Football is one of the most popular sports in the world and for good reason. Not only is it fun and easy to play, but it also offers a host of different benefits for your muscular health, cardiovascular system, bone strength, mental state, and more. Luckily, you don’t have to be an elite athlete to enjoy the great benefits of football, and with regular practice, you can master all the basic skills necessary to succeed in this sport.
The game of football has roots in ancient times, but it was primarily developed in western Europe. Today, there are many variations of the game, but the rules are standardized and recognized worldwide. Typically, two teams of eleven players face off against each other in a game of football. Each team can have up to three substitutions during a down, and the game is played with an oval-shaped ball that’s weighed between 14 and 16 ounces.
Before each play, the offensive and defensive lines form on opposite sides of the field. The kicking team takes the ball off of the kickoff and can either throw or run with it down the field, depending on what the game plan is. Once the ball reaches the end zone, the team gets six points. The team can also choose to kick a field goal on fourth down, or punt the ball downfield to their opponent’s end zone for two points.
A football field is 100 yards long, with a 10-yard ‘end zone’ at each end, a set of goalposts at each end, and two lines in the middle called the hash marks. The line of scrimmage (or the line where the ball is snapped) establishes a limit on how far the kicking team can advance, and members of the non-kicking team are restrained behind this line until the ball is kicked.
The first play of each down is a scrimmage down, and the center snaps the ball to the quarterback, who can then hand off to a back for a running play or throw it forward to a receiver. On subsequent downs, the offense must gain at least ten yards in four attempts to move further down the field. If they fail to do so, they turn over the ball to the defense.
At the end of each half, or after any overtime period, the winner of the coin toss decides whether to defer their choice of options, or take the next available down. The winner of the coin toss is also given the first choice of the remaining options at the beginning of the second half, if they win.