Understanding the Soccer Offsides Rule By Sarah Daniel

Your daughter just signed up for a youth soccer team, and the team needs a volunteer coach. You don't know if you have time, however when the email comes out with the ultimatum of finding a coach or not playing, you decided to step up. Coaching you daughter's team should be a rewarding experience, but you need to have a place to turn for preparation and resources. Many good books are on the market describing what and how to coach, and many more about the rules of soccer. One of the most basic rules, yet seemingly one of the hardest to understand for people new to soccer is the offsides rule.
The offsides rule is simply designed to prevent teams from keeping a player in an offensive position that would give them an unfair advantage. The rule basics are as follows:
· Offensive player must have one defender and the goalie between them and the goal
· Offensive player must be over the half line
· The offsides position is determined when the ball is kicked, not where the player is when they receive the ball
· The offensive player must be in front of the ball, if the ball is in front of the player, they cannot be offsides
· No offsides on a throw-in
That's it, fairly simple right?
The rule gets a little complicated for two reasons. The first is that timing determining whether a player is in an offside position is when the ball is kicked. In soccer, the ball can be kicked from 50 yards away or more. The time it takes for the ball to travel this distance allows time for a player to get into a position that looks to be very clearly an offside position. However, since the player was not in that position when the ball was kicked, the advantage goes to the offensive player, as they moved into that position after the ball was kicked. The new coach or parent is left to wonder what the point of the rule is in the first place since it appeared that the offensive player was ahead of the defender when they received the ball. The second is the defensive strategy to use the offsides trap. This can be a very effective, especially against aggressive offensive teams. The strategy involves constantly pushing the defense up before the forward pass is made, causing the offensive player to be in an offside position when the ball was kicked. Defensive coordination is key, and mistakes are often very costly, however the reward is the ability to shut down a superior offensive team allowing your team to stay in the game.
Coaching soccer can be a very rewarding experience. Understanding the rules and having resources for practice and games are essential for success. Keep your practices moving, fun, and reinforce the positive aspects of every players game, and your players will respond. The offside rule can be confusing, but understanding the basics: when was the ball kicked, and have a player and the goalie between you and the goal, will break the rule into simple and understandable pieces.
Sarah Daniel has created a youth soccer coaches resource center. In the resource center you will find articles, books, DVD's, coaching supplies, coaches gifts, and reviews of the top coaching resources on the market. The site was designed as a one stop shop, and will provide a better idea of the types of products available to make your coaching experience successful. If you are new to coaching or want to see some of the products that could take your coaching to the next level, please check out the youth coaches resource center.