Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Space in Sport
I have been thinking about space,
lately. This is not a “Star Trek” space, not “The Final Frontier”. But space in
sports, and its importance. Space is critical in all areas of sport, and
certain athletes know how to utilize it better than others. Most successfully.
Rob Gronkowski is a tight end for the
New England Patriots. He is a massive guy, six and a half feet tall, more than
250 pounds. Because of injury, he was missing from the Patriots’ lineup for
several games. A couple of weeks ago, he returned to the game, and his impact
was critical. He creates space because of his size. He also creates space
because of the way he moves. He knows how to work defenders, and he can move
laterally across a goal line, and snare a pass, leaving middle linebackers in
his wake. And it helps to have a guy like
Tom Brady to zip the ball into Gronk’s catching zone.
It also helps to have other good
receivers to take the heat off Gronkowski, occasionally. Julian Edelman is
tiny, relative to Gronkowski. Five feet, ten inches tall, and less than 200
pounds. But he has learned to find space on the field as a wide receiver, and
Brady finds him as well. He is virtually a carbon copy of Wes Welker, another
small receiver who bolted from the Pats to join Payton Manning in Denver.
On the other side of the field, there
are certain defensive players who excel in using space effectively. Troy
Polamalu roams around the defensive backfield for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He
has done that effectively for many years. He is also tiny, relative to the
other players in the NFL. He has been a Pro Bowl player eight times, and has
more than 700 tackles to his credit in his career. He sticks opponents when he
tackles; some coaches refer to the process as tackling through a player. He makes you keep your head up.
Wayne Gretzky mastered a few space
techniques in hockey. He could find open spaces better than anyone else when he
played the game. Part of it came from his brilliant anticipation, part from his
skills. Certain snipers also have a sense of space: Brett Hull and Steven
Stamkos come to mind. They locate themselves in an open space on the ice, and
prepare to shoot. It also helped Hull to have someone like Adam Oates to feed
him the puck. In a whisper, the puck was in the net.
Bobby Orr and Bobby Hull created
space for themselves with their skating ability, and their strength. Quite
often, they would wind up behind their own net, pick a lane or two, and rush up
the ice to create scoring opportunities. Their speed helped them swoop around
defencemen, leaving goaltenders at their mercy. Gordie Howe created space for
himself with his size, and, of course, with his elbows!
Gordie, placing his famous elbow in my gut.
Bob Gibson hurled for the St. Louis
Cardinals. He let it be known that home plate was his. He had a message pitch
for any player who tried to occupy any space over home plate, after stepping
into the batter’s box. Gibson would throw the next pitch at his head. More than
ninety miles an hour. Certainly a dangerous practice, not intended to injure,
but just to relay an idea: “I own home plate”.
Michael Jordan created space with his
athleticism, and his anticipation. Shaq did it with his size. LeBron James does
it with size and skill, making him the best player in the game today. His move
back to Cleveland has rejuvenated the spirit of the Cavalier fans. A tip of the
hat to a former Boston Celtics player, Bill Russell, who had a pretty good
night many years ago. Thirty points and forty rebounds in one game. You read
that correctly. No doubt that Russell created a little space for himself under
the basket!
Always worth the price of admission!!
James Hurst
November 10, 2014
# posted by James Hurst @ 12:08 PM 
