Relative Something

A sports peeve: One oft-used sports phrase is that an athlete is prized for his/her ability to “see the floor/field/ice”.

How can that NOT be a skill that every player who advances to college or professional team sports competition is exceptional at!? It’s a team sport, after all. How can they not already know where the play is going, where the teammates are moving from/to.

I can see how some players have specialized skills and can be a great defender, an outstanding shooter/scorer, a great ball handler, or be exceptionally fast, but why wouldn’t all players be able to see the play develop and have a sense where to go next?

Do professional coaches really have to deal with athletes that don’t see the play?

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There is an aspect of a hockey game, and to a similar degree, a soccer match, that is a very large part of “seeing the play.” It is an important thing for the players to grasp, and for fans to recognize. It can be described as action that doesn’t happen.

One way it is detectable is when a player chooses to retreat into his defensive zone. That option to retreat is in place of several options that a player doesn’t choose. Being able to see all the options that the smart player didn’t take, makes watching a game a lot more interesting.

There is also an aspect of this occurring in the offensive zone. There are a good number of times that a player won’t take a shot due to the risk of the puck getting knocked back out and play turning into an odd-man rush for the opposing team.

An uniformed spectator is not able to interpret the things that are not happening, which are mixed in with the obvious visible activity that is playing out.

I can see how fans might not have a highly tuned ability to see the play, but I don’t understand how any player at a high level of competition in team sports could ever lack that sports sense. Well, except for the guys that get hired just because they are good in fights.