--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first good player I watched as a kid…" description: "\"The first good player I watched as a kid was Joe DiMaggio, and that was like ballet. Since then, I played sandlot and college ball and came to understa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/mario-cuomo-4807_ballet_the-first-good-player-i-watched-as-a-kid_2365907.png" --- # The first good player I watched as a kid was Joe DiMaggio… ![“The first good player I watched as a kid was Joe DiMaggio, and that was like ballet. Since then, I played sandlot and college ball and came to understand how difficult it can be.” quote by Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/mario-cuomo-4807_ballet_the-first-good-player-i-watched-as-a-kid_2365907.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/mario-cuomo-4807_ballet_the-first-good-player-i-watched-as-a-kid_2365907.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/mario-cuomo-4807_ballet_the-first-good-player-i-watched-as-a-kid_2365907.png) > “The first good player I watched as a kid was Joe DiMaggio, and that was like ballet. Since then, I played sandlot and college ball and came to understand how difficult it can be.” [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker likens Joe DiMaggio’s graceful play to ballet, illustrating how early role models shape one’s understanding of skill and difficulty. **In simple terms:** DiMaggio’s play seemed like ballet. Key Takeaway Observe excellence to set personal standards. Themes sports role models skill inspiration Mood inspirational thoughtful Type motivational reflective When to use this quote - coaching sessions - personal development - team training Key Concepts aesthetics performance learning perseverance Questions to Reflect On - What qualities define true mastery? - How can early influences guide growth? A Different Perspective Comparisons may oversimplify complex talent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ballet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [College Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-ball-1130929/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Dimaggio Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimaggio-like-5809915/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good Player](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-player/) [How](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/how/) [Joe Dimaggio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joe-dimaggio/) [Played Sandlot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/played-sandlot-4324793/) ## Related quotes > [We played on a sandlot all summer. There was no little league back then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-law/we-played-on-a-sandlot-all-summer-there-was-no-little-league-back-then/) [Vernon Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-law/) > [One of the biggest reasons I like coaching college ball is the kids. I feel I can impact players lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-majerus/one-of-the-biggest-reasons-i-like-coaching-college-ball-is-the-kids-i/) [Rick Majerus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-majerus/) > [One of the biggest reasons I like coaching college ball is the kids. I feel I can impact players' lives. I like the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-majerus/one-of-the-biggest-reasons-i-like-coaching-college-ball-is-the-kids-i-2/) [Rick Majerus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-majerus/) > [“I've learned a lot playing college ball," Mark says."What you do in high school doesn't mean shit. You can be the best ballplayer in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-mcgarry/i-ve-learned-a-lot-playing-college-ball-mark-says-what-you-do-in-high/) [Katie McGarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-mcgarry/) > [It's that way all the way down the line. I've got a boy coaching college ball and another son coaching high school. All the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sutter/it-s-that-way-all-the-way-down-the-line-i-ve-got-a-boy-coaching/) [Bruce Sutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sutter/) > [“At some point we all have to grow up. Sure, high school might be the best years of our lives the way people say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melyssa-winchester/at-some-point-we-all-have-to-grow-up-sure-high-school-might-be-the/) [Melyssa Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melyssa-winchester/) > [To me it seemed in college ball, guys are more hungry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-wallace/to-me-it-seemed-in-college-ball-guys-are-more-hungry/) [Rasheed Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-wallace/) > [When I left college ball, I think I was prepared to coach a team, but I don't think I was prepared to help the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelvin-sampson/when-i-left-college-ball-i-think-i-was-prepared-to-coach-a-team-but-i/) [Kelvin Sampson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelvin-sampson/) > [Big-time college ball is a business, and they work you to death. You're in the gym at 7 A. M., got classes all morning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyrann-mathieu/big-time-college-ball-is-a-business-and-they-work-you-to-death-you-re/) [Tyrann Mathieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyrann-mathieu/) > [For me, coming up, the first I had ever heard of basketball? It was from my mom. She was a really good player back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-beal/for-me-coming-up-the-first-i-had-ever-heard-of-basketball-it-was-from/) [Bradley Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-beal/) > [To me it seemed in college ball, guys are more hungry. It's for a different circumstance when you're talking about playing for money and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-wallace/to-me-it-seemed-in-college-ball-guys-are-more-hungry-it-s-for-a/) [Rasheed Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-wallace/) > [How you play the game is for college ball. When you're playing for money, winning is the only thing that matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-durocher/how-you-play-the-game-is-for-college-ball-when-you-re-playing-for/) [Leo Durocher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-durocher/) > [I've said all along that someday I wanted to go back home and play in Flordia. I played high school and college ball in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cris-collinsworth/i-ve-said-all-along-that-someday-i-wanted-to-go-back-home-and-play-in/) [Cris Collinsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cris-collinsworth/) > [I played wide receiver in high school; then I went to college at Ball State and played safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-gibbs/i-played-wide-receiver-in-high-school-then-i-went-to-college-at-ball/) [Freddie Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-gibbs/) > [Heroes are people who are all good with no bad in them. That's the way I always saw Joe DiMaggio. He was beyond question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-mantle/heroes-are-people-who-are-all-good-with-no-bad-in-them-that-s-the-way/) [Mickey Mantle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-mantle/) ## More by Mario Cuomo > [There is a respectable body of economic thought that holds that casino gambling is actually economically regressive to a state and a community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/there-is-a-respectable-body-of-economic-thought-that-holds-that/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [We believe in a government that is characterized by fairness and reasonableness, a reasonableness that goes beyond labels, that doesn't distort or promise to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/we-believe-in-a-government-that-is-characterized-by-fairness-and/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [America was born in outrageous ambition, so bold as to be improbable. The deprived, the oppressed, the powerless from all over the globe came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/america-was-born-in-outrageous-ambition-so-bold-as-to-be-improbable/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [The biggest aggravation in the Arab world, the biggest reason for their anger toward us and the creation of those suicide terrorists, is Israel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/the-biggest-aggravation-in-the-arab-world-the-biggest-reason-for/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [Nobody has ever gotten a bigger push than Bill Clinton gave to Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/nobody-has-ever-gotten-a-bigger-push-than-bill-clinton-gave-to-obama/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [It is not a government's obligation to provide services, but to see that they are provided.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/it-is-not-a-government-s-obligation-to-provide-services-but-to-see/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [My favorite thought about Abraham Lincoln is he believed in two things: loving one another and working together to make this world better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/my-favorite-thought-about-abraham-lincoln-is-he-believed-in-two/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [9/11 occurs, and you're going to rebuild, and after awhile, the memory will be there, but there will be something new there, and different,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/9-11-occurs-and-you-re-going-to-rebuild-and-after-awhile-the-memory/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [The Mafia is a question every time an Italian raises his head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/the-mafia-is-a-question-every-time-an-italian-raises-his-head/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [People asked me what I want as an epitaph: 'He tried'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/people-asked-me-what-i-want-as-an-epitaph-he-tried/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [I had not even thought of running for president until one day in 1991, at a small fund-raiser, completely unanticipated, someone stood up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/i-had-not-even-thought-of-running-for-president-until-one-day-in-1991/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [I protect my right to be a Catholic by preserving your right to believe as a Jew, a Protestant, or non-believer, or as anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/i-protect-my-right-to-be-a-catholic-by-preserving-your-right-to/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [I love immigrants. Legal, illegal - they're not to be despised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/i-love-immigrants-legal-illegal-they-re-not-to-be-despised/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [Barack Obama is probably one of the brightest in terms of sheer intelligence... also probably the best orator we've ever had as a president.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/barack-obama-is-probably-one-of-the-brightest-in-terms-of-sheer/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [The American people need no course in philosophy or political science of church history to know that God should not be made into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/the-american-people-need-no-course-in-philosophy-or-political-science/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) [Explore all 105 Mario Cuomo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) ## More Ballet quotes > [“Afterwards Isabelle often wondered if the moments themselves were greater or the memory of them. At least the memory did not pass, while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/afterwards-isabelle-often-wondered-if-the-moments-themselves-were/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) [Fernando Bujones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-bujones/) > [So I'm studying ballet every day and really training so people will see me as a ballet dancer, which no one's seen before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/so-i-m-studying-ballet-every-day-and-really-training-so-people-will/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) > [No matter the style, the farther one goes the more obstacles increase, and the more distant appears the object it is desired to attain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-georges-noverre/no-matter-the-style-the-farther-one-goes-the-more-obstacles-increase/) [Jean-Georges Noverre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-georges-noverre/) > [What I love most about ballet is being able to express my emotions through dance, and to be able to bring others joy through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-deprince/what-i-love-most-about-ballet-is-being-able-to-express-my-emotions/) [Michaela DePrince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-deprince/) > [It is not a question of who dances but of who or what does not dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-st-denis/it-is-not-a-question-of-who-dances-but-of-who-or-what-does-not-dance/) [Ruth St. Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-st-denis/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) [Peter Martins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-martins/) > [Even though I am a professional, and I know what the steps are, I don't quite know how I'm going to do them, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-farrell/even-though-i-am-a-professional-and-i-know-what-the-steps-are-i-don-t/) [Suzanne Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-farrell/) > [I'd rather be a guy that can build a house or fix a car than be able to walk like a ballet dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-fimmel/i-d-rather-be-a-guy-that-can-build-a-house-or-fix-a-car-than-be-able/) [Travis Fimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-fimmel/) > [When I was 16, I moved to Torrance, California to train at a more advanced studio, and by 19, I joined the American Ballet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-copeland/when-i-was-16-i-moved-to-torrance-california-to-train-at-a-more/) [Misty Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-copeland/) > [Bob's work gleaned from hoofing, from vaudeville, from ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-reinking/bob-s-work-gleaned-from-hoofing-from-vaudeville-from-ballet/) [Ann Reinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-reinking/) > [You can imagine me as a kid growing up in redneck Texas with ballet shoes, tucking the violin under my arm. I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-swayze/you-can-imagine-me-as-a-kid-growing-up-in-redneck-texas-with-ballet/) [Patrick Swayze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-swayze/) > [I only started writing in the latter days of Spandau Ballet. I didnt know I could write because all had our roles within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hadley/i-only-started-writing-in-the-latter-days-of-spandau-ballet-i-didnt/) [Tony Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hadley/) > [All ballet, all reading, all music. That was my world, my inner world,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-makarova/all-ballet-all-reading-all-music-that-was-my-world-my-inner-world/) [Natalia Makarova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-makarova/) > [I can dance. I like hip hop and stuff and jazz movements, but I'm horrible in ballet. I tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keke-palmer/i-can-dance-i-like-hip-hop-and-stuff-and-jazz-movements-but-i-m/) [Keke Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keke-palmer/) [Browse all 1,227 Ballet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The first good player I watched as a kid was Joe DiMaggio, and that was like ballet. 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