Kerri Walsh Quotes

Being a working mommy is something I've always wanted to be. My mother is my biggest role model and she showed me how to do it right.

Well there's only one way to prepare for playing beach volleyball, and that's by getting in the sand. But offseason is really important because generally I'm staying off the sand and getting my feet under me, and it's really important for my body to know what it feels like to have sound footing under me.

I want to be the best role model I can be for my family. I want my husband and I to be the ones our kids look to for guidance, to be the great role models that I had with my parents growing up, so for as hard as we work, I want our kids to see us having fun. I want our kids to know that we have to feel our bodies. And nutrition is a huge part of that.

Every time I've gone to Brazil I've gotten sick upon return. You know, it's just a different situation there. And I take every precaution - eating cooked foods and staying away from tap water, brushing my teeth with bottled water - and yet I still manage to get sick. So I'm just going to stay on point, bring my probiotics.

Growing up, Michael Jordan was my Olympic hero.

I'm doing mental training as well. So, you know, body, mind, and spirit - everything is being addressed, every single day. Generally I'll have three training sessions a day.

And it's given me great perspective. It makes me really focused and efficient, which - I was focused before I had babies but I wasted a lot of time. Prior to having babies I thought I was so busy and now I realize just how ignorant I was.

I love that our sport is sexy. I think it is appropriately so.

As far as my sport is concerned, my mission is to make it as big as it deserves to be. We've been growing, it's just not as noticeable. The NCAA picked beach volleyball up to be a championship sport, and it was the fastest test sport that's been adopted. That's a really big deal for our sport because that just means the USA system is going to have a feeder system from the college system.

[Nutrition] is a huge piece of the puzzle. It's not just about working hard and being physical. It's about being smart and mindful of what's going in and out of our bodies.

We want to seal the deal that we're the best team that's ever happened.

Well, being a working mommy is something I've always wanted to be. My mother is my biggest role model and she showed me how to do it right. She was very present in our lives and has a great career of her own. Same with my father. So I knew it was possible going in to stay closely connected to my children while also chasing big dreams.

People think we have coasted the last four years. We fought, we had a lot of battles. We've always had to battle.

You have to rely on your support system. Growing up, I always thought it was a sign of weakness to ask for help, but now I realize it's really a sign of strength to say, 'I need help, I can't do it all.'

You touch every other ball and, if you screw up, you only have one more person to back you up. You can't go hide in the corner.

Misty May was looking for a partner, I was looking to stay at home, and the beach just came calling.

Adversity, if you allow it to, will fortify you and make you the best you can be.

It's the best thing in the world, the most challenging thing in the world, being a parent, and one of the first lessons I learned was to ask for help.

Ideally we're going to stay at an American hotel. We just want to take every precaution. Because if you get sick out there, and you're playing in that hot sun and you get depleted, it's going to be a problem. So that would be the only other thing I think that athletes on a whole are going to be worried about. But again, we have to do our part and take every precaution and be smart.

We have to fight the entire time, we can't start at the end when it's getting down to crunch time. We can't leave anything on the floor.

I want to win a gold medal in London.

I think educating myself has been huge. I feel like the way it's presented in the media is that if you got to Brazil you're flipping a coin on your health. I don't think it has to be that way. If I were wanting to have a baby right after the Olympics I would take precautions, and then when the Olympics were over I would get tested to make sure I didn't have the virus in me, and then I'd go for it.

What's not to love about us! People got to know Misty and me in Athens. We've continued to be successful and continued to connect with the fans. I promise we're going to be tough to get rid of.

A true competitor works the hardest, cares the most, and makes the best of what they have.

I want our kids to know that we have to feel our bodies. And nutrition is a huge part of that.

But they've [my children] made me better. They hold me more accountable for who I am and who I aspire to be, and they make me want to be better. And that's not just as a mommy, but as a woman and as an athlete.

I would take all the precautions, I'm going to bring my natural remedies, keep the mosquitoes away naturally and I'm going to bring my DEET. I'm going to do my part. And again, it's something, when a baby is involved you don't want to take any risks. So I would just exercise a lot of caution and do my part and then get tested and go for it.

Breathe, believe, and battle.' My former coach, Troy Tanner, told us that before each match. Breathe-be in the moment. Believe-have faith that you can rise above it. Battle-you gotta be prepared to go for as long as it takes.

That wall is your mind playing tricks on you. You just need to say, 'One more step, I can do this. I have more in me.' You'll be so proud of yourself once you push yourself past your threshold.

It's not a sprint to get in shape.

Misty [May] and I had something magical, and I think at the basis of that was so much trust. Especially in the really competitive situations where it really felt do-or-die, we were unbreakable. We always stuck together, even if we lost we were together.

At some point I go back on the sand to get my sand legs. Because it takes a good month for my legs to catch up with everything, with the displacement and all that stuff. So right now we're training on the beach six days a week for practice, and that's generally about two and a half hours. And then I'm doing pilates three times a week.

To me, crying is not a sign of weakness. She wants it that bad and she puts her whole heart into it. She had really high expectations, and that's why she's so good. She just had a bad game.

When I'm sore, ice is my best friend. It really works. I take omega-3s every day, which helps with inflammation. And I try to eat things that won't inflame my joints, like fresh fruits and veggies, lean protein, and seafood.

At some point you're like, gosh, this rehab is never going to end, and then all of a sudden I'm full strength and I'm about to go to my first competition. So I feel really great.

Passion is a huge prerequisite to winning. It makes you willing to jump through hoops, go through all the ups and downs and everything in between to reach your goal.

The advice I will give my children, if and when they have Olympic aspirations, will be to go for it.

In my heart, I'm so far from done.

I used to sleep, eat, breathe volleyball. Now I have that with my kids.

My support system, in my surgeon, my P.T., my pilates, my weightlifting, everything that I'm doing to make my body and my mind stronger is just, you know, has been on point. So I feel very prepared for the journey to qualify, and the journey to wear the gold medal.

I want to be efficient and effective in everything I do. I start every day with a protein shake, with my vanilla Almond Breeze, and my kids start their day the same way as well. [Nutrition] is a huge piece of the puzzle. It's not just about working hard and being physical. It's about being smart and mindful of what's going in and out of our bodies. And also taking the time to enjoy things, and to appreciate the process.

I firmly believe that when you have a foundation of respect, love of what you're doing, and a shared vision, so much is possible.

My job is to be fit and I'm really blessed that I get to go and work out and live a really healthy lifestyle.

If you are not prepared, you cannot work out intensely. If you do not perform, you cannot get results, and if you can't do your best to recover, you won't get the benefits of your hard work.

I switched from indoor to beach I had been playing indoor for 12 years. And, to be honest, to make a living indoors you have to go overseas. I am such a family girl and just wanted to be home, so that didn't appeal to me.

My mom is a constant in my life in so many ways.

Sometimes it's just the beer and bikinis that get people to come and watch, but it's the competition that's keeping them there.

I think the hard part is over. Now it's time for us to play.