Sports

A world wide activitySports are one activity that no matter where you go in the world someone is participating in one. This could be anywhere from hacky sack to football. Sports have brought people of all types together for centuries and will continue to do so. Different activities have been known to help people lose weight and get healthy while some are done purely for the enjoyment. You can go professional with many of the sports known to man today or you can stay in an intramural sport just for the fun of it. A lot of college kids are known to do this with Frisbee and in school age it is dodge ball. Whatever sport it is that you enjoy doing look back into history and where it may have started. Maybe even into a few of the most famous and popular people in the game. Then you may have an added spirit and love for your particular sport.Sports and their pastThe first court, game and rules of the game of basketball are known to have come out of the YMCA in 1981. These were started by a man names James Naismith. James was a Canadian professor working for the Springfield, MA YMCA at the time. He was looking for new ways to keep the kids entertained while also maintaining their fitness level in the long and cold winters when they had to stay indoors during PE. This was the beginning of the game that we know and love today. Basketball was mainly a male sport until around 1983 when a teacher from Smith College decided to change all that. She had been learning from Naismith and started the first women’s team.Football is definitely one of the world’s most beloved games. Some people know it as a soccer type game where you kick the ball into the net, but I am talking about the pig skin game! Throughout the years football has changed immensely and has become the game that we all know and love today. Some of the biggest names in the game are John Randle, Ricky Jackson and Russ Grimm. These three players are also in the football hall of fame.Soccer, also known as football in some countries, is another great sport to take part in. In this game the point is to kick a ball into a net. When you get it into the net, you get points for your team. But you can not touch the ball with your hands or you will get points taken away, unless you are a goalie. This game is great for young children who are looking to learn a little bit of feet coordination. It is also a great way to stay healthy and blow off steam.Baseball is one of the most American games out there. This game has been around for a few centuries, but it has grown crazily in popularity since its inception. In baseball, there are 4 bases (first, second, third and home). To gain point in this game you have to make it all the way around these four bases. This particular game is fun to play almost anywhere and at anytime. You do need a baseball and a bat to play however. A protective helmet would not be a bad idea either.What else?There is still a great deal of sports out there. There are beach sports like volleyball. Or sports for a park or the woods like flag football, Frisbee, and capture the flag. Swimming is also considered a sport. This can be done in an inside or outside pool depending on the weather. There are games like dodge ball and hockey which are not as popular, but are equally as fun as the others.