Don’t be Surprised Trent Brown was a Gymnast

As football fans, many of us probably heard through the grapevine that football players take ballet during their careers to help them get lighter on their toes.

Well, I can tell you personally that this is true.

I was a competitive dancer for 14 years.

So, when offensive tackle Trent Brown revealed on The Lefkoe Show recently that he used to be an agile gymnast when he was growing up, it didn’t shock me.

“I ain’t been able to flip since I was, like, nine years old, but when I was younger – people don’t know this – the first sport I participated in was gymnastics,” said Brown, who was selected to the Pro Bowl last season. “It was really just a free-for-all class every Saturday morning at the YMCA.”

🚨🚨🚨 New episode alert!

Trent Brown -- with one of the CLEANEST Twitter handles in the game @trent -- chats with @AdamLefkoe about Gruden, the Raiders (his SB guarantee is not to be missed), and his experience with ... gymnastics?!? 🐐🔥https://t.co/0to31jJ1Oz pic.twitter.com/S1glCUNg7v
— The Lefkoe Show (@LefkoeShow) July 13, 2020

As a young man growing up, although he didn’t reveal it, I can almost guarantee you at some point he dealt with bullying.

I know I did.

But what’s great about having experience in gymnastics or ballet or really anything that works on your flexibility, is that it allows you to grow as an athlete in your primary sport. Running on your toes, stretching out, even hand placement becomes muscle memory for a player.

But perhaps the most important thing is that ballet and gymnastics teach you about the center of balance.

No matter what position you play on the field, you have to have a solidified center of balance. Although injury is sometimes unavoidable, some can be avoided by having a better center of balance, and your body automatically knows how to adjust accordingly.

In other words, ballet or gymnastics allows one to create a foundation, a foundation needed to succeed on the football field.

And for those you are arguing that this is a new concept and: "I no longer am a fan of Trent Brown because he’s not a man," this isn’t a new concept. It’s known that Lynn Swann and Herschel Walker took ballet classes while pro football players.

Even my former dance teacher, who is like a grandmother to me, has told me countless stories about her training athletes to dance so they can improve their center of balance and flexibility, among other things that directly help them in their given sport.

So, does it surprise me that Brown used to take gymnastics? Not in the slightest bit. Just look at his flexibility for being a 6-foot-8, 350-pound offensive tackle.

And here’s the thing: Lefkoe was surprised like many of you probably were. But you shouldn’t be.

Because ultimately, players who take gymnastics or ballet are only helping themselves on the field in the long run.

Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

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