When you think of rugby league legends, you don’t often think of them balancing on beams, swinging on bars, or holding a handstand. But for Corey Parker — former Brisbane Broncos captain, Queensland State of Origin star, and 300+ game veteran — gymnastics wasn’t just a childhood hobby. It was a foundation that shaped his entire sporting career.
Recently, Corey Parker spoke on Gymnastics’ Queensland’s “Stick It” podcast series, sharing his thoughts on the sport and the sheer impact it has on children and adults, particularly later in life.
More Than Cartwheels and Handstands
Parker has spoken about the common misconception that gymnastics is “just rolling around on the mat or doing cartwheels.” To him, it was so much more.
Only 5% of gymnastics is High Performance, or the 6 hours a day training regimes and Russian coaching style that people often associate gymnastic with. The other 95% is social and fun gymnastics, building up strength, coordination, balance, flexibility and so much more.
For kids, gymnastics teaches what’s commonly referred to as the Fundamental Movement Skills. These are the “building blocks” of movement that children need to learn to play sport. By developing these fundamental skills, children will be setup for a healthy and active lifestyle later in life, and as Corey mentions, become key differences between the ‘good’ sportspeople and the ‘great’ athletes.
From the time he could crawl, movement became a focus — and gymnastics provided structure, challenge, and variety. The sport pushed him to build body awareness, control, and resilience, long before he ever picked up a footy.
And those skills weren’t left behind once he moved into rugby league. They carried him through more than a decade at the very top level of the game.
Gymnastics as a Foundational Sport
Parker often compares gymnastics to swimming: just as we teach every child to swim for safety and confidence in the water, he believes gymnastics should be considered a non-negotiable base sport for all kids.
Why? Because gymnastics builds skills that are useful for life, not just for the gym:
- Core strength – Learning to hold yourself upside down in a handstand or control a swing on the bars forces kids to develop strength from the inside out. That core control is exactly what rugby league players rely on when tackling, holding balance, or breaking free from contact.
- Body awareness – Gymnastics teaches children to know exactly where their body is in space. Parker says that ability to twist, land, and recover under pressure makes athletes safer and more adaptable across every sport.
- Balance & coordination – Whether it’s staying steady on a beam or transitioning through a sequence of movements, these fundamentals translate directly to staying upright on the field after a heavy tackle or sidestepping an opponent.
- Confidence to try again – Gymnastics isn’t easy. Kids fall, wobble, and struggle — but they also learn to get back up, to keep trying, and to celebrate small wins. That resilience became one of Parker’s trademarks as a player.
The Rugby League Connection
“You see the athleticism of rugby league players,” Parker has said. “Every back rower trained at least a minimum of 2 times a week on a gymnastics mat…Even when I first started training back at the Broncos we did gymnastics training”
It wasn’t about becoming a gymnast — it was about taking the best of gymnastics and applying it to rugby league. “Core strength” was one of the big benefits of gymnastics he says, remembering he built up more strength doing gymnastics than lifting weights or going to the gym, plus “it was great fun…although a little embarrassing trying to get out of the foam pit”.
His ability to absorb tackles, stay balanced in collisions, and move fluidly on the field didn’t come from chance — it was built on a foundation laid in the gym years earlier.
Advice to Parents
For parents wondering which sport to start their child in, Parker is clear:
“If you want to put your child into any sport — put them into gymnastics.”
Not because every child will grow up to be an Olympian gymnast, but because gymnastics lays the groundwork for whatever path they choose later — whether that’s rugby league, netball, AFL, athletics, or just being active and healthy for life.
What We See at Pearl Coast Gymnastics Club
At PCGC, we see exactly what Parker is talking about. Kids who begin with gymnastics often move into other sports with:
- Stronger, more coordinated bodies
- Confidence in trying new challenges
- An ability to land safely and prevent injuries
- A head start on strength and conditioning for later athletic development
Parents who are close with PCGC or have children in our classes often comment that the kids who win at school athletic carnivals or swimming events are the ones who do gymnastics. They are also the ones with respect, manners, resilience and perseverance. Gymnastics doesn’t just teach the physical skills, it also holistically shapes kids to be the best version of themselves.
And even for those who don’t switch sports, gymnastics itself becomes a lifelong passion — one that keeps them smiling, moving, and building friendships along the way.
A Final Word
Corey Parker’s career is proof that gymnastics is more than a sport in its own right — it’s a launch pad for all sports. His 300+ NRL games weren’t just a product of natural talent, but of years spent learning how to move, control, and trust his body through gymnastics.
Whether your child dreams of running onto an NRL field, representing Australia in another sport, or simply wants a safe and fun way to build confidence, gymnastics offers the foundation to help them get there.
Because in the end, as Parker shows us: the flips, the falls, the handstands, and the hard work are never wasted. They’re the building blocks of greatness.
Watch the full episode of “Stick It” on YouTube:
Corey’s message is clear: gymnastics isn’t just about the sport itself — it’s about setting kids up for whatever future they choose. That’s exactly what we aim to do here at Pearl Coast Gymnastics Club.”
