Laws (Rules) of the Game

SSA in association with US Youth Soccer and Kansas Youth Soccer promote small-sided games.  

Players between ages 4-6 (U5/U6) play 3 v 3
Players between ages 6-10 (U7-U10) play 6 v 6
Players between ages 10-12 (U11-U12) play 8 v 8
Players 12 and older play 11 v 11 (U13-U19) or fullside

For the rules for the varying ages please see the generalized rules of play below.

Generalized Rules of Play U5-U10

Generalized Rules of Play U11 and above

What is offside?  

An offside position is when the attacking player of one team is beyond the last defender of the other team.  A player may be in an offside position, but not be called offside if the ball is not played to him or her.  For a complete explanation, please see this link - LAW 11 Offside.