Give-and-go past a defender

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Field hockey drill · Age 8 and up

Junior players try to beat every defender by dribbling past them, and most of the time the defender wins. The give-and-go, or one-two, beats a defender with a pass instead: draw them in, play the ball to a team-mate, run past the defender while they are watching the ball, and take the return pass behind them. It is the simplest combination in hockey and the one that opens up the circle.

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Time
15 minutes
Players
Groups of 4: two attackers, a defender and a goalkeeper
Equipment
  • 3 or 4 balls per group
  • A goal and a goalkeeper in full kit, or a goal with a cone target if you have no keeper
  • Bibs in two colours

Setup

  1. Start the centre forward (CF) with the ball a few metres outside the 23 m line, with the defending centre back (CB) about 6 metres in front.
  2. The right wing (RW) stands about 11 metres to the CF's right, level with the defender, as the wall.
  3. The CF carries the ball at the CB until they step in to tackle, then pushes the ball to the RW.
  4. As the CB turns to watch the pass, the CF runs past them on the other side, into the circle. The RW passes back first time into the space in front of the CF, who shoots.
  5. The goalkeeper (GK) plays every shot. Swap the attackers round after each go so both play the wall.

Coaching points

  • Attacker: carry the ball at the defender, so they have to commit. A pass made too far away lets them simply drop off and cover both.
  • Pass and go in one movement. The run starts as the ball leaves the stick, not after it arrives.
  • Run past the defender's blind side: the side away from the ball, where they cannot watch you and the pass at the same time.
  • Wall: one touch, angled into space in front of the runner, along the ground.

On the run sheet: Carry the ball at the defender until they commit, pass to the wall, then sprint past the defender on the other side. Wall: one touch, back into the space in front of the runner

Progressions

  1. Let the defender play at full pace and try to intercept the return pass.
  2. The wall can choose to keep the ball and go alone if the defender follows the runner.
  3. Start from wider, so the return pass has to reach the runner inside the circle and the shot has to be taken first time.

How it runs

Our centre forward (CF) has the ball with their centre back (CB) in front. The CB steps up to tackle. The CF pushes the ball to the right wing (RW), and while the CB turns to follow the ball, the CF runs round the other side of them and into the circle. The RW plays it back first time, the CF takes it about two metres inside the top of the circle, and the animation ends on their shot, with the goalkeeper (GK) coming off the line.

The run is what beats the defender, not the pass. A defender can only watch one thing at a time, and once they have turned to the wall, the runner on their other side is out of sight. That is why the run has to start the moment the first pass is made.

The rule it is practising

The shooting circle. A goal only counts if an attacker plays the ball inside the circle and it does not leave the circle before crossing the goal line. A one-two that ends with a shot from just outside the circle does not score, however good it is, so the return pass has to be played into the circle and received there. The lines are part of the circle, so a ball on the line is in.

The wall's position also matters for obstruction: a player who runs between a defender and the ball, so a team-mate can keep it, is obstructing. The wall stands still and passes. Junior formats such as England Hockey's Rush Hockey, Hockey Australia's Hookin2Hockey and 7-a-side often play with smaller goals or a scoring zone in place of the circle, so check your association's rules for where a goal can be scored from.

The mistakes to watch for

Passing too early, before the defender has committed. Watching the pass instead of running. Running on the ball side of the defender, straight into the interception. And a wall who controls the ball before passing it back, which gives the defender time to recover.

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