How to Read a Football Field

By eHow Sports & Fitness Editor

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Football is played on a large pitch, similar to the fields you would see in soccer or rugby. It is rectangular in shape, but designed differently from those games mentioned because of the way in which the game is played. At first glance it can seem a bit cluttered and difficult to interpret, but it is easy to read a football field if you know what all of the marks mean. Read on to learn how to read a football field.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Football Field

Step1

Know the dimensions of the field. A football field, in total including the two end zones, is 120 yards. It is also 160 feet in width. A football stadium, by contrast, can be much larger. An arena football field is half that size, with 50 yards playable.

Step2

Read the numbers that are on the field to know how many yards there are to the nearest end zone. For example, there are two 40-yard lines, but each refers to the closest end zone. Most football fields today have arrows next to the numbers pointing in the direction of its respective end zone. Thus, a team trying to get to the far end zone actually has 60 yards to go.

Step3

Notice the long solid lines that cross the width of the field. Those lines indicate 5-yard increments. For example. The end zone line is solid, indicating essentially "zero," while the very next solid line indicates the fifth yard from the end zone. Also notice how the 10-yard marks are labeled on the field: 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50, then back down to 40, 30 and so on.

Step4

Pay attention to the "hash marks," the little broken lines that indicate single yards. They make up the majority of the field. There are also two hash marks per yard, one about 1/4 of the way along the line and another about 3/4 of the way along the line.

Step5

Look for two X marks on the field. The X marks are placed to indicate the 35-yard line, which is the yard line used to kick a kick-off. The X is not always present.

Tips & Warnings

Get access to a true football field. High school fields are usually a good place to begin. This will help you to learn to read the field both as a player and from the stands as a spectator.
Always wear pads if you plan on playing tackle football, and abide by the rules of the game to insure everyone's safety.
Don't use spray paint to create your own football field, particularly on public property like a park. The paint will kill the grass and damage the soil.