortune by just going that extra yard.
Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.
Most real failures are due to limitations which men set up in their own minds.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.