Physical Education

• Basketball


  A sport invented at Springfield College by Dr. James Naismith in 1891, where a peach basket was originally used as the hoop. The International Basketball Federation was founded in 1932 and the NBA was formed in 1946. The WNBA was formed in 1917 for women's professional basketball.
• Rules of the Game


  • Number of players
  • Positions
  • Scoring
  • Violations
  • Fouls
• Number of players


  Teams can have 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 players on the court, with 5 players on the bench for substitutions. In competition, teams have 5 players on the court and 5 on the bench.
• Positions


  The tallest player is the "center" (position 5), medium size players are "forwards" (positions 3 and 4), and the shortest players are "guards" (positions 1 and 2).
• Scoring


  • 2 point field goal - shot made from inside the 3 point arc
  • 3 point field goal - shot made from outside the 3 point arc
  • Free throw - 1 point awarded for an unguarded shot from the free throw line
• Violations


  • Traveling - moving illegally with the ball
  • Three seconds - offensive player in the key for more than 3 seconds
  • Double dribble - dribbling with both hands or stopping and starting again
  • Free throw violation - stepping over the line before the ball hits the rim
  • Backcourt violation - going back over the centerline after the ball has been in the opponents' court
• Fouls


  • Blocking - impeding an opponent's progress
  • Charging - running into a stationary player
  • Hacking - hitting the arm or hand of the player with the ball
  • Holding - holding a player with or without the ball
  • Disqualifications - 5 personal fouls or a single disqualifying foul
• Basketball Terms


  • Air ball - shot that misses the rim and backboard
  • Jump ball - used to start the game
  • Assist - pass to a teammate who scores
  • Defense - team trying to stop the other team from scoring
  • Dunk - throwing the ball down into the basket
  • Fast break - dribbling or passing quickly towards your basket
  • Man-to-man - each player guards an assigned opponent
  • Offense - team trying to score
  • Turnover - loss of the ball without a shot
  • Zone defense - players guard an area instead of a player
• Basketball Skills


  • Boxing out - positioning between an opponent and the basket for rebounding
  • Dribbling - bouncing the ball with one hand using fingertips
  • Passing - moving the ball by throwing, bouncing, handing or rolling to another player
  • Shooting - throwing the ball to make a basket
  • Pivoting - stepping once or more in any direction with one foot
• The basketball court