Western Bulldogs legend Luke Darcy says his father's hands-off approach has served as an ideal template as his son, Sam, takes the first steps in his own AFL journey.
Darcy has the relatively unique experience of having both a father, David, and a son, Sam, play for the same club he did.
David Darcy played 133 games for Footscray (now the Western Bulldogs) in the 1960s and 1970s, while Sam made his debut for the Dogs in 2022 to continue an impressive family legacy after Luke's stellar 226-game career.
Given David's football experience, Luke says he didn't fully appreciate his father's parenting style until after he'd passed away.
"Dad was the least over-the-top parent in the history of the world," Darcy told The Inside Game.
"He played at the highest level, but he never once overlaid any of his thoughts on me.
"Two years ago, Dad passed away. And I sat there, and I thought that was an amazing thing that he didn't ever feel the need to offer advice, (but) he was always there to pick up the phone.
"I think that's been the style (I've adopted) and I hope Sam has felt that."
Sam has already made a promising start to his career. Selected with Pick No.2 in last year's NAB AFL Draft, he overcame a stress fracture in his foot to play in the Bulldogs' final four games of the 2022 season, including the elimination final loss to Fremantle.
He impressed in equal measure in the forward line, where Luke expects him to play the majority of his career, and also down back.
Luke says it was "surreal" to watch his son debut for the same club where he was a best-and-fairest winner, an All Australian and captain.
"It was an amazing couple of days," he says.
"It was really surreal to watch him out there ... I was nervous. I didn't realise until the game started, I started to see danger out on the footy field and I haven't watched footy that way before.
"Having had Dad start at 18 years of age and me arrive at the same time (of my life), it was a really emotional couple of days and we're just really happy to have our eldest doing something he loves."
Sam is not the only young Darcy rising through the sports world; his 17-year-old sister Sienna became a world champion rower with her St Catherine's crew of XIII at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta this year.
Her proud father says one of the tools he has given his children is the practice of meditation. Darcy meditates twice a day and has done so ever since former Bulldogs' president David Smorgon "insisted" that all players be given the chance to learn how during Darcy's early years at Footscray in the 1990s.
Describing meditation as "a gift for life", Darcy says it helps with sleep and recovery and is a great tool to stay grounded in the face of mental health stress facing young athletes, such as social media and anxiety to perform.
