COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- They say it’s the little things that separate the good from the great once you reach a certain level in sports.

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Terps starting senior cornerback Alvin Hill believes in this wholeheartedly, and after taking yoga classes this past spring to help maintain his body, he has decided to embark on a new endeavor that he hopes will help improve his durability, agility and overall body control.

This fall, the 6-foot, 200-pound Locust Grove, Ga., native is taking ballet classes at Maryland’s Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Ballet is something that was already on Hill’s mind because it had been recommended to him by an uncle and Maryland’s director of player development, Bryce Bevill. And as soon as the Terps defensive back found out that his former yoga instructor at UMD, Colette Krogol, was teaching a ballet class this semester, it was a done deal.

“It’s the little things,” Hill said. “You always hear ‘do yoga or go do something to make yourself better.’ I just took it and ran with it. And then I started looking up some things that [ballet] was conducive to and Coach Bevill gave me a YouTube video that showed how it can prevent injury, how it can make you jump higher, run faster and be quicker. So I took heed to it and I did it.”

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Hill said he’s not into wearing a tutu and prefers just leggings and a football shirt while practicing his new art form. He’s also unsure how he feels about the ballet slippers and said he felt a bit awkward when having to go into a store called Footlights Dance and Theater Boutique to pick out a pair for clas.

“I tried to feel masculine, but the more I walked in there the more I felt it deflating (laughs),” Hill said.

Hill has no problem laughing at the irony of a football player doing ballet, but that’s because he knows he’s not the first guy from the gridiron to give it a try.

Learning ballet has helped the careers of many football players throughout history, including NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver and four-time Super Bowl champion Lynn Swann, who has never been shy about sharing how the graceful dance allowed him to make leaping, acrobatic catches for the Pittsburgh Steelers for eight seasons.

In fact, Hill is not even the only player on Maryland’s current roster that has taken a dance class.

“Me and Roman [Braglio] were in a dance class sophomore year,” Terps starting senior quarterback Perry Hills said. “ It’s definitely different. It’s fun. We had fun with it and I’m sure Alvin is, too. Heck, a lot of good NFL players have been in ballet classes. So hopefully he can find something in that to help him out.”

Hill said he can already feel the dance classes helping his stamina, especially on days where he has ballet and football practice on the same day.

“It’s on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so Tuesdays practices are tough because you have to respond from that and then go practice again,” Hill said. “It’s like conditioning. And then you have to recover and play again. It’s more effort [than yoga] because you have to be perfect.”

Hill said his family wasn’t too shocked to learn about his new method of preparation, but now he has a younger sister that might want to do ballet, as well.

“I told my mom and she was like, ‘That’s my Alvin,’” Hill said. “She’s used to me doing things that are out of the ordinary to try and get somewhere. So she wasn’t shocked. But my little sister (Victoria) was like, ‘What? Ballet? What are you doing?’ Now she wants to do it.”

Just as Hill’s family was not surprised by his dedication to improving his game, Hills is also not taken aback by what he has seen from his teammate in practice and in games so far this season.

Hills and Hill have been through a five-year journey together in College Park, but the quarterback said he could always tell that the Terps had a solid defensive back on their hands.

“Alvin is a really good corner,” Hills said. “He’s really good in coverage. Coming up through the five years I’ve been with him, we’ve always said we think Alvin is one of the best cover guys, and now he’s getting his opportunity to show it to everyone. But I’ve always known that Alvin is a really good corner.”