Baseball
Baseball is a game played on a field for nine innings, which are divided into halves. The offensive team tries to score runs by batting and progressing on the bases, whereas the defensive team attempts to prevent the offense from scoring. The defensive team has nine players on the field. The positions in order are the pitcher, catcher, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen, shortstop, left fielder, center fielder and right fielder, according to pbs.org.

In baseball, the points are measured in runs. Each time the offensive team can get a runner to advance through first, second, third and home base, they score a run. The defensive team can prevent this by attempting to throw the runner out, whether that be through tagging or stepping on a base. If a runner—whilst off-base—is tagged by a defensive player holding the ball, then they can be called out. Once there are three outs, the offensive and defensive team switch positions, according to keepthescore.com.

Basketball
The goal of basketball is to score points by shooting a ball through an 18-inch hoop and to keep the other team from scoring points. To start the game, a referee tosses the ball up in the center of the court, and the team that catches the ball is in possession of the ball and on offense. The team that failed to get the ball is on defense, according to olympics.com.

There are three ways to score points. There is the 3-point shot, which involves scoring a hoop from any place that is outside of the 3-point line. The next shot is the 2-point shot, where the shot is taken from inside the 3-point arc. The final method is the 1-point shot, which is gained through free throws. Free throws are given when the other team commits a foul on a player, according to olympics.com.

Football
Football is split into quarters, each lasting 15 minutes and adding up to an hour of playing time, but the game can go into overtime if there is a tie. There are 11 players from each team on the field at any given time, with one team being the offensive team and the other being the defensive team. The offensive team wants to get the ball to the opposing team’s end field to score points, whilst the defensive team’s goal is to take back the ball and stop the offense from advancing, according to dazn.com.

The positions in football have two categories: defensive and offensive. The defense consists of defensive backs, defensive line and linebackers. The defensive backs tend to be responsible for stopping passes and covering the receivers. The defensive line stops ball carriers and pushes the quarterback to pass plays. Lastly for the defense, the linebackers help to attack the backfield and help covering passes. For offense, there is backfield, offensive line and receiving core. The backfield lines up behind the offensive line—who help with protecting the quarterback and creating openings—and initiates every play. The receiving core are the people who catch throws from the quarterback, and they occasionally help with blocking ball carriers, according to underarmour.com.

Ice Hockey
In hockey, there are six players on the ice at any given time and players are responsible for both the offense and defense. Teams will spend an hour on the ice; the time is divided into three periods, with 15-minute breaks between those periods. Points are scored by hitting the puck into the opposing team’s goal, according to owayo.com.

In ice hockey, there are three common types of shots. These are the slap shot, wrist shot and the backhander. The slap shot is known for being a fast hit, and the wrist shot is similar but hit differently. The backhander is where the player hits the puck with the opposite side of the stick than what they normally hit with, according to britannica.com.

Soccer
Soccer is between two teams playing on a field. Each team is allowed a maximum of 11 players and a minimum of seven players. To score points, players have to get the ball into the opposing team’s goal. A soccer game is split into two halves, each being about 45 minutes with a halftime in between, according to soccer.com.

There are four positions in soccer. The positions are goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and forward. Goalkeepers protect their team’s goal, along with generally being the only players that are allowed to touch the ball with their hands. Defenders help keep the offense from scoring. Midfielders do multiple things during the game. They might help with defense, getting the ball forward or with the forwards to score. Lastly, forwards’ main purpose is to score points for their team, according to ssl-nc.com.

Volleyball
For volleyball, there is a court with a net dividing it and six players on each side. There are several positions. A setter helps set up a hit for other teammates, and a libero can substitute for players in the back row. A middle blocker can block spikes as well as get the ball if it goes in the middle. A right-side hitter is the main blocker for the other team’s outside hitter, and an outside hitter—playing on the left-side of the court—is the main attacker for a team, according to olympics.com.

In volleyball, the best-of-three or five-set scoring system is used. The first four sets go on until one of the teams scores 25 points. Every rally—a back and forth of the ball until it hits the ground—is played to score a point. To score points, a team can spike the ball onto the opposing team’s side. Teams can also be awarded points if the other team commits faults, according to olympics.com.