--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was a good decathlete until I got with…" description: "\"I was a good decathlete until I got with a coach that really knew how to train specifically for the event... I'd really describe it as like being a jug..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/dan-o-brien-17274_air_i-was-a-good-decathlete-until-i-got-with_2267859.jpg" --- # I was a good decathlete until I got with a coach that… ![“I was a good decathlete until I got with a coach that really knew how to train specifically for the event... I'd really describe it as like being a juggler; you have ten balls and you're trying to get them all in the air at the same time.” quote by Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/dan-o-brien-17274_air_i-was-a-good-decathlete-until-i-got-with_2267859.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/dan-o-brien-17274_air_i-was-a-good-decathlete-until-i-got-with_2267859.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/dan-o-brien-17274_air_i-was-a-good-decathlete-until-i-got-with_2267859.jpg) > “I was a good decathlete until I got with a coach that really knew how to train specifically for the event... I'd really describe it as like being a juggler; you have ten balls and you're trying to get them all in the air at the same time.” [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Specialized coaching transforms a decathlete's performance by focusing training on each event. **In simple terms:** A coach who tailors training improves results. Key Takeaway Seek targeted coaching. Themes training specialization performance Mood determined focused Type motivational practical When to use this quote - preparing for competitions - improving specific skills - balancing multiple disciplines Key Concepts athletics coaching strategies Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance specialization with overall versatility? - What aspects of training need the most focus? A Different Perspective Over-reliance on a single coach may limit adaptability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Coach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coach/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Olympics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/olympics/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Train](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/train/) ## Related quotes > [I feel like a juggler running out of hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-costello/i-feel-like-a-juggler-running-out-of-hands/) [Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-costello/) > [“Before she could look to find a wound he had control of the vision once again, but like a juggler attempting to hold too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/before-she-could-look-to-find-a-wound-he-had-control-of-the-vision/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [We can paint unrealistic pictures of the juggler--displaying her now as a problem-free paragon of glamour and now as a modern hag.Or we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faye-j-crosby/we-can-paint-unrealistic-pictures-of-the-juggler-displaying-her-now/) [Faye J Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faye-j-crosby/) > [As I'm studying magic, juggling is mentioned repeatedly as a great way to acquire dexterity and coordination. Now, I had long admired how fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/as-i-m-studying-magic-juggling-is-mentioned-repeatedly-as-a-great-way/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [You don't ask a juggler which ball is highest in priority. Success is to do it all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/you-don-t-ask-a-juggler-which-ball-is-highest-in-priority-success-is/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I can juggle. I started juggling as a kid. And when I worked at Disneyland, I knew a juggler there named Christopher Faire, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-can-juggle-i-started-juggling-as-a-kid-and-when-i-worked-at/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [Each juggler should be trained in the ignorance of the laws of physics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/each-juggler-should-be-trained-in-the-ignorance-of-the-laws-of-physics/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) > [I have a friend who is a juggler. If I'm at his house, I don't like to take food from him, if it's in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-have-a-friend-who-is-a-juggler-if-i-m-at-his-house-i-don-t-like-to/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [It takes about 6 hours of practice a day for quite a few years to become a professional juggler. I started when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-raz/it-takes-about-6-hours-of-practice-a-day-for-quite-a-few-years-to/) [Jeff Raz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-raz/) > [At Columbus Circle, a juggler wearing a trench cloak and top hat, who is usually at this location afternoons and who calls himself Stretch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/at-columbus-circle-a-juggler-wearing-a-trench-cloak-and-top-hat-who/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [The only time a juggler / Appeals to me / Is when I see him / Miss the ball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/the-only-time-a-juggler-appeals-to-me-is-when-i-see-him-miss-the-ball/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [A juggler's skill hath been long years alearning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-farquhar-tupper/a-juggler-s-skill-hath-been-long-years-alearning/) [Martin Farquhar Tupper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-farquhar-tupper/) > [And because I have a four-year-old son I have become a great baseball pitcher. And, you know, juggler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-messing/and-because-i-have-a-four-year-old-son-i-have-become-a-great-baseball/) [Debra Messing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-messing/) > [Someone once told me that God figured that I was a pretty good juggler. I could keep a lot of balls in the air…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-ashe/someone-once-told-me-that-god-figured-that-i-was-a-pretty-good/) [Arthur Ashe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-ashe/) > [Flattery is a juggler, and no kin unto sincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/flattery-is-a-juggler-and-no-kin-unto-sincerity/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) ## More by Dan O'Brien > [You have to be able to be a good loser. You have to be okay knowing you're going to fail every day in something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/you-have-to-be-able-to-be-a-good-loser-you-have-to-be-okay-knowing/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) > [It's important for me to think I'm mixed-race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/it-s-important-for-me-to-think-i-m-mixed-race/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) > [To me, the decathlon is its own little society and I am part of that culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/to-me-the-decathlon-is-its-own-little-society-and-i-am-part-of-that/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) > [You can only look forward to a South Dakota winter if, as with childbirth, remodeling a house, or writing a novel, you're able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/you-can-only-look-forward-to-a-south-dakota-winter-if-as-with/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) > [You need to become more than one type of athlete. You have to be a sprinter, a weight man and a distance guy all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/you-need-to-become-more-than-one-type-of-athlete-you-have-to-be-a/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) > [If you never give up, you'll be successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/if-you-never-give-up-you-ll-be-successful/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) > [I think what my parents did was perfect. They were strict, concerned about my safety and held me back just a little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/i-think-what-my-parents-did-was-perfect-they-were-strict-concerned/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) > [After the failure in '92, my goal was to be a good pole vaulter. I used that as motivation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/after-the-failure-in-92-my-goal-was-to-be-a-good-pole-vaulter-i-used/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) > [It took me time to realize that the men who won Olympic gold medals in the decathlon are just men, just like me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/it-took-me-time-to-realize-that-the-men-who-won-olympic-gold-medals/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) > [As a young child, I was never a crier. I never cried to get my way, or even when I was in pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/as-a-young-child-i-was-never-a-crier-i-never-cried-to-get-my-way-or/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) > [I didn't get a ton of interest from colleges in baseball and football, but I was outstanding in track and had the sense that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/i-didn-t-get-a-ton-of-interest-from-colleges-in-baseball-and-football/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) > [Try everything, because you're never sure what you're going to be great at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/try-everything-because-you-re-never-sure-what-you-re-going-to-be/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) > [When I was little, I wasn't allowed to put sugar on my breakfast cereal because it made me so hyper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/when-i-was-little-i-wasn-t-allowed-to-put-sugar-on-my-breakfast/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) > [I call myself a chameleon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/i-call-myself-a-chameleon/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) > [As a young athlete, it was first about having fun; then it was about winning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/as-a-young-athlete-it-was-first-about-having-fun-then-it-was-about/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) [Explore all 37 Dan O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) ## More Air quotes > [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [There was a little nook on Air Force Two that contained the vice presidential seal, and I would sort of wedge myself in there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-biden/there-was-a-little-nook-on-air-force-two-that-contained-the-vice/) [Jill Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-biden/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“It is unnatural to fear something natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-unnatural-to-fear-something-natural/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) Browse all 6,278 Air quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was a good decathlete until I got with a coach that really knew how to train specifically for the event... I'd really describe it as like being a juggler; you have ten balls and you're trying to get them all in the air at the same time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan O'Brien" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/i-was-a-good-decathlete-until-i-got-with-a-coach-that-really-knew-how/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Air" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/i-was-a-good-decathlete-until-i-got-with-a-coach-that-really-knew-how/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/dan-o-brien-17274_air_i-was-a-good-decathlete-until-i-got-with_2267859.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/dan-o-brien-17274_air_i-was-a-good-decathlete-until-i-got-with_2267859.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/dan-o-brien-17274_air_i-was-a-good-decathlete-until-i-got-with_2267859.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was a good decathlete until I got with a coach that really knew how to train specifically for the event…” — Dan O'Brien", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dan O'Brien", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was a good decathlete until...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/i-was-a-good-decathlete-until-i-got-with-a-coach-that-really-knew-how/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/i-was-a-good-decathlete-until-i-got-with-a-coach-that-really-knew-how/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```