It's that time of year, the playoffs. We didn't expect to be in the spot we are, but we've managed to find ourselves in the #1 seed with a game remaining in the regular season.

If we win, we're first; a draw finds us in second; and a loss puts us on the road as the third seed.

So I'm looking for the best inspirational speeches that I can adapt and give to my guys over the next two (hopefully three) games.

Any thoughts?

Never apply military speech to non-military situations so no using the word maggots.

I strongly suggest something from the Zlatan Ibrahimovic book of quotes. A few of his best and you'll be seeing back heel goals and Zlatan-style play at every position.

You can easily riff on some of these:

When people succeed, it is because of hard work. Luck has nothing to do with success. Diego Maradona

If you're attacking, you don't get as tired as when you're chasing. Kyle Rote, Jr.

You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it. Lionel Messi

I am constantly being asked about individuals. The only way to win is as a team. Football is not about one or two or three star players. - Pele

If you're in the penalty area and don't know what to do with the ball, put it in the net and we'll discuss the options later. - Bob Paisley

It's all about the two Ms: movement and positioning. - Ron Atkinson

We didn't run more than the others, we just ran better. - Arrigo Sacchi

These are the moments we live for: the do-or-die games. We've been preparing for this since January and we just want to get it done. - Carli Lloyd

But never, ever go the military route.

Yeah. Wasn't looking for a Patton-esque thing. More Herb Brooks before the Miracle on Ice or even a heavily edited "Any Given Sunday" thing.

Thanks for the quotes.

What age group audience?

YouTube may be of some help. I'd search Jim Valvano speeches, John Wooden speeches and Bo Schembechler's "The Team" speech. Could probably adapt from bits and pieces of many of the "inspirational/motivational" coaches in various sports. Maybe some movie clips, too - "Rudy", "Remember the Titans" and "Hoosiers" come to mind, but I'm sure there are many others.

Middle school.

Revenge of the Nerds.

You know your team better than anyone, so use that knowledge to push their buttons. My team was a huge underdog in championship game as we had lost 8-1 and 2-0 earlier to opponent. The work started after that 8-1 game where we appealed to their pride and that hard work would prove that the 8-1 result was a farce. The 2-0 result showed the players that we were nearly there and on championship day, each player knew specifically what to do, so there was very little need to talk and we won the championship 2-0. The kids didn't worry about the result, but focused on their responsibilities.

Good luck.

I would just point out to the kids that if they screw up this game it will likely mess up the rest of their lives and they'll never find happiness or success. But not so sugar coated.

Thanks for the input. I kicked a few ideas around in my head for a couple of days, and came up with something based on the idea of taking advantage of opportunities to make something happen and to make a difference. Moments will come where their decisions and their effort will matter.

We netted an early PK. Then our second string striker (starting because the first teamer is out for the year) took a through ball, beat the keeper and slotted it home. Then the other team started losing its cool. Their best player (already booked for dissent) fouled our guy and collided with another one of our players who'd come to help. Their guy came up pissed off and shoved our second player (a defensive end on the football team). Our man started to react but reined himself in and walked away with a caution; their guy got a straight red.

Later on, they got a penalty kick when our keeper grabbed a player in the box. He was cautioned and had to come off by rule. Our backup saved the shot.

We added a third later and that was it. As I told them afterwards, when the moments arrived, they took advantage of them.

I don't know if what I said made a difference, but I'll take it.

Congrats, coach.