Although sports are often associated with college, high school or even professional teams, most can also be played for recreation. This happens with intramurals, club teams, or even playing with friends or family. Playing a recreational sport is an easy way that you can reach the Centers for Disease Control's recommended 150 minutes of exercise each week without even feeling like you're exercising. When it comes to choosing a sport, there are multiple options.
American Football
Unlike the football that is referred to as soccer in the United States, American football uses two teams of 11 player---sometimes less when played recreationally---to pass or run a ball in order to advance it up the field to score a touchdown. You can play recreational football starting as early as elementary school and continue well through high school and adult years. The game can be played either tackle style, where the players aim to tackle the person with the ball, or it can be played with flags or two-hand touch.
Soccer
While Americans call this game soccer, much of the rest of the world calls it football or futball. Like American football, the goal of the game is to progress the ball forward, but instead of holding the ball, running or throwing, soccer uses kicking, or in some cases body parts such as the knee or forehead, to pass the ball and get it into the goal net.
Ultimate Frisbee
Ultimate Frisbee can be played with either a traditional Frisbee disc, or a disc made specifically for the game. The goal is to toss the Frisbee up the field without it getting intercepted or knocked down. Players can only take a few steps between catches---typically three---before having to throw the Frisbee to the next player until the Frisbee is caught by a teammate in the goal.
Baseball
Baseball is another game that can be moved out of professional sports and played for recreation. Baseball involves two teams, one which is batting and the other plays in the field. The goal of the batting team is to hit the baseball into the field without the other team catching it. If the batter is successful, he runs through bases set up in a diamond pattern without being tagged, or in some cases, without the ball getting to the opposite team's player manning the base. The goal of the fielding team is to get "outs" by either striking out batters, catching the ball after it's hit and before it hits the ground, or by tagging bases or runners with the ball. Once three outs have been achieved, the batting team moves to the field and the field team to batting. Kids can start playing recreational baseball early---on tee-ball teams---or in its simpler form as softball.
Volleyball
Volleyball requires two teams of six, but can be played with more or less depending on the group. The goal of this game is to hit the volleyball over the net and have it strike the other side without being returned over the net. Players volley the ball back and forth over the net until the ball goes out of bounds or hits the floor of the court. Volleyball can be played with a wide range of skill levels and ages, ranging from elementary school to senior tournaments. Volleyball is broken down into two forms: indoor, which is played on an indoor court, and beach volleyball, which is played on a sand court outdoors.
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