- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Commenting recently on St Kilda’s season-long endurance – or lack of it – it occurred to me that some teams could be practicing a form of tantric football without even knowing it.
Somehow, they’re better at weaving everything together than others.
Mindful (even soulful) teams who know how to be tough but also know when they should show their soft and caring side. They know when to throw the kitchen sink at a game and when to pace themselves during the year.
They seem to read instinctively – or perhaps by reinforced ritual – what tempo will get the job done from match to match as well.
For those unfamiliar with the term, ‘tantric’ is the adjectival form of the Sanskrit word ‘tantra’, which basically means woven together.
You can have tantric rituals, tantric arts and other spiritual practices associated with Hinduism and Buddhism. It is a way of life dating back thousands of years. For most people, though, Tantra is considered synonymous with sex.
Tantric philosophy came out of sixth century India as a way to help people find enlightenment and a higher state of consciousness – believing that all humans possess an energy that can be channeled into creative connections with their surroundings and others.
This description could easily translate into a manual for modern AFL footy teams. Read the situation, harness and apply energy, connect with others, find a passage, adapt the rhythm.
The idea that going straight up the corridor is always the right play is seriously questioned under a tantric football regime.
There is sense and even harmony in working the whole ground, probing and teasing out more creative avenues to goal with unusual climaxes.
St Kilda players celebrate Isaac Keeler’s first AFL goal. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Innuendo aside, there is a very corporeal component to a football match, but physical strength alone will only deliver some of the time. In modern football, more and more thought and time goes into the mental, emotional and, yes, spiritual aspects of the game too.
Teams that understand this mind-and-body brand of footy already know this.
Geelong’s coach, Chris Scott, has shown an uncanny ability to read the shifting winds in a very long AFL season. Agility on a week-to-week basis means the team’s in-game tempo changes, showing very Buddhist-like sensibilities.
Perhaps more in touch with the sensitive side of the tantric footy equation is Chris Fagen. He is known for his empathetic approach to player management, fostering strong and trusting relationships within the team.
Taking the idea a step further, Richmond’s turnaround in 2017 was not the result of a losing strategy to go even harder at the ball in numbers, but rather a determination to build roles and a stronger sense of family bonds within the team.
Three premierships in four years followed. Damian Hardwick is now applying a similar brand of ‘tough love plus trust process’ to the Gold Coast.
Too early for predictions, but the formula – call it tantric if you want – appears to be working well.
Out of the same Richmond school of coaching, Craig McCrae combined his affable style as a coach with a tempered toughness to deliver a surprisingly quick flag for Collingwood.
Together, Geelong, Brisbane, Richmond and Collingwood have won the day in six out of the last eight September showdowns.
Perhaps there is more to this tantric footy idea than meets the eye.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.