The Role Of Angles In Football

Did you know the first widely considered known pro football player never played in the NFL? William “Pudge” Heffelfinger was paid $500 (13.3 thousand dollars in today’s money) by the Allegheny Athletic Association to play for them against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club in 1892. Before athletic clubs were without paid players, so Heffelfinger was football’s first pro player. Football would change greatly from its first game in 1869 while playing under soccer rules in college to having the Super Bowl being the most watched event on national television. From then on football would become the most popular sport in America and known around the world. But did you know that while you are watching the game math has a lot to do with it. The time in a

An angle is formed when two lines meet or intersect at a certain point. Angles play an important role in football, it can be from how a pass or kick is made to the way players move and how plays are called. One example is when a kicker must kick the ball to score. The path the football will take once it is kicked depends on the angle it is kicked, the force applied, and the height of the kick. If you are close to the goalpost a bigger angle is necessary to score. However, if you are far from the post a shorter angle is necessary so the ball can travel a larger distance. When the other team tries to block the kick, a higher angled kick is needed. A quarterback must know the exact angle in which to make a good pass to the receiver. The angle is determined by the angle of the extension of the quarterback’s arm to the rest of his body. Understanding angles is important for players on both sides. Offense tries to create angles while the defense tries to cut down the angles. (Geometry in the game). Geometry is a study that deals with shapes, sizes, angles, positions, and properties of space. For example, shapes like circles and squares are geometric. Without realizing it, football players use geometric dimensions of the field. The rectangular football field is divided into smaller rectangles by the goal line at both end of the field. The diameter of the goalposts is 18 feet and 6 inches wide, the circumference of the football is 22 inches, and the width of the field is 53 yards. (Geometry in the