The offside rule is not part of Roo ball games. When 11 year
olds graduate from 9 aside to the full field 11 aside game, the
offside rule is introduced and has a dramatic effect on team tactics.
When introducing the rule to under 11s, the coach should not try
to explain all the factors of the rule in one hit. Here's how I
would explain it:
- You cannot be offside when receiving the ball in your own half
of the field. "Your own half" means the half which contains the
goal you are defending.
- You cannot be offside if you run from your own half of the
field into the other half AFTER the ball is kicked forward by
your team mate. Diagrams 1 and 2 illustrate these points and can
be shown to players on paper, a whiteboard or similar.
| |
 |
'A' is attacking the goal to the right of the
diagram and is not offside because he receives the ball from
'C' in his own (defensive) half. |
| |
| |
 |
'A' is not offside because he was
onside (in his own defensive half) at the instant when 'C' kicked
the ball towards him. |
-
When receiving the ball in the opponents half of the field,
there must be two opposing players between the receiver and
the goal at the exact moment that the ball is kicked forward.
Diagram 3 illustrates this point.
| |
 |
'A' is offside because there is only one opponent
(the goalkeeper) between him and the goal line at the instant
that 'C' kicks the ball forwards toward him. |
This is as far as I go when coaching the rule for the first time.
Other elements of the offside rule (such as, you cannot be offside
when receiving the ball directly from a throw in, should be dealt
with at a different time). The next step is to demonstrate how the
rule will affect team tactics and also to check if they have understood
thus far. Show them diagram 4.
| |
 |
The O's are defending the goal shown and have
kicked the ball up field to an opponent. What should the O's
do next? If the players agree that the answer is "move quickly
out of the penalty area" then they have understood the offside
rule. I use this presentation to let players know that they
are contributing to the team's play and tactics even when they
are not in possession of the ball as demonstrated here. |
As soon as you have completed the presentation, start a game and
get a couple of parents to act as linesmen. Apply the rule and you'll
find that the players will respond positively and incidentally will
be telling each other when they are offside. Turn this to advantage
by emphasising that good communication with each other is an important
part of team play.
Keith the Koach, April 2001
|
