In soccer, the rules are known as the laws. The object of the game, of course, is to get the ball into the opponent's goal without using your hands or arms.
Play stops if the ball goes out of bounds. If it goes out on the sidelines, a throw in is required (see "4 Moves That Every Young Player Should Know"). If the attacking team sends the ball over the end line, the defensive team (the one whose goal the ball is near) gets a goal kick. The defensive goalkeeper places the ball in the goal box, and he or another player on his team kicks the ball upfield. If a defensive player kicks the ball across that same end line, the attacking team is awarded a corner kick. The attacking player hopes to kick the ball high and set up a teammate for a possible goal.
The penalty that is most often called and that is the most confusing, especially for nonplaying parents, is offside. "The offside rule makes soccer different from other team sports; it was created to encourage support play by the attacking team," says Enrique Meana, director of coaching for New Jersey Youth Soccer. The simplest way to explain the rule is that when the ball is not between an attacking player and the goal, there must be at least two defensive players between the attacking player and the opponent's end line when the attacking player is in the opponent's half of the field.
Other common penalties include charging from behind, "handing" the ball (touching it with hands or arms), holding, kicking, tripping, pushing, hitting, or charging an opponent, and kicking the ball while it's held by the goalkeeper. Breaking these rules means your opponent is awarded a free kick. A free kick can be indirect, meaning a kick to another player in the hope of setting up a goal, or direct, meaning the kicker can score without first passing to another player. A free kick is taken where the penalty took place. A penalty kick is a direct free kick from the so-called penalty spot, awarded for a major foul committed by a defensive player in his own penalty area.