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Football: Equipment

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The Football

The main piece of equipment for football is the ball. It's a funny oblong spheroid shape. This unique shape helps the ball to travel well when thrown with a spiral and is part of what makes the sport so interesting.


Football and tee
All major levels of play including the NFL, college, and high school use a similar size football. It is around 11 inches long with a circumference of around 21 inches at the width. It weighs between 14 and 15 ounces. Smaller balls are available for younger kids. These can be helpful, especially for learning how to throw the ball at a younger age.

The football has the nickname "pigskin" because it used to be made out of pigs bladders. Today footballs are mostly made from cow leather or synthetic materials.

Helmet

Perhaps the most important piece of equipment is the helmet. Football can be a dangerous sport and all players should wear a helmet at all times. The helmet provides padding and a hard exterior to protect the player's head from injury.

Across the front of the helmet is the face mask. This helps protect the player's face and eyes while letting the player see the field.

Often attached to the helmet is a mouth guard. This is another protective item that should be worn while playing football to protect your teeth.

Pads


Football uniform including pads,
helmet, pants, and jersey
Source: US Air Force
All football players need to wear pads. The thickness and type of pads may vary depending on the position played. Pads and protection that should be worn include shoulder pads, collar pads, hip pads, thigh pads, knee pads, neck rolls, athletic supporter, rib pads, forearm pads, and tailbone pads.

You should work with your parents and coaches to best determine what pads and type of pads you should wear. It can be tempting to avoid certain pads in an attempt to be lighter or more flexible, but you won't be a very good player if you are on the sidelines injured.

Uniform

The football uniform includes the helmet, a jersey, and pants. Sometimes these can be very colorful and many teams change up the colors and styles of uniforms throughout the season.

Numbers

Each player has a number on their jersey to help the fans and officials recognize players. In the NFL certain positions must have a number within a certain range. For example, a quarterback must have a number between 1 and 19. Here is a list of the numbers and positions:

Cleats

Football players wear cleats for shoes. Linemen often wear high top cleats for the most ankle protection, while wide receivers, quarterbacks, and running backs will wear mid-top cleats for some ankle protection, but more maneuverability.

More Football Links:

Rules
Football Rules
Football Scoring
Timing and the Clock
The Football Down
The Field
Equipment
Referee Signals
Football Officials
Violations that Occur Pre-Snap
Violations During Play
Rules for Player Safety
 Positions
Player Positions
Quarterback
Running Back
Receivers
Offensive Line
Defensive Line
Linebackers
The Secondary
Kickers
 Strategy
Football Strategy
Offense Basics
Offensive Formations
Passing Routes
Defense Basics
Defensive Formations
Special Teams

How to...
Catching a Football
Throwing a Football
Blocking
Tackling
How to Punt a Football
How to Kick a Field Goal
Biographies
Peyton Manning
Tom Brady
Jerry Rice
Adrian Peterson
Drew Brees
Brian Urlacher
Other
Football Glossary
National Football League NFL
List of NFL Teams
College Football

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