American Football Made By: Felipe Ortiz - Matias Noriega & Gaspar Alonso

Origins of American Football The history of American football can be traced to early versions of rugby and football. Both games have their origin in varieties of football played in Britain in the mid 19th century, in which a football is kicked at a goal or kicked over a line, which in turn were based on the varieties of English public school football games. The origin of professional football can be traced back to 1892, with William "Pudge" Heffelfinger's $500 contract to play in a game for the Allegheny Athletic Association against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. In 1920 the American Professional Football Association was formed. This league changed its name to the National Football League (NFL) two years later, and eventually became the major league of American football

Elements Required Football protective equipment has remained consistent in use for decades with some slight modifications made over the years in design and materials. The assignment and maintenance of football gear belongs to the team equipment manager. Actually to play American football you need the basic equipment that include a helmet, shoulder pads, gloves, shoes, and thigh and knee pads, and a jockstrap or compression shorts with or without a protective cup. Neck rolls, elbow pads, mouth guards, hip pads, tailbone pads, rib pads, and other equipment may be worn in addition to the aforementioned basics.

The most important elements needed to play this sport are the ball, the field, two goalposts and seven referees.

Structure of the game ● There are two opposing teams of eleven players each, with each team having opposite halves of the football field as their 'territory'. The teams take turns at either being the Offense or the Defense. ● The time of play is 60 minutes, divided into four fifteen-minute segments (called quarters).

How to score a point ● Touchdown - scores six points if the ball is thrown or carried into the opponent's end zone. ● Extra point - after a touchdown is scored, the scoring team has an opportunity to score additional points by either kicking the ball between the goal posts in the end zone (one point) or throwing or carrying the ball into the end zone from two yards away for two additional points. ● Field Goal - if a team has failed to get into the end zone for a touchdown during their possession, they may feel they are close enough to exercise the option of kicking the ball between the goal posts for three points. ● Safety - If an offensive player who has the ball in his possession gets stuck in his own end zone, and is tackled there by a defensive player, the defense is awarded two points.

How to play ● The object is to move the ball forward into the end zone or to move the ball a minimum of ten yards in four attempts (called downs, the first of each series being 'first down,' and so on). To make it easy to keep track of their progress,the playing field has lines drawn across it at five-yard intervals, with the yard numbers noted every ten yards. If the offense fails to move the football forward the required ten yards, they must turn the ball over to their opponent. The ball is turned over to the other team at that point on the field. That is, the defense now becomes the offense at the exact place where the offense has been stopped. ● The offense also has the option, on fourth down, of kicking the ball to the opponent when they have failed to make the required ten yards and have too far to go to take a chance of making it on the remaining down.

Some benefits about football Teamwork: Selflessness, cooperation and teamwork are what most youth football coaches emphasize to bring their teams together, so they can function and play together efficiently and effectively as a group. Stress relief: Adrenaline rushes from playing football help with stress release, so players are more calm and less prone to depression and aggressive behavior in life outside the field. Cardio: Football at any level requires a great deal of running, jumping and quick changes of direction. The game is an excellent form of aerobic and anaerobic exercise. Increased bone density and mass:The strength training exercises help with increased mass and bone density, which reduces the risk of bone and joint related diseases as you get older.

Some disadvantages of football -The major disadvantage to playing football is the high risk of injury. The risks can be scrapes, bruises, sprains, joint dislocations, broken bones and concussions are all possible on any play. -Another disadvantage to playing football is that the sport requires people to play it seriously

Curious facts -The most watched television event in the United States is the Super Bowl -It takes about 600 cows to make one full season’s worth of NFL footballs -Just two years after finishing their careers, approximately 78% of NFL players go bankrupt. -According to the California Avocado Commission, 12 million pounds of avocados will be purchased in the week leading up to the Super Bowl. On Super Bowl Sunday, Americans will eat 8 million pounds of guacamole. -Contrary to common opinion, the “G” on the helmet of Green Bay Packers (an american football team) doesn’t stand for Green Bay. Rather, it stands for “Greatness.”

Now to work… Put True or False to the following statements. 1-American football isn't dangerous to yourself 2-You play American football on a court 3-The ball is oval shaped 4-There are 10 referees 5-The time of play is 60 minutes divided into four segments

Answers 1-F 2-F 3-T 4-F 5-T