Teaching the offside rule/techniques to U12 Rec

Saw more games lost with it then games won with it.

You can dribble through it and beat it.

As you dribble you have teammates moving along side you, but behind you. Just pass into in space in front of them. Then they run on to your pass you beat it.

 

Depending how advanced your U-12's are, depends how much time. But by all means, spend a few minutes teaching the rule. If the kids aren't very advanced, teach the rule but don's spend too much time. Just make sure that your defenders move up with the play. Higher level teams will need to be sharper about it.

You usually won't have AR's, and its very hard for most young CR's to call close offsides. They usually only call it when the coach is yelling "stay onside!"

 

I just teach a simplified version of the rule (don't forget to teach when and where it applies) and how it applies to what I used to call individual tactics (the back line shape/position and individual defending on defense, and how it influences off the ball runs and what to do if you are in an off-side position on the attack). Basically they only need to understand "off-side position." Not the depth of the rule like a referee.

The U12 players I coached were, even the best of them, deficient in fundamentals. I concentrated on technical aspects of the game. What you are talking about is team tactics (I think you mean offside-trap and how to beat an off-side trap) which I consider an advanced topic. At U12 I am just introducing team tactics.

 

He should forget about trying to teach the trap to them. Every new coach thinks they can use it to keep the games close or even beat much better teams. It won't work I have seen it fail time and time again. I have seen it fail even at the highest levels in championship games.

Work on pressure, cover, balance you will be better off.

 

On passive offside as a weapon against a defense that is very true. When passive offside was introduced. The first thing smart players and coaches tried to do is use it as a weapon to confuse opposing defenses. One of the best players to do that was Jamie Moreno. Bolivia beat the US in a game doing just that. Marcelo Balboa who was the sweeper at the time got confused and allowed another Bolivian to score. But officials and defenders are better at stoping that kind of thing one.

 

Show them 'Bend it Like Beckham', there is a great scene where they are trying to teach Kiera Knightly's mother offsides using condiment bottles.

 

Ever since U-8, I have essentially set up defenses with the central/ solo defender. We have U-10 and U-12 offsides, so it is much easier (as coach) to communicate to just one player when to step up (and also give them the on field General ability to communicate with their other defenders and midfielders).

 

Play with a sweeper as the last defeder right? You also need to put immediate pressure on the ball. But now with passive offside it us harder to do. I would not recommend equus do it, but to each their own

 

More complex than a deep laying sweeper. I use that word to (A) show my age (I'll use halfback as well) (B) simplify the matter. We very much play immediate pressure, but that is another thread. The 'last' defender for us mainly makes offsides a one person job as opposed to a straight line with three or more 11 yo's.
And again with passive offsides in U-12 in a non-premier league it creates very little issue. Most players will have problems receiving the ball with their back to goal rather than creating a problem. In addition, their coach will be yelling at ALL their players "Stay Onside" which kills that sneaky creativity if they are so inclined to do it.
During our indoor season (when there is no offside rule) we use that time to teach our forwards to go behind the last defender line and try to come back, without penalty. Difficult with young kids to get that concept.

 

If the through-ball is played for the team mate to run onto, then off-sides doesn't really factor into it. The only thing you need to teach is, as I mentioned earlier, what is an offside position and how that impacts off the ball runs. I do that as part of teaching individual skills and tactics. As for problems in execution, you can handle that by making coaching points during your practices. Praising good runs and timely passes is the best approach. But if you whistle for an offsides, you can guide them to a fix by asking "what could we have done differently to avoid the off-side whistle? Same way for the defense. If they get beat by a through ball, you can ask what they could have done to avoid the problem (the answer should be in terms of team positioning pressure, cover and balance--or individual technique, i.e., movement).

Of course if you never enforce the off-side rule in practice, you are not training them under match like conditions.

 

The following I did with U10's. Your mileage may vary, but I would think this would be effective with U12 rec players.

First, at the end of a practice, I give the kids and the parents a copy of a handout (the main text is below, although at the bottom I also give them a diagram of onside and offside) and ask them to review it together before the next practice.

Second, at the next practice, I'll begin on this subject by explaining to the players when they can never be offsides (I like this approach best; there is something positive in my view about explaining to the kid what a rule allows them to do before explaining what it forbids them to do; the distinction is perhaps subtle, but I think it promotes a player thinking, "I'm on" rather than worrying, "Am I off"). What I do next is I put all the kids in pinnies, and have the parents come out, too. The kids are the attacking team, the parents are defenders. And then I walk the group around the field going over each of the scenarios identified below, e.g., throw-in, corner kick, in own defensive half, behind or even with the ball (note I don't have goal kick here--that's because kids this age can't usually kick it past the center line, so I don't bother cluttering their brains with this scenario). For example, I'll set up a throw with attackers in various positions and defenders in various positions, and then I'll use guided discovery questions, e.g., "OK, what are we doing?" (Throw-in); "Take the throw. OK, are you offsides?" (No); "Why not? (because I can never be offsides on a throw-in). Move the defenders and attackers around a bit, and do it again, just to reinforce. The whole thing takes maybe 10-15 minutes (I usually work up the field, so the first scenario is defensive half of field, then behind the ball, then throw in offensive half, then corner kick).

Third, I'll explain what it is to be in an offsides position in textbook fashion, but once I introduce it that way, I really only focus on #2 below (we talk about #1, but only as a reinforcement of the idea that you can't be offsides if you're behind the ball), and even then, I essentially ignore the goalie (at this age, the GK is usually rooted to the goal line anyway, and if for some reason the GK goes on a lark, it is unlikely an AR at these games, who is going to focusing on the last non-GK defender, is going to accurately call offsides anyway). In other words, I simply tell the kids, make sure you are behind or even with the last/deepest (non-GK) opponent. We'll do some scenarios again with the parents and the kids, along with guided discovery to reinforce. And that's it. The kids seem to pick it up pretty easily (obvously, it needs to be reinforced in practice activities and scrimmages), and as an added benefit, the parents get an education, too.

Regarding defense, there's no value to teaching a trap at this age whatsoever, so the defensive principles are really pretty simple: (a) get goal side on the attackers; and (b) play until a whistle blows--never assume another player is offsides. In terms of "pushing up," I view that as more of an attacking principle at this age, e.g., having the defenders move up and be in a position to support the MF, make runs, etc. (and then get goal side when we lose the ball). While not a trap per se, if your defenders are setting up a high line, the effect is a basic trap of sorts (although I would never explain it to the kids that way; rather, you're just pushing up and eliminating all the space between the back line and the attacking lines).

I know I don't cover the Law in all of its nitty-gritty details (for example, I give short shrift to passive offsides), but I think this gets the key points across and provides a base for tweaking as the kids get older and more mature. Last year, I can probably count the number of times we were called for offside on one hand, and would need both hands and a lot of my toes to count the number of times our opponent was called offside (although one might argue that our lack of being called offsides was more the result of our inability to transition from defense to attack at times ).

Offsides is a violation of soccer’s laws, so don’t be offside!
Good news! You can never be offside on a throw-in.
more good news! You can never be offside on a corner kick.
even more good news! You can never be offside in your own (defensive) half of the field.
And even more good news! You can never be offside if you are even with or behind the ball.
When can you be offside?
1. you are closer to the other team’s goal than the ball;
2. There are less than two players from the other team (counting the goalie) between you and the other team’s goal; and
3. the ball is kicked by your teammate in your direction.

 

Do your teams' parents yell at the refs when they call offside but the players receiving the ball were not in an offside positon? In my experience about half of the adult recreational players misunderstand the off-side rule (people who have played for 20+ years). I have to reread the Law every couple of years myself just to keep it straight. (I assume that you understand the differences between your handout and the Law.) I can understand why you want to keep it simple, but you can keep it simple by explaining properly "offside position." Things are confusing enough without coaches misinforming players and parents about the Laws of the Game.

There have been a number of FIFA powerpoint presentations over the years which you can download as a source for handouts. (google "offside rule powerpoint").

 

I don't know what my parents yell (hopefully nothing, but I'm not that naive)--I'm on the other side of the field worrying about my players--but if a ref calls offside when the player receiving the ball is not in an offside position when the ball is played, I can't exactly blame them (unless I'm not comprehending your example, which isn't out of the question). It's most probably the wrong call. If you're referring to the fact that I don't explicitly raise the possibility that offsides might still be called if a teammate is in an offsides position and is involved in active play by interfering with an opponent or the play, or address the possibility of the so-called over and back offsides (i.e., the player starts in an offsides position when the ball is played but receives the ball in an onsides position), well, I'm guilty as charged, but keep in mind that this is not meant to be the definitive treatise on offside, nor am I trying to reach out to "adult recreational players . . . who have played for 20+ years," and I'm certainly not trying to teach the offside rule to referees. This is meant only to introduce the basic concept to young kids who have never before been exposed, or have been only minimally exposed, to the offside rule. Law 11 itself only takes up a small page, generously spaced. But ATR probably spends 10 densely spaced pages on the subject (and the powerpoints you reference are pages and pages long). Way too much information for a 9-year old (and way too much information for a novice soccer parent, although I'm not coaching the parents--my goal is to educate the kids, and if the parents learn a little, well, that's an added bonus).

You say I can keep it simple by properly explaining "offside position," but I think I do that. For sure, I don't track the exact language of the rule. For example, I say "goal" instead of goal line, and I use "two players from the other team" rather than the second to last opponent (because I think two players from the other team is clearer to a 9-year old than second to last opponent) and I use "between" rather go into an exposition of even you're on (again, because I think it's easier for a kid to grasp the idea of having two kids in the opposite color shirt between you and the goal than being nearer than two opponents).

You also suggest that I've misinformed my players, and god knows, that certainly was never my intent. If I have misinformed my players, please let know how so that I can correct the mistake. I've sat through more recerts than I care to count, and have read through ATR more times than most, and I don't think I've done any horrible injustice to Law 11, but if I have, I want to know that. On the other hand, if your issue is solely that I've oversimplified a complex rule, well, I'll take that as a compliment, because that's what I set out to do.

 

(I am ranova) You are well intentioned but are misinforming people. In the original description for example you say that a teammate kicking the ball in an offside player's direction constitutes an offside offense. That is simply not true. There is a good example in your reply as well. There is no such thing as receiving the ball in an offside position or onside position. Offside (or onside) position is only determined when last touched, not when received.

You are making the rule out to be more complicated than it is. After the ball is last touched the only concern is whether players in offside positions are involved in the play. Once a player is in a offside position, the only way to avoid an offside offense is for the player to not be involved in the play. It is an objective test; intentions don't matter.

This slide presentation is an example of what is available. It is out of date, but take a look at slides 3 and 4. If it was me, I would use these two slides as a handout.
http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/refereeing/law_11_offside_en_47383.pdf

 

I'm making it complicated? You are the one that introduced the concept of "active involvement" to an introductory presentation of the law to 9 year olds. Irregardless (yeah, I know, not a word, but if there was ever a discussion that warranted its use, here we are), I get your point, but you are creating an issue where there isn't an issue. In my first post, I specifically state: "I know I don't cover the Law in all of its nitty-gritty details (for example, I give short shrift to passive offsides) . . ." ("passive offsides" being another way of describing active involvement, or lack thereof). You say I am misinforming people because in my original description, I "say that a teammate kicking the ball in an offside player's direction constitutes an offside offense." Actually, I don't. I say you "can" be offside. I don't say you are offside. Huge difference. There is no misinformation--you could very well be offside in the scenario described (and you might not be). Bottom line is that the sheet I hand out isn't designed to cover every nook and cranny of the offside rule. It is an introduction. You'll just have to trust me that as I develop the players' understanding of the offside rule, the concept of active involvement is addressed in an age-appropriate manner.

As for the over and back example I gave, you are right and wrong. You are right that the player doesn't receive the ball in an "onside position." I should have added the word, "seemingly" in front of "onsides position." Sorry for the lax description. But if you want to parse through every word of every sentence, then you are wrong when you state that onside position is "only determined when last touched, not when received." That's not necessarily the case; for example, if the ball, after being touched or played by an attacker, is touched by a defender (but not played, see ATR 11.4 talking about the "meaningful distinction" between touch and play as it relates to defenders), e.g., deflected, the offsides decision is made based not on that "last" touch, as you suggest, but on the previous touch.

And the whole thing about offside being "objective" is misleading. Elements of it are certainly what you describe as objective, but active involvement is inherently a subjective determination. In fact, in determining interference with an opponent, ATR specifically leaves it to the "opinion of the referee" as to whether the opponent was deemed to be interfered with (in ATR 11.4, certain actions are deemed to be inteference with an opponent if "in the opinion of the refereee, [they] deceive[] or distract[] an opponent."). And as for inteference with play, the referee can call offside if he/she thinks it is "likely" that the offsides player will touch the ball, another subjective determination, and can decline to call offsides if, in his/her "opinion," another onside player is likely to get to the ball. See ATR 11.5. And I think it is misleading to state, as you do, that: "Once a player is in a offside position, the only way to avoid an offside offense is for the player to not be involved in the play." I can think of at least two scenarios which are to the contrary, one where the player in the offside position is reestablished in an onside position as the play continues, and two where the defensive player "plays" the ball to the player in the offside position.

But my point isn't that you're "wrong." I get what you're trying to say. I'm reasonbly knowledgeable about the offside rule, you're reasonably knowledgeable about it, and I understand your points (I dissected them only because I wanted to make my own point)--which makes it frustrating that you can't take my little handout for what it is: a[n] (over)simplification of the offside rule to be presented to 9-year olds. It is simply a device for introducing the basics of the rule to a young audience without material exposure to it (as for the parents, again they are not my target, but it doesn't hurt to get them involved in their kids' soccer lives and who knows, they might learn something), which was the subject of the original post and the intent of my post in response. I did not try to sell it as a complete and thorough review of the Law, and that is certainly not my intention. It is what it is, but one thing I don't think it is (and your post hasn't dissuaded me) is misinformation. If the audience was older and more mature, you'd likely want to approach it in a different way (in that case, the powerpoint slides you proffer are an improvement, but as between my handout and the two slides, I really think that my handout is a better fit for the younger audience we were discussing). But to each their own. If there was a single way of doing things, there wouldn't be a need for this forum.