One of the most common pastimes across the country and around the world is sports. Even those who aren’t the very athletic find themselves interested in one sport or another. Why? Well, simply because they’re fun. In fact, that has been proven by science. According to http://www.bbc.com, www.mindbodygreen.com, www.active.com, and countless other sources, exercising or watching others play sports releases happy chemicals, such as dopamine, into your brain. Sports are played and watched for enjoyment, so it doesn’t really make sense that some people are criticized for doing what they love, simply because of their gender or sex. Whether it’s women on football teams or guys on gymnastics teams, such as Lindenhurst’s very own Michael Menichini, some people believe that certain sports are for only one gender; however, Michael doesn’t let those people bother him.

Michael Menichini is a freshman at Lindenhurst High School and he’s a gymnast. Although he had only started official gymnastics recently, it’s something he has always been devoted to. Michael says he started because he has always loved being upside down, so it didn’t take him long to discover his affection to the sport. He tried out other sports, one of which was soccer, which he had actually enjoyed, but was not as dedicated to as gymnastics. As a child, Michael was known for his cool flips and tricks. Now that he is on an actual gymnastics team, he thinks it’s cool to be the only guy on the team, but admits that it’s annoying that some people find it weird for a guy to do gymnastics. He doesn’t understand why it is seen as so taboo, but he ignores those who come between him and what he loves to do. Michael said, “Please tell me what is so weird or out of the ordinary about loving to do flips? However, at the end of the day, all that matters is that I was able to display my passion, no matter what anyone thinks.”

As for the future, Michael describes his aspirations as “every gymnast’s dream,” competing in the Olympics. He also hopes that boys will be able to be on gymnastics teams without so much judgment or rejection because ultimately, gender doesn’t define someone’s skill level at a sport, and even if it did, you don’t have to excel at a sport in order to enjoy it.

You’ll flip for these videos! Check them out!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2KySxs6qQS-bUVHcXYzNG1fNFk

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2KySxs6qQS-dUZJdENFenlJZUE

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2KySxs6qQS-Z3dRTDhSY2NQbkU

And don’t forget to follow Michael on Instagram!

http://instagram.com/mike_ymeni