10 CARDINAL RULES OF SOCCER
RULE 10 - OFFSIDE
I decided to leave the best for last.This is without a doubt the least understood rule by parents and coaches alike.
Check your local league soccer rules first. There’s a good chance that this rule won’t be called for the U-8 or younger teams. You may be off the hook for now. However, if you are a U-8 or U-6 coach you still need to know this rule so you can begin teaching your players not to be offside.
The first thing to know is that you cannot be offside on a corner kick, goal kick, or throw-in. Don’t ask me why. Just accept it and go on. The explanation is too long.
Also, it is not an offense for a player to be in an offside position. The player must be involved in active play as determined by the referee to be called offside.
As quoted from the FIFA soccer rules:
"A player is in an offside position if: he is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent."
Clear yet? I didn’t think so.
Try this. An offensive or attacking player can’t be ahead of the ball and involved in the play unless there is a defender between him and the goalkeeper. Or, you can’t hang out at the other team’s goal waiting for the ball.
A few other buts...
You can’t be offside if you are standing on your half of the field. Also, the offside rule applies when the ball is kicked, not when the player receives the ball.
To accurately judge offside, one has to stay even with the second-to-last defender and not watch the ball. Listen for the kick of the ball and judge at the time of the kick whether or not the player was offside.
To be honest with you, this can be a hard rule to understand. Don’t get too hung up on it. Trust the referees.
