How to Coach Offsides to Youth Soccer Players

Just as your players are beginning to understand the importance of spreading out on the field and helping back on defense, it's time to teach them another aspect of the game that will inevitably confuse them: Offsides. The concept is simple--a player cannot receive a ball past midfield if he is behind the last field player in the opposing team's half of the field. But it takes quite a bit of concentration to learn how to pull a defensive offsides trap, and how to beat it on offense. According to U.S. Youth Soccer, leagues for players under the age of 10 should not include the offsides rule.

Things You'll Need

  • At least six players
  • Soccer ball
  • Playing field marked with a halfway line
  • Whistle
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Instructions

    • 1

      Organize the players at midfield so three are on offense, trying to reach the goal in front of them, and three are on defense (but no goalkeeper), trying to defend that goal. Have one offensive player step beyond the defensive player that is closest to the goal, and have another offensive player pass him the ball. Blow the whistle when the ball is received, and you have just illustrated what an offsides call will look like.

    • 2

      Challenge the players to perform this drill live in an offense versus defense drill. The defenders will have to learn to look over their shoulder to see if their teammate is behind them and in a position to pull the opposing players offsides. The offensive players will have to get a feel for passing the ball into space beyond the last defender and allowing a teammate to run to it.

    • 3

      Encourage the players to communicate and follow set plays on the fly. The central defender, known as the sweeper, should always position himself behind the left and right defenders, telling them when to move forward and attempt to pull the other team offsides. The offensive players need to learn how to run off the ball to trick defenders into backing up or moving away from a space where the ball can be sent.

    • 4

      Explain and demonstrate any exceptions to the rule. On throw-ins, the rule does not apply and an offensive player can receive the ball if he is past the last defender back. If a goalkeeper makes a save and the ball rebounds back into play, attacking players can then play the ball even if they are beyond the last defender, as long as they were not offsides when the ball was shot. And a player who is offsides will be whistled as soon as he makes an attempt on the ball, even if he misses the ball completely and it is then collected by a player who is not offsides.