I will never forget a specific feature commercial my University aired on TV when I was a junior in college. The commercial was about a well known football player majoring in ballet, and he was expressing how much he enjoys dance along with explaining how it helps him become a better football player.
A football player…loves to do ballet? Yup, you heard that right! I was curious about the combination and did some research to see if football and dance are common together. To my surprise; it is extremely common. But, guess what? It is not just dance that football players enjoy, but they also enjoy gymnastics too and it is just as beneficial.
So, why do football players enjoy activities such as gymnastics or dance?
Flexibility
Football players are constantly running, twisting, and turning. This can lead to injury if the player did not warm up or stretch before a practice or a game. Gymnastics is the perfect sport for your athlete to learn flexibility; I mean have you seen the way gymnasts can bend their body?
Football kickers need flexibility to be able to kick the football far and high. Gymnastics would be ideal because your athlete will learn how to do that powerful kick the right way. Gymnastics gyms have all of the equipment your football player will need to safely have his body get familiar with flexibility without pulling or tearing any muscles.
Speed and Movement
Gymnastics will teach your football player balance and performance. Gymnastics will improve your athlete’s body movement and will help him be able to learn more about the capability of his body.
Football players sprint on the field and are constantly jumping over their opponent or dodging tackles. Gymnastics will teach your football player how to jump and land the right way as well as how to move quickly with his hands and feet.
Gymnasts have great balance and coordination because they perform on narrow equipment and have to perform skills that involve twists, turns, flips, ariels, cartwheels; you name it. Your football player will look like a ninja on the field, and will feel great about it!
Gymnasts are also very fast because they use a lot of leg power to be able to complete certain skills and land them, mainly when it comes to tumbling. Your athlete will find himself “playing tag” with his opponents because gymnastics will help him build up speed.
Power and Strength
Have you ever seen a gymnasts body? If you have not, I recommend looking up Olympians on Google because their muscles are insane! Gymnasts have such strong muscles because they are constantly pulling their own weight and learning how to manage themselves.
Your football player will gain a lot of strength from participating in gymnastics classes that will benefit him on the field. Gymnastics will give your athlete the ability he needs to be able to tackle his opponents and power right through them.
Ricky Rogers was the football player in the feature commercial I saw. He was a redshirt freshman wide receiver at the time the video was made, and had a dream of making it to the NFL. He mentions that dance was healthy for his mind and body, and the same goes for gymnastics.
Gymnastics is not just for girls or women. There are plenty of talented male gymnasts in our world that have taken home the gold medal and made a great name for themselves. If you are a male and doing flips make you happy, then you follow that path. If you want to be a gymnast or take gymnastics classes, do not let anyone stop you from doing so.
Gymnastics is not feminine and the sport has a lot of cons that can help your athlete in the other sports he enjoys. Gymnastics is great for releasing energy and of course it’s great exercise. Sometimes your football player may need a break from constantly banging helmets with his opponents. After all, doing a back tuck into a foam pit sounds pretty awesome!