U11 - U14
Beating the offside
Technical warm up - Area: Half of a playing field. Exercise shows 7 players and a goalkeeper. (This can be done with more players) Set up the players as shown
1. Player passes the ball to the middle player and follows his/her pass.
2. Middle player receives on the back foot with an open body shape and passes the ball behind the defender to the wide player. Wide player times his/her run to stay on side.
3. Player shoots at goal and then joins the starting group.
4. Players rotate to the next cone.
5. The next pass from the starting group is passed to the left. The same sequence is performed.
Coaching points:
Pass the ball accurately to the correct foot or space.
Receive with an open body.
Timing of pass / run.
Stay on-side.
Shot at goal.
Variation
There are many variations to this.
1. Player A passes to B and player B plays a give and go with player C.
2. The exercise shown - Move the outside cones wider. Player A passes to B and player B passes back to player A. Player A passes to the
wide runner, player C. Player C makes an inside run in front of the defender.
3. Player C can also make an outside run.
Coaching points:
Pass the ball accurately to the correct foot or space.
Receive with an open body.
Timing of pass / run.
Stay on-side.
Shot at goal.
Area: Full field if possible. A line is marked out 25 yards from each goal. Play equal teams in the central area. Players can only move through either end line to break the offside. The condition of the game is:
1. The purpose of the exercise is for the players to play possession and wait for the right moment to play a through ball to a running team mate.
2. The running player must be on-side.
3. Once that player breaks the offside and receives the ball any player can now enter that zone.
4. If it is a 1 v 1 with the goalkeeper, they need to be quick. If the offside is broken with a pass out wide, team mates need to get into the 18 yard area for a cross.
Variations:
Play two touch
Coaching points:
Quality possession, patience and movement.
Timing of runs
Communication
Third man running
Finish the session playing a scrimmage. Look for players that have the intelligence to break the offside.
