Revelation

I realized today something which has so far escaped me. It leaves me with a feeling of peace and serenity, and I'm also wondering why I never realized this before? It has to do with sharing the ball in a team sport, and working together to achieve a common goal. Specifically, in team sports with a ball, when you are moving into open space and you draw a defender towards you, you create space for other players on your team.

Frustration

I have been frustrated in the past, and I have seen many other players be frustrated. The refrain goes: "I'm open! Send me! Hey! I was open... Come on!!" I could understand why this would be frustrating. Good players want to get the ball and make a play. They want to contribute to the success of their team. If you make a great run into open space and draw zero defenders, and don't get a pass, for sure that could b supere frustrating. You are being thwarted by your own teammates! Watching a teammate kick the ball away into the feet of a defender or senselessly away into a heavily covered area is depressing.

Obligation

If you have the ball and see a teammate make a great run into space, you owe it to them to reward their energy expenditure with the ball. And if you made a great run and didn't get an attempt at a pass, you had better hope that the ball went somewhere better. Especially if it's an easy pass. You could easily forgive a teammate for not attempting a long, high-risk and technically difficult pass.

If you have 10 teammates, and they are all making movements into space and calling for the ball, that could be overwhelming. If the passer doesn't make a good decision, you could also blame the other teammates that are making OK, but not great runs - they are distractions. If there's a weak teammate, it would be best to have multiple good, easy options available for them.

Contribution

This is the key - you can greatly contribute to the success of your team without ever touching the ball. Draw defenders by appearing dangerous and moving to open space, with the goals of being available for a pass and for creating space for teammates. Then, if the pass goes to a teammate instead of you, you have still succeeded in your goal, and you share the in the credit and the success of the ensuing play. If you're fitter than your opponents, another goal could be to wear them down by drawing their coverage and making them run.

Assuming we're at a level of play high enough, you should draw defenders if moving into a dangerous area. If not, then hopefully other teammates were making simultaneous dangerous runs into other areas, and drawing defenders.