Passing is a common technique in sports that use ball

Ball

A ball is a round, usually spherical but sometimes ovoid, object with various uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for simpler activities, such as catch, marbles and juggling...

s and puck

Hockey puck

A puck is a disk used in various games serving the same functions as a ball does in ball games. The best-known use of pucks is in ice hockey, a major international sport.- Etymology :The origin of the word "puck" is obscure...

s. A pass consists of an intentional transfer of the ball from one player to another of the same team. Examples of sports that involve passing are association football, basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

, and American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

. Certain games only allow backward passing (for example, rugby football

Rugby football

Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

), while others allow both.

Passing in basketball has been defined as "The deliberate attempt to move a live ball between two teammates", a definition which might equally apply across other sports equally well, albeit with a change to the item being passed where appropriate.

History of passing

Many early references to football refer to balls "flying high" and being "hit here". These, however, cannot be considered to be passing as there is no indication that they were between players of the same team. Similarly, they may not have been intentional passes (as opposed to fortuitously trying to move a ball upfield to gain possession).

Passing is first described in Cornish hurling

Cornish Hurling

Cornish Hurling or Hurling the Silver Ball , is an outdoor team game of Celtic origin played only in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is played with a small silver ball...

. Modern passing was a feature of some English public school football games

English public school football games

During the early modern era students, former students and teachers at English public schools developed and wrote down the first codes of football, most notably the Eton College...

 (for example, at Rugby school

Rugby School

Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...

) and these were developed further by public school missionaries in teams such as Sheffield FC (1860s)and The Royal Engineers AFC (late 1860/early 1870s).

See also

• Passing (Association Football)
  Passing (association football)
  Passing the ball is a key part of association football. The purpose of passing is to keep possession of the ball by maneuvering it on the ground between different players and to advance it up the playing field....
  
  
• Passing (American Football)
• Catching (sports)