Writing Hints and Sports Lingo

Note to our customers: This section is intended to be used for writing captions and titles when our collage posters are introduced in the second version of fotoflex. Since we have already developed it in anticipation of phase II, rather than hide it from the public we thought we would include it in case any of you are looking for some tips on writing sports captions. Enjoy!

Writing Titles, Comments, and Captions

The simplest rule when it comes to writing is: let the picture tell the story. Often, the best comment will be the simplest. However, there are also instances where it will be important to describe what came before or immediately after certain pictures were taken, to “put the picture in context.” Here are a few tips and questions to ask yourself when writing comments for your posters:

- Does the picture need explaining? Are there other players, not in the picture, that were integral to the play captured? If so, go ahead and describe the action. Here are some examples: “Jessica (in the picture), after taking the pass from Claire (not in the picture), drains the jumper.” Or: “Marc, on the breakaway, shoots to tie the score against (name opponent.)”

- Does your team have nicknames for each other? If so, consider using them. The more personalization, the better.

- Does your team have their own special words to describe certain actions? Almost all teams have their own jargon that they use. Again, the more personalization and uniqueness, the better. If your team calls a curve ball an “Uncle Chuck”, then use it. Chances are, not too many other teams use that particular vernacular.

- Who is your intended audience? The kids or the parents? That may help you decide the most fitting caption.

- Do you have any popular, local sportscasters? Many of them have their own lingo, and it might work to incorporate some of their sayings into your captions.

- Consider comparing famous sport stars to the young athletes in your pictures. They will love that!

And when all else fails... keep it simple!

Baseball

- Hitting:

Alley – the areas in left or right center field where a good hitter can place the ball. “Jessica rips one down the alley.”

Batting Leadoff – The first batter in the rotation; the first batter up to start the game.

Belted – a well-hit ball. See tattooed. “That ball is belted.”

Blooper – A soft fly ball that lands as a hit behind the infield, but in front of the outfield. Also known as a “Texas Leaguer” or a “dying quail”. “Mark lines a soft blooper to score Kyle.”

Bunt- a player “squares up” to bunt, and “lays down”, “drops”, or “places” a bunt. “Haley squares up and places a perfect bunt down the line.”

Clean-up Batter – Generally the fourth batter in the rotation, usually selected because of their skill at batting. “With Mark and Aaron on base, Joey bats clean-up.” See “slugger”.

Cut – a strong swing at the ball.

Dinger – A home run. “Terry pops a dinger.” Home runs can also be referred to as a “long ball”, “tater”, “moon shot”, “four-bagger”, “yard shot” or “rocket”, or with phrases like “bye-bye baseball”, “see ya later”, “goes yard”, “out of the park”, “launched”, “gets all of that pitch”, “going, going, gone”, or “that ball is outa here”. A caption could read, under a picture of a hitter making contact with a ball that ends up a home run: “Anthony ties the score. That ball is outa here.” Or try this one: “Brian gets all of this pitch: going… going… gone.” Or: “Brian goes yard.”

Glove (v.): To catch the ball in the glove, usually referred to on a grounder. “Jane gloves it and tosses to Mary covering first.”

Good jump - A base runner gets a “good jump” when they anticipate the pitch and begin running (often when stealing a base) before the ball is released by the pitcher. “Ronnie gets a good jump and easily steals second.”

Grand Slam – A home run when the bases are loaded.

Home run – see “Dinger”.

Hopper – A ground ball that bounces hard (more than rolling on the ground). Has been known as a “worm burner” or “duster”.

Laser shot – A ball hit so hard it looks like it is going straight, often right above the outstretched glove of the fielder. (As opposed to a hard hit fly that goes up in the air.) “Susan rips a laser shot over the glove of the third baseman.”

Manager – the head coach. Also known as the “skipper”.

Ripped up the middle – Same idea as a laser shot, although generally flying near second base.

Slugger – A power hitter.

Sweet spot – The six inches of the bat where the batter gets the most energy transferred to the ball. “Nick finds the sweet spot and laces one up the middle.”

Swing for the fences – You can use this both on a hit and on a strike. To swing for the fences just means the batter is giving it all they’ve got. A great way to tell if a batter has swung for the fences is if they lose their balance significantly after a strike. Makes coaches cringe.

Tags up – A runner “tags up” on base before advancing on a fly ball.

Tattooed – A word to describe a well-hit ball. Also fitting this definition are “laced”, “whacked”, “crushed”, “smoked”, “juiced” and about a hundred other words. Make one up – everyone will know what you mean.

Walk – Four balls in an at-bat. Also called a “free pass” or to “issue a pass”.

Walk-off homer - Relatively rare, it is a home run that ends the game. The “walk-off” part is the other team having to leave the field from their positions in the outfield.

- Pitching:

Change-up – a pitch that is slower than a regular pitch, often making the batter swing before the ball gets there. Also known as an “off-speed pitch”, “slip pitch”, or a “palm ball”.

Check the runner – To monitor the movements of the base runners by the pitcher. “Pete checks the runner on first.”

Curve ball – A pitch that, when thrown correctly, moves a specific way in mid-air. Otherwise known as a “breaker”, “hook”, “bender”, or “snake”.

Fastball down the middle – exactly how it sounds, a fastball right over the plate and in the strike zone. You can also call it a “heater”, “smoker”, “pumper” or “steamer”. Or: “Michael throws smoke.”

High and tight – A pitch, also can be a “brush back”, here the ball comes in very close to the batter’s head and chest area. An aggressive pitch, it sort of depends on who you are rooting for whether you like it or not.

High Heat, High Cheese – A fastball in the upper area of the strike zone. This one can be used for both hitting and pitching. For a hitter, the caption might read “Mike sends the high cheese over the fence.” (A home run) For a pitcher, just simply “Jane throws some high heat.”

Hill – the pitcher’s mound.

In control - A pitcher who is comfortable and in the game. “Mark is in control as he closes the game.”

Paints the (inside/outside) corner – A superior pitch, one that just covers an edge of the plate for a strike. “Mary paints the inside corner for strike three.”

Picked off – A pitcher “picks off” a runner when he throws the ball to a base from which the runner has taken a lead, and the fielder tags the runner for an out. “Jose picks off the runner to end the inning.”

Stretch – The beginning of the wind-up. The pitcher will begin the wind-up by moving their arms above their head, thus the “stretch”. “Carl in the stretch.”

Throws K’s – to throw strikes. “Laura throws K’s all game long.”

Throw smoke – to throw fastballs. A fastball pitcher.

Up in the zone – the strike zone.

Wind-up – The beginning of the pitch; movements of the pitcher on the mound prior to releasing the pitch. “Anthony in the wind up.”

Fielding:

Backhand - When the fielder reaches across their body to field the ball. “Rob with the backhand stop.”

Block the plate – When the catcher uses their foot (and body) to prevent the runner from easily accessing home plate when they are trying to score. “Emily blocks home plate like a pro for the out.”

Hot corner – third base. Known as the hot corner because grounders down the third base line, coming off of right handed batters, are later in the swing and have that much more “juice”. “Carrie fields the hot corner.”

In the hole – A grounder that makes it between fielders and is a hit.

Over the shoulder catch – Catching the ball on the run, usually with the back turned toward the batter (usually refers to an outfielder.) Made famous by Willie Mays in the 1954 World Series, also referred to as a “basket catch.”

Shag – to chase balls or practice fielding. A common practice field site is the coach hitting “fungoes” (one-man batting - throwing the ball gently up and then hitting it into the field) with the players “shagging” the hits. Also known as “pepper”. “The Skipper hits fungoes with the infield.”

Shoestring catch – Catching the ball at or near the ground in front of the fielder, usually without diving. If they dive, just call it a diving catch.

Short hop – To field the ball low to the ground. “John gloves it on the short hop.”

Tag out – Touching the runner with the glove (with the ball in it) or the ball for the out. “Christie tags the runner for the out.”

Basketball

All ball – On a blocked shot, if the blocker does not touch the shooter at all. “Michael gets all ball.”

Ally-oop – If your youth team is doing this, they’re good. An ally-oop is a pass to a player under the basket who takes the pass in mid air and lays it in (or dunks it).

Assist – Here are some good terms to describe an assist: “dish”, “dish-out”, “find”, “award”, “gift”. “Peter dishes to Stu for the lay-up.”

Back down – When a player moves the defender toward the basket while dribbling. “Brent backs the defender down.”

Bank Shot – A shot that goes in after hitting the backboard first. Other terms include “banker”, “kiss off the glass”, “high off the board”, and if not intentional, “goes in ugly”. “Mary kisses it off glass for two.”

Between the wickets – Dribbling between the legs.

Blocked shot – Here are some words/phrases to describe a blocked shot: “rejected”, “stuffed”, “swatted”, “batted”, “rebuked”, “denied”, “jettisoned”, “negated”, “launched”, “get it outa here”, “not in here”, “uh-uh”. “Susan rebukes the shooter.” Or just “Rejected!!!” Or “Susan says ‘not in here…’”

Bottom of the net – a shot that goes in without touching the rim. Otherwise known as a “swish”, “nothing but net”, “nothing but cord (or nylon)”, “rip the net”. “Carrie finds the bottom of the net on a beautiful floater.”

Bounce pass – to pass the ball by bouncing it on the floor first.

Box out – Sealing the opponent away from the basket with your body to position yourself for a rebound. “Teresa boxes out for the rebound.”

Brick – A bad shot. Also use “clang”, “junk”, “bomb”, “boink” or “look out below”. “Katie forces the opponent to throw up a brick.” Or: “Katie with the tough defense – look out below!”

Buzzer beater – A last second shot that goes in.

Cager – A basketball player. Years ago the game was played in a fenced in cage and was nasty. But it also alludes to the fences around outdoor courts. Either way the name stuck, and any player can be called a “cager”.

Came to play – A team that is sharp and intense on the floor. “The kids came to play against (opponent name).”

Charity stripe – The free throw line. “Claire eyes the basket from the stripe.”

Circus shot – A shot that is preceded by an acrobatic, not necessarily controlled move to the basket that commences in the ball going in. “Monica tosses up the circus shot for two.”

Clear out – See box out. Same idea, to “clear” the opposition away from the basket for the rebound.

Crossover dribble – Generally on a move to the basket, a sharp change in direction by the shooter accompanied by a rapid shift in dribbling hands (right to left or left to right). “Nate freezes the defender on a terrific crossover.”

Dagger – A shot that may change the momentum of a game, or is done under such precision that it might affect the psyche of the opponent. “Shawna unleashes a dagger.” Another use of basketball jargon under the same premise would be “puts a nail in the coffin”. “Shawna unloads a three and puts another nail in the coffin of (opponent name).”

Dish out – see assist.

Double-pump – When a player in mid-air and on a drive to the basket, pumps the ball up, then down, then back up for the shot - usually avoiding a blocker in the process.

Downtown – A long-range shot. “Ashley from downtown gets nothing but cord.”

Drives the paint – The paint is another word for the key (see key). When a player goes from outside the key to inside in an effort to lay the ball in, they are “driving the paint.” Also known as “driving the lane.” “Mike drives the paint for two.”

Finger roll – A soft shot that comes off of the fingertips.

Floater – A soft, arcing shot usually done on the run. “Cassie sends in a beautiful running floater.”

Freeze the defender – Usually through a good move to the basket, the shooter can put the defender off balance or in poor position to defend. “Alice freezes the defender with a strong move to the hoop.”

Hacked – fouled. Other words for being fouled include “whacked”, “hammered”, “chopped”, “hard foul”, “contact”. “Lisa draws contact on her way to a three-point play.”

Hook shot – A one-handed shot arced over the head of the shooter.

Hoop – the basket. Also referred to as the “rim”, “rack”, “hole”, “ or “home”. “John drives hard to the rack and sends one home for two.”

Iron – the rim. “Jake’s shot draws iron.”

Jump shot – most shots. When the shooter is facing the basket, simultaneously jumping and shooting over the defender. Also called a “jumper” or “hopper”. “Stacy with the jumper from downtown.”

Key – The area directly in front of the basket extending from the baseline and often delineated from the rest of the floor by being painted a different color. See “drive the paint.”

Kiss off the backboard – to bank the ball off of the backboard for the score.

No-look – a pass or assist where the passer does not look at the recipient while throwing the ball. “Josh with the no-look to Kyle.”

One on one – To go man on man. “Taylor takes it one on one to the hoop.”

Outside shot – a shot taken from fifteen feet or beyond the basket.

Pick – a screen. “Mike’s solid pick sets Kevin up for the lay-in.”

Point guard – The position on the team that sets up offensive plays. Also known as “playing point.” “Jacob at point directs traffic.”

Post up – To position yourself in an area below the basket. There are variations on this, including the “high post” and “low post”. For captions, it is best to use it when a player has the ball near the basket, as in “Ray posts up and drains it.” Or on a pass to an inside player “Brian finds Ray on the post for two.”

Rack – see hoop.

Rock – the ball. Also called the “leather”. “Seth dishes the rock to Jordan.”

Reverse lay-in – A lay-up where the shooter goes under the basket first, then “reverses” the ball into the basket. “Jessica, on the reverse, lays it up for two.”

School – To teach another player a lesson. “Mark schools the defender on the cross-over.”

Screen – A play where one player stands in the way of another player’s defender, acting as a wall. The player with the ball goes around the teammate acting as the wall, thus “screening” the defender and allowing for an open shot. See “pick”.

Shooter – The person taking the shot. When a shooter is making a lot of shots, he/she is “in the zone”, “has the touch”, “unconscious”, “money”, “hot” (or has the hot hand), “a pure shooter”, “tearing it up”, “automatic”, or “feeling it”. “Sean is in the zone.” Or “Sean is money from outside.” Or “Against the (fill in opposing team), Sean is unconscious from outside.” Or, simply, “Sean has the touch.”

Shooter’s bounce – If the ball bounces around the rim before going in, and the player who made the shot is a consistently good shooter, it can be called the “shooter’s bounce.” Also includes “shooter’s touch”, “gets the roll” or “gets the bounce”. “Claire gets the shooter’s bounce on the running right-hander.”

Spot up/down – When a shooter moves to a spot on the floor to receive a pass and shoot the ball. “Molly spots up for the three-ball.”

Takes the charge – When a defensive player stands their ground, letting the offensive player knock them over for the foul. Particularly dramatic if caught on film because it makes for a significant collision. “Sammy takes the charge.”

Tall timber – Usually alludes to the area right below the basket where the tallest players position themselves. But looks great as a photo when a guard or smaller player penetrates through to score. “Malcom takes it through the tall timber and scores on the reverse.”

Three-ball corner pocket – A shot from beyond the three-point line when the shooter is in the corner of the court. “Kyle goes three-ball, corner pocket.” Other terms for three point shots: “three ball”, “triple down”, “trey”, “beyond the arc”, “buries the three”.

Three-point play – Not to be confused with a three-point shot. A three-point play is where a player scores a regular basket and is fouled along the way, thus allowing for a free throw as well.

Top of the key – the area on the court just above the half circle that joins with the free throw line at the head of the key. “Jared scores with the long jumper from the top of the key.”

Trap – When two or more players guard the player with the ball. “Max and Jacob team up on the trap.”

Zone defense – A defensive scheme where players are assigned areas on the court versus specific men. Good passing teams can “break” a zone. “Brooke breaks the zone with a terrific pass inside to Abby.”

Football

Audible – When the quarterback changes the play on the line of scrimmage (after the huddle). “Chad audibles the play.”

Beats his man - When a receiver achieves enough separation from his defender to catch the ball.

Big paw/mitt – Usually used to describe a blocked pass by a lineman. “Jason gets his big mitt up for the block.”

Big uglies – An endearing term to describe the linemen on a team. You probably won’t want to use this when describing a youth team (!), but it’s a great slice of football jargon. “The big uglies dominate the line.”

Blindside – To tackle from behind or to the side, where the player getting tackled does not see it coming. See corner blitz.

Blitz – When a defensive player other than the linemen rush the quarterback. “Linebackers Jeff and Daniel come on the blitz.”

Bump and run – When a member of the defensive squad “bumps” a receiver as the receiver releases from the line of scrimmage. It’s a good way to throw off a receiver’s intended route.

Corner Blitz – See blitz. This is when a cornerback, or defensive back, comes on the blitz. “Lamar blindsides the quarterback on the corner blitz.”

End around – see sweep.

Fade – A pass thrown to the far sideline for the receiver to run under. “Jake throws the fade.”

Fingertip catch – Is what it sounds like.

Flag route – A receiver’s route that takes him deep and to the corner of the end zone. Called a “flag” because in the years before the end zone had foam cones to mark the edges, it had red flags. “David runs the flag.”

Flea Flicker – Used mostly as a global term to describe a trick play. Any play that has more than one reverse, or a couple of laterals, or a handoff and then a lateral back to the quarterback, and that usually ends in a pass – any of those combinations you can call a “flea flicker”. Football purists might disagree, but that’s ok. Just go with it: trick play = flea flicker. “Marc tosses back to Sam on the flea flicker.”

Fumble – When an offensive player drops the ball after having control of it. Other words for a fumble: “cough it up”, “muff” (muff is specific to a dropped punt), “ball is out”, “ball is loose”, “loose ball”, “free ball”. “Kyle scoops up the loose ball.” Or: “The quarterback coughs it up on a monstrous hit by Kyle.”

Go for two – As opposed to the one point extra point, a team can elect to “go for two”, which is one play from the three yard line. If they make it, they get two points. If they don’t, they get nothing. “The two point conversion is good!”

Hail Mary – usually the last play of the half or game, a Hail Mary is a pass that is thrown to the end zone where pretty much every receiver on the team awaits. “Marcus throws the Hail Mary that wins the game against (fill in the blank).” By the way, we want to see a picture of this if you get one.

High step – Can be both good and bad. Bad when it is done showing off (see showboat). Good when it is done to break through the line. “Tyler high steps it through the pack.” Note – the knees should be pumping up and down for this to be true or the runner should be leaping.

Jump ball – When a pass is thrown up so both the receiver and defender have an equal chance at it. “Liam goes up for the jump ball against his man.”

Line of scrimmage – The imaginary line running across the field from where the ball is snapped. “The boys set at the line of scrimmage.”

Long bomb – A long pass.

Option – Executed by the quarterback and halfback, the quarterback has the “option” to either run it himself or pitch the ball back to the halfback. “Lucas laterals back to Mateo on the option.”

Pick-off – When a defender intercepts a pass. “James picks it off and hurries down the sideline.”

Pitch or lateral – A toss of the ball backwards. Can be done anytime (as long as it goes backward), but usually seen on sweeps (see student body right) or options.

Pocket – The U-shaped area, surrounded by linemen blocking, in which the quarterback stands to throw a pass. “Kyle stands up tall in the pocket.”

Post route – A longer pass route down the middle of the field. Called a “post” because the receiver runs for the goal post (as opposed to a “flag” route.) “Lorenzo, on the post route, catches it on the fly.”

Pound it inside – Run it up the middle.

Purple People Eaters – The nickname of the defensive linemen of the Minnesota Vikings in the late 60’s early 70’s. If your team has purple jerseys, consider using it. Most football fans will know what you mean.

QB – initials describing the quarterback. LB (linebacker), and DB (defensive back) can also be used in a sentence (other positions have similar abbreviations but don’t work so well in a sentence.) “Nolan stiff-arms the DB on his way into the end zone.”

Razzle Dazzle – See Flea Flicker. Basically any trick play. “Nathan and Rob confuse the defense with the razzle dazzle.”

Read the defense – Good quarterbacks “read”, or make adjustments to, the defense. “Theo looks up from center and reads the defense.” (Here Theo is the quarterback, and “looks up from center,” means he is ready to take the snap from the center.)

Red Dog – Usually a linebacker blitz. “Brian and Cal come on the red dog.”

Rollout – When a quarterback moves laterally away from the pocket. “Mike rolls out to his right to find Jake running the flag.”

Rush – The defensive line surge toward the quarterback. “Mike beats the rush with the pass to Brian running the post.”

Safety Blitz – See corner blitz, although this time it’s the safeties, or the deepest defensive backs on the field. Also can be called a “delayed” blitz.

Showboat – Showing off or drawing attention outside of the game. See “high step”, bad version.

Smash mouth – Describes hard-nosed, tough, helmet to helmet football, usually by the offense. Under a picture of the whole offensive team on a running play: “The boys play a little smash mouth.”

Stiff-arm – The act of a runner sticking their arm out straight to push a would-be tackler out of the way. “Carson rounds the corner with a stiff arm to the tackler.” (“Rounds the corner” here refers to a running back turning up field after running laterally or sideways.)

Student-body right – Refers to a sweep or lateral play to the halfback, whereby pretty much the entire offensive team goes the same way – in this case, to the right. A student body left goes – you got it - left. This makes a good caption: if a runner has more than three blockers out in front of him and it’s caught in the photo, just call it “Student body (right or left”, depending on the side) and leave it at that.

Stuck, or stick - “Kevin sticks the receiver” just means that Kevin put a good, hard tackle on the guy. “Kevin gets stuck” – not quite as good if Kevin is on your team (it means he got hit with a good, hard tackle.)

Sweep – Halfback takes a pitch from the quarterback and goes around the end of the line of scrimmage. Also known as an “end around”. “Brian sweeps right.”

Tackle – here are some other words used to describe a good, solid tackle: “stick” (stuck), “popped”, “smoked”, “doubled” or “high/lowed” (if two players are in at the same time), “cracked”, “buried”. “Mark sticks the QB on the blitz.”

Thread the needle – A perfectly thrown pass that goes between defenders for a completion. “Brett threads the needle perfectly.”

Three yards and a cloud of dust – An old adage that describes a team bent on running the ball. But hey, if you have a picture of a pile of kids and dust is in the air, there’s nothing better than the simple caption: “Three yards and a cloud of dust.”

Tip drill – An actual defensive back drill on the practice field, the term also can be used during a game if the ball is batted around. “Stephen finally comes up with the ball on a tip drill.”

Turn it over – See fumble.

Uprights – The two vertical posts of the goal post. “Carson dings it off the upright to tie the score.” Or: “Carson puts it through the uprights.” (Carson is the kicker here on a field goal or extra point.)

West coast offense – Describes a wide open, passing offense. Pretty much the opposite of “three yards and a cloud of dust.” But can be used to describe a pass play, even if your team doesn’t pass much. “Trevor tries his hand at the West Coast offense” would be a good, entertaining caption for an 8-9 year old boys team that does not pass the ball much, but where the young quarterback is trying to throw the ball.

X’s and O’s – Used to describe play diagrams written by the coach. If the team is huddled around the coach, you could say “Coach Wilson goes over the X’s and O’s before the game.”

Zebra – An official (so named because of the striped shirts). We prefer calling them “officials”, but you can make it work in a caption if you want.

Hockey

Assist – a pass that leads to a goal. A perfect pass is sometimes called a “tape to tape”, referring to the tape on the end of the player’s sticks. A “drop pass” is a particularly effective pass when executed correctly; the passer just leaves the puck for another (a misdirection play). “Centering” the puck is the act of getting it into the middle of the ice (sometimes called the “slot”) or right in front of the crease for a shot. “Aaron centers the puck” Or: “Aaron goes tape to tape with Jason in the slot.”

Attack – the team moving the puck aggressively toward the opponent’s goal is attacking.

Blue line – the midlines that separate the ice into sections. Use them to describe the action. “Jake and Christopher cross the blue line on the attack.”

Check – any physical blocking action against another player. “Blocked into the boards”, “stuck”, “stick and pin”, “crushed”, “train wreck”, “bang around” – all are terms that can describe this action. Adjectives in front of these verbs make them that much more descriptive. “Hard”, “Vicious”, “Crunching”, “Bone-jarring” all come to mind. Fyi, Checking from behind, or “clipping”, is a very serious penalty. “Michael with the hard check into the boards.” Or: “Michael in a train wreck in front of the goal.”

Deke – to fake out a defenseman. “Ethan dekes his man and looks to Peter in the slot.”

Face-off – After play has been stopped, the restart of the game where the referee drops the puck between two opposing players.

Glass - The glass above the half wall, or “boards”, that encircle the rink.

Goal – You know what it is. Other words include: “lighter”, “lamplighter”, or “redlighter”. Phrases include: “slips one past the goalie”, “he shoots he scooooores”, “finds the corner pocket”, “goes top shelf”, “finds the five-hole” (the five hole is the area between the goalie’s leg pads), “bulges the twine”, or “off the pipe” (when the puck deflects off one of the posts). “Tyler takes the puck from Alex and puts it top shelf.” Or: “Mike shoots…. and scores!” Or: “Tyler looks five-hole.” If the red goal light is on and evident behind the net in your picture, use something like “Brian, Alex, and Cameron celebrate after Brian’s lamplighter.”

Goalie – Plays in front of the net, in the “crease” (blue painted area), “between the pipes”, or in front of the “cage” or “posts”. Makes saves (glove save, stick save, body save, leg save – all self defining). A “butterfly save” is where the keeper falls to his knees while splaying his legs out. The goalie is also called the “keeper” or “netminder”. “Ryan makes the stick save on the tough shot from the wing.” Or: “Ryan show his form with the butterfly.”

Hat trick - Three goals by the same player in one game.

Neutral zone – the area between the blue lines.

Penalty box – The area where a player goes to do time on a penalty. Also called the “sin bin” or just the “bin”. Players “chill-out” there. “Jason chills out in the sin-bin.”

Player – Some words that describe players: a prolific scorer: “finisher” or “sniper”; a tough, relentless player: “grinder”; a physical intimidator: “goon” or “enforcer”; a defenseman: “backliner” or “rearguard”.

Power play – When one team has a man advantage over another due to a player sitting out for penalty time. “Steve sets up the power play from up top.”

Puck – other words used to describe the puck: “wafer”, “disc”, “saucer”, or “biscuit”. “Cory sticks the biscuit in the back of the net.”

Rebound – when the puck is deflected back into play off the goalie. Sometimes referred to as “garbage” or “junk”.

Rink – where the game is played. Synonyms include: “ice”, “barn”, “building” or “pond”.

Screening – A tactic used by the attacking team to block the goalie’s view of play. Also referred as “traffic”, “skate the net”, or “crash the net”. “Anthony screens while Joseph lines up the shot.” Or: “Joseph lines up the shot in traffic.”

Shot – any shot at the goal. The most easily identified is the “slap shot”, a shot taken with a full back swing of the stick. “Wrist shots” are quicker shots often seen in front of the net, and “snap shots” are sort of a combination of both. “Marc sends the wrist shot through the five hole.”

Stick – also known as the “lumber” or “twig”, the base sometimes referred to as the “paddle” or “tape”.

Tip – A deflection. “Stephen tips the pass toward the crease.”

Uniform – the jersey is sometimes referred to as a “sweater” (from the old days) and the pants are sometimes called “breezers”.

Wrap around – To move the puck behind the net and sneak in the opposite side for an attempt at goal. “Andrew sneaks in on the wrap-around.”

Zamboni – The truck like machine that comes out during breaks to smooth the ice. “Joshua looks like the Zamboni as he skids head first.”

Soccer

Attacker – any player who has possession of the ball. To attack is to aggressively move the ball toward the goal as a team. “Jennifer, Mary and Carrie on the attack.”

Bicycle/Scissors kick – If you get a picture of one of these, we want to see it. It is a spectacular shot toward the goal done in midair by scissoring the legs. Made famous by Pele, the classic scissors shot is done backwards over the head toward the goal.

Breakaway – When a team, often a solo player, has the ball and is undefended to the goal. “Craig on a breakaway chips it over the goalie.”

Chip (pass, shot) – To gently loft the ball over the defender or goalie. “Mark sends a chipper to Jeff.”

Clearing – When the defending team is able to move the ball out of their goal area. “Sarah heads the ball clear.”

Corner – Means a lot of things (see corner kick as well). Best used to describe a goal, as in “top corner” or “bottom corner” of the goal.

Corner Kick – A free kick from the corner, often setting up an attack. “Marie heads in the corner kick for the score.”

Cross – A pass that goes across the field width-wise. “Susan, with the low cross, sets up Angela on the attack.”

Dribble – You will get lots of shots of dribbling, but a lot of these shots show great intensity. Dribbling is simply moving the ball downfield with your feet. “Nate sprints downfield on the dribble”, “Martha dribbles it by the defender”, “Ollie fights off the defender on the dribble” etc.

Goooooallllll! – Trademark call made famous by Andres Cantor, it is a remark of exuberance when a team scores. For instance, under a photo of a goal being scored: “GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!”

Golden goal – A goal scored in sudden-death overtime.

Hat Trick – Three goals by the same player in one game.

Header – Using the head to strike the ball.

Hook the ball, Curl it, Bend the ball, Banana kick - All ways of describing a ball that is intentionally kicked to curve in mid-air. “Sam curls it around the wall.”

Inside the 18 – The eighteen yard “box” from the baseline that describes the penalty area (where if a penalty occurs, the team is awarded a penalty kick.) Announcers also use it to describe where shots take place on the field, so hence we use it here: “Mark bends the ball from just inside the 18.” (Or just inside the penalty box.)

Juggle – To keep the ball in play by using all of your body.

Keeper – the goalie. “Jesse heads it over the keeper’s outstretched arms.”

Mark – To cover or defend the attacker, to guard like in basketball. “Matt marks his opponent.” Or, conversely, “Matt beats his marker to score.”

Pitch – The field. “Luke finds the mud on the pitch.”

Post – The upright of the goal. Can be used in lots of ways, but usually when describing a shot. “Mike heads in the rebound off the post.”

Punch – To knock the ball out of play by the Goalie using his fist. “Nick fists the ball clear.”

Rebound – To assume control of the ball after it bounces off either the goal or another player.

Rise on the ball – To jump for a header. “Sarah and her defender rise for the ball.”

Save – Any time the goalie catches or misdirects a shot keeping it from going in the goal. "Chrissie with a spectacular save punches the ball free.”

Shootout – After all other alternatives are exhausted, the final determination of a tie game.

Strip the ball – To steal it from an attacker. “Jennifer strips it and heads the other way.”

Strike the woodwork – A rebound that comes off of a part of the goal itself.

Sweeper – the defender who plays furthest back (toward the goal) at all times. A defensive specialist. “Greg shows his strength at sweeper.”

Tackle – A sliding effort at stealing the ball. A work of art when done correctly, it can also lead to serious penalties. “Jennifer, in for the tackle, strips the ball clean.” Or… “Jennifer, tackled from behind, sets up the winning penalty kick.”

Wall – On a free kick, the defenders who line up in front of the kick to prevent a direct shot at the goal. “Max bends it around the wall.”

Wall Pass – getting complicated here, but if you get a photo of an offensive player outside the wall with the ball, chances are there was a wall pass involved. And if they do, there is often a decent shot at the goal. “Katie fires the shot after the wall pass.”

Wing – Offensive players located closer to the outside boundaries. “Jason, on the wing, fires a beautiful cross.”

Volleyball

Ace – A serve that scores a point, going untouched by the opposing team. “Amy lands the ace with a mean floater.”

Back set – An overhead set by the setter that goes to a player behind them.

Bump – A wrist/forearm hit, usually as a pass to the setter, but can also be used anytime.

Cross-court – A spike from a corner hitter that goes across the court versus down the line.

Cut – Sharp cross-court or angle hit. “Hannah cuts it past the block.”

Decoy (or fake) – A hitter who goes up for the hit but the set goes to a teammate. “Julia decoys while Big T pounds it.”

Dig – The action of bumping or passing the ball from an aggressive hit by the opposition. “Michelle digs it up.”

Dink – a soft hit at the net, sometimes over the outstretched arms of the blockers. “Tara dinks it over the defenders.”

Floater/Knuckler – A serve characterized by movement in the air, often a softer serve but, when mastered, the most difficult serve to return. “Molly masters the floater.”

Free Hit – Usually the third hit by a team that sends an easily returned ball to the opposition. “Sophia passes the free ball to Kate for the set.”

Goes middle – When a hitter hits down the middle.

Goes angle – When a hitter cuts or goes angle. “Madison goes angle.” A short and sweet caption.

Goes line – When an outside hitter hits the ball down the line.

Good eye – A reference to a teammate who calls a ball out and it goes out. Under a picture of a player watching a ball just go out: “Nancy with the good eye.”

Good up – A better than average dig. “Allison with a great up.”

Hammer – One of many words to describe a spike. Other words include “heater”, “crush”, “pound”, “drill”, “spank”, “destroy”, “whack”, “crater”, “boom” or “pop”. “Cassie hammers it.” Or: “Cassie lowers the boom.” Or: “Cassie drills it.” Or: “Cassie makes a crater.” You get the picture.

Junk – A miss-hit or otherwise misdirected ball that is hard to get up. “Emma cleans up the junk with a diving save.”

Kill – The actual technical term used to describe a front line hit that scores a point – and kept as a stat. “Rachel with one of her 15 kills for the night.”

Libero – A designated backcourt defender. “Libero Ashley with one of her 25 digs.”

Liner – A hit down the line.

Middle hitter – Well…what can we say? They like to hit. “Morgan at middle hitter pounding it.”

Off the blocker – A tip or misdirected shot that is alive as it travels off the blocker. “Sarah gets the good up off the block.” See junk, also up.

One set – a quick set (usually to the middle hitter), no higher than two feet above the net, where the setter and hitter must be in perfect synchronization. If your team is doing these consistently for kills then they are good. “Carrie nails the one-set.” That’s all you have to say - and in it you have said a lot about your team.

Paint the line – Another way of calling a liner. “Trish paints the line.”

Pancake – A defensive play where the player dives to the floor, placing their hand on the floor and having the ball bounce off their hand instead of the floor. Most often seen defending a dink, it is a relatively advanced move. “Carly keeps it alive with a pancake.”

Pass – Good teams pass consistently well. A pass is simply the first hit that goes to the setter. “Teresa with the perfect pass.” Or: “Teresa – a consistently good passer.” That’s a pretty good compliment.

Pepper – A pre-game drill where two players pass and hit to each other.

Punch it – Hitters will sometimes punch the ball on a tight (close to the net) serve. Whereas hits (spikes) are done with the open palm (and preferred), a punch will be more fisted. “Lisa punches it over the blocker.”

Push (or brush) – Good players can get away with these without being called for a carry. Often a push is used to swipe the ball off a blocker, thus “tooling” the blocker. “Keisha pushes the ball across the blocker.” (See tool, it works better.)

Roof – A block that is so good it acts as a “roof” over the hitter, often done in tandem. “Kris and Latisha roof the hitter.”

Save – To keep the ball alive, usually on a tough play. “Jennifer with the diving save.”

Sends it deep – When a player, sometimes on a free hit, hits the ball deep into the backcourt. “Grace sends it deep.”

Setter – the player who takes the pass and puts the ball in play, on the second hit, to a hitter. The center of the team, every ball should go through the setter, and hence this player often dictates the flow of the game. “Setter Julia runs the 5-1 to perfection.” (Note: a 5-1 is a type of offense with five hitters and one setter.)

Spike – see hammer.

Stuff – see roof. “Carrie stuffs it.”

Tape, off the tape – The tape is the top of the net, and as long as the ball gets over it, it’s a live ball. It is a good way to reference the net. “Mary takes it off the tape.” “Mary crushes the tape.”

Ten-footer – A hit from behind the ten-foot (three meter) line hit by a backcourt player. “Shantell whacks a ten-footer.”

Third hit – see free ball.

Tight set – a set close to the net.

Tool – To use the position of the opponent to your advantage. This works on a hit if the blocker is out of position, and good hitters will see this and hit the ball off of the blocker’s hands - out of bounds or down for the point. “Jill tools the blocker.” Just as easily, a defender can get tooled totally by accident, but it is a “tooling” all the same.

Two set – A set that is higher than a one-set, allowing more time for the hitter to adjust, but also more time for the blockers to adjust. “Sammie destroys it off a perfect two set from Amanda.”

Up – To get the ball in play anyway you can. “Sarah gets the ball up off the block.” Also can be used as a noun: “Sarah gets the great up.”