Glossary: The Give-and-Go
It’s frowned upon for hockey spectators to get up while the puck is in play. In fact, it’s more than frowned upon at NHL games, where the ushers won’t let you back into your section until the play stops. And if you know anything about hockey, you know that the puck is almost always in play—unlike those bathroom-break friendly sports of football, basketball and (of course) baseball. A big part of this is offensive tactics such as the give-and-go, which keeps the puck and players in motion.My son has been talking about the give-and-go for years, alternately bragging and complaining about its execution. I figured it meant “give the puck” and “go somewhere.” But who gets the puck? Where do you go? What happens after that?
Fundamentally, a give-and-go relies on a one-touch-pass to create a scoring opportunity. While skating towards the opposing team’s goal, a player passes the puck off to a nearby teammate, in hopes that the defenders will follow the path of the puck. The second player only touches the puck once to send it back in the direction of the first player. This player has become more open—in theory—giving the player a higher chance of getting off a threatening shot.
Check out Phoenix Coyotes’ successful give-and-go against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Need practice with your give-and-go? Check out HockeyShare’s three-man give-and-go (in French and English!) here.
Editor's Note: Thank you to Rose Conry, an intern with the Grow the Game Initiative, for this story. Rose studies journalism at Northwestern University, loves all sports and sails competitively with the university’s club team.
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Written by GrowTheGame · Filed Under Parenting
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