For most athletes, the knee is a vital joint to performance. The health and mobility of the knee’s major ligaments is an absolute prerequisite for many individual and team sports. For any sport that requires running, pivoting, pitching and long throws, you will need a strong anterior cruciate ligament.

Good nutrition is important for everyone, but athletes in particular feel firsthand how not eating properly can affect performance.

Calling it arm wrestling is a bit of a misnomer. To succeed in arm wrestling, you must get your entire upper body into the movement as you pin your opponent. Some muscles, such as those in your forearm, are more important than others, but they all work together to give your arm the power to defeat your competitor.

A foot sprain usually occurs when the foot twists, causing a tear of the ligaments in the foot. The length of your recovery time depends heavily on the type of sprain you've suffered.

If you've already run a 5K, congratulations on your progress so far. A 5K is no small feat for a novice runner and it can serve as a stepping stone to longer races. One of the next logical distances is the 10K.

As you attend a sporting event, you watch the athletes go through a number of plays, trying to score points and beat the competition. Behind the scenes, the coach is calling the shots. A sports coach is the leader and motivator to the team of players and assistant coaches.

Kids who are active in school sports are fitter, have healthier body weights and are more confident.

Timing and planning are everything when it comes to deciding when to eat prior to playing sports. Eating too much before a big game can leave you feeling tired or unmotivated. On the other hand, eating too little before playing sports can leave you feeling dizzy and weak.

Broad jumps, also known as standing long jumps, are a bounding exercise used by everyone from track and field athletes to football players trying out for the NFL. Coaches use broad jumps not only to build leg strength in their athletes but also to test leg strength and explosive power.

Competitive cheerleading is a sport still in its infancy. In the words of federal district judge Stefan Underhill, in a 2010 court decision, "The activity is still too underdeveloped and disorganized to be treated as offering genuine varsity athletic participation opportunities for students.

Cheerleading is an effective way to stay in shape and show team spirit. It requires dedication, skill, technique, strength and flexibility, according to former national all-star cheerleader Leslie Wilson in her book. “The Ultimate Guide to Cheerleading.

Race car driving is a physically demanding job. Professional racers are not only skilled drivers, they're also athletes. No matter what the sport, the highly skilled and trained person holds an advantage in competition.