Soccer Offside Trap

When defenders (often a "flat defense") intentionally move forward to try to "trap" an attacker who doesn't have the ball in an offside position. Don't try to teach this to youth teams; it is too complex. However, you can teach your team to stay 12-18 steps away from your goal when the other team has a Free Kick, which is a similar concept and will keep the attackers from scoring on headers or rebounds off the Free Kick. (Defenders must stay 10 yards from the ball on free kicks, so this will only work if the kick is from 20-30 yards out). Remember, the Offside Rule is in effect on Free Kicks. (See "Flat Defense" and "Offside Rule, Detailed").