"Playing sport was somewhat frivolous, but I liked it. I rebelled a little bit, and wouldn't go to music lessons and things like that, but I would go and play ball. My parents learned to love it because they saw how much I got out of it"
About this Quote
The subtext is about legitimacy. He’s describing the classic American negotiation between what families think will cultivate a kid and what actually does. The line "I would go and play ball" reads like stubborn simplicity, but it’s also a values statement: he chose a place where effort is immediate, feedback is honest, and belonging is earned in public. For a future coach, that’s origin-story material - not in a mythic, destiny way, but in a practical one. You can hear the early formation of his creed: discipline can be discovered, not assigned.
The emotional pivot comes when his parents "learned to love it". Not "approved" or "accepted" - learned. Their conversion isn’t ideological; it’s observational. They watched their child become more himself. That’s why the anecdote lands culturally: it argues for sport as a developmental language families sometimes dismiss until it starts speaking back in confidence, purpose, and joy.
Quote Details
| Topic | Sports |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Krzyzewski, Mike. (2026, January 17). Playing sport was somewhat frivolous, but I liked it. I rebelled a little bit, and wouldn't go to music lessons and things like that, but I would go and play ball. My parents learned to love it because they saw how much I got out of it. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/playing-sport-was-somewhat-frivolous-but-i-liked-29444/
Chicago Style
Krzyzewski, Mike. "Playing sport was somewhat frivolous, but I liked it. I rebelled a little bit, and wouldn't go to music lessons and things like that, but I would go and play ball. My parents learned to love it because they saw how much I got out of it." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/playing-sport-was-somewhat-frivolous-but-i-liked-29444/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Playing sport was somewhat frivolous, but I liked it. I rebelled a little bit, and wouldn't go to music lessons and things like that, but I would go and play ball. My parents learned to love it because they saw how much I got out of it." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/playing-sport-was-somewhat-frivolous-but-i-liked-29444/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.




