Team sport is an activity where people from all backgrounds and ages join together for a game or competition. In addition to providing social interaction, team sports can also offer a high level of physical activity for all participants.
Common types of team sports include football, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, and rowing. All of these sports require physical strength, coordination, and teamwork from all players.
The top team sports in the United States are American football, baseball, ice hockey, and soccer. These sports are wildly popular with fans, widely watched on television, have professional leagues, enjoy varsity status at many Division I colleges, and are played in high schools around the country.
Major League Soccer (MLS), the premier soccer league in the United States, has 29 clubs. Each team plays a 34-game schedule from mid-March to late October, with a playoff tournament in November.
College sports are governed by a separate body from their professional counterparts, though the NCAA has a promotion and relegation system to ensure competitive balance. For upper-tier colleges, sports are a significant source of revenue; for smaller schools, they can be a major expense.
Cheerleading is a noncontact sport that involves a team of five to 35 athletes who perform stunts and tricks in order to enliven the crowd at sporting events. This requires flexibility, endurance, stability, strength (to catch and hold teammates), and concentration in order to maintain the flow of the cheers.
Team sports can be an effective way to promote physical activity and help students develop a lifelong love of sports. To leave team sports out of the high school curriculum would neglect the needs and interests of a wide range of students.