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*Bondi Beach Buccaneers- Get to Know the Rookies! - AK41 - 03-07-2023
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BONDI BEACH BANTER- ROOKIE RECAP
Malik Brooks: Good afternoon friends and family! Thank you for tuning into the first ever episode of the new critically acclaimed podcast (in text format) the ‘Bondi Beach Banter.’ I am coming to you today with a host of rookies looking to learn about who they are, where they come from, and we will see where the conversation brings us!
To start off, I will just list who we have on the mic today so you will learn the name and position behind the messages!
Malik Brooks (MB) - RB - Louisiana State University
Mary Marie (MM) - S - University of Edinburgh
Amanda HugAndKiss (AHK) - S - Rutgers
Burnt Toast (BT) - TE - Syracuse
Ivan Baldwin (IB) - CB - Michigan State Ubiversity
DJ Maclean (DM) - LB - Boise State
Now that you have a brief rundown of the current rookies in the building, we will start getting into the meat of the conversation. We are going to have a round table discussion where I will present questions to each person, and we will see where the conversation takes us! Let’s get rolling.
First up, we are going to start with Mary Marie! Welcome to the team! Can you please give us a background story on who Mary Marie is, and how you got to where we all are today?
Mary Marie: Thank you! I'm very glad to be joining the Bucs for the 2055 season. I don't think there's very much about me to tell, to be honest! I grew up in California, but moved out to the UK for college. I actually turned down a few colleges that were trying to recruit me out of high school, because I wanted to focus on getting a degree—at the time, I didn't love football as much as I do now, so I didn't see myself playing for the rest of my life, you know? Well as it turns out, the same year that I came to Scotland, Edinburgh had just started their own gridiron club! I was actually a little bothered by that coincidence it at first—I wanted to get away from the game so I could keep my priorities in order—but after a few months of resisting I signed up to play. I'm glad for the way things turned out, because I managed to finish my degree in history just a few months ago, and my college football experience was truly fantastic, even if we lost almost every game. I was shocked to be drafted first overall, and I guess I'm feeling a lot of pressure to live up to that, but nevertheless I am so excited to play in the DSFL.
MB: That’s awesome! Even though it seemed like you tried to step away from the game, it reeled you back in. Seems like that passion is still there without a doubt! Also love where your head is at focusing on your studies first and foremost! Great opportunity to have a backup plan for post football, thank you so much for that background!
Let’s swing over to Burnt Toast next. Toast! Thank you for joining us today! Can you tell me a little about yourself and how you got to where you are today?!
Burnt Toast: Hi, thanks for having me and hello to all the Bondi Beach fans that are listening to this! I can't say enough to how happy I am to be part of this team for the next few years and make this something special. Going into the draft this is where I wanted to end up and I'm glad that it worked out! About me though... well, this is right where I thought I would be around this time of my career. I knew from my younger years that I wanted to make a career out of this and I set myself out to achieve that at whatever cost. I left my home life behind me when I was offered a spot in Syracuse and I made the most of it to become a player that was worth a look at the DSFL Entry Draft I guess! I promise that I'm going to give it my all and I hope that you'll all enjoy the voyage with me!
MB: That is great news that you ended up where you wanted in the draft, it’s awesome to hope and try to manifest the perfect situation and luckily in your case, you got what you were looking for. Bondi Beach seems like a great place to be so far, I am excited to share the field with you!
Let’s hop on over to Amanda HugAndKiss next. Amanda, welcome to Bondi Beach! Can you share a little on your background as well and how you got to where you are in your career/life today?
Amanda HugAndKiss: Hello, thanks for having me. I'm elated to be at Bondi Beach where we have such a promising young defense to develop. About me, I come from the football epicenter of the world, New Jersey. Everyone is impacted in the culture here, you either dive in head first or you try your best to withstand and avoid the impact it takes. I have always loved the strategy of football and execution of a cohesive strategy especially, like a beautiful rotation in basketball. Naturally, I gravitated towards defensive back due to my leaner frame and the vantage point it offers on the field. This will be my first time leaving New Jersey for an extended period of time (I had to look up where Bondi Beach is) but I am grateful for the opportunity. My immediate goal is to try to understand my role in our defense as we have a lot of rookies so our places in the defense are a bit murky. Also, the other safety in our defense was drafted first overall, so I'm aware I may be picked on immediately, haha.
MB: You hit the nail on the head with that one! Football is a very analytical game and frankly, I feel like sometimes people overlook the effect that strategy, game planning and game specific tactics have on the effect of the competition! Thank you again for joining us!
Next up to Amanda’s left, we have DJ Maclean!! DJ, could you please give us a run down on how you got to where you are today, and what your background looks like that took you into the DSFL draft?
DJ Maclean: Hey man, it’s great to be here, a genuine honour! Well, as you can probably detect from my accent, I haven’t always lived in the U.S.! Im from a small village in the Scottish highlands called Drumnadrochit. Growing up, the main sports around me were football, or soccer for you North American types, shinty and rugby. I was a fast grower as a kid, so found that shinty and rugby both suited my slightly overly physical style of sports. Shinty, for the uninitiated, is kind of like field hockey, but with less rules, harder balls and more angular sticks! When my family moved to Oregon, I found that rugby wasn’t particularly popular, and nobody had even heard of shinty! I knew a little about football from watching the NFL growing up, so tried out for the high school team. They found that I was pretty good at running into people. When I realised that I was actually pretty good at it, I set my mind to being the best I could be. That led me to Boise State, where I had a great 3 years, and the DSFL draft. And let me tell you, I couldn’t be happier with where I have ended up!
MB: Seems like the transition from rugby to American football was a great choice for you! I’ve seen that you had one heck of a collegiate career so definitely kept your mind into it!Last but certainly not least, we have Ivan Baldwin! Ivan, could you share a little about your background and how you got to the seat you are in today?
Ivan Baldwin: Hello! Firstly, I just want to say that it's truly amazing to have this opportunity to play for Bondi Beach Buccs. I also want to thank the coaching staff, the GM, my teammates and fans for creating a very positive atmosphere around the team. I really feel welcomed here.
As for my story, I was born in a great city of Detroit. My father is a professional chess player and an my mother is an immigrant from Russia, so that's how I got my name which is very popular in Russia. It was actually her who introduced me to many sports and growing up I was a big fan of soccer, basketball and football. In my childhood I actually played soccer more and was better at it but during the last years of high school I understood that I was quite talented at playing football. Also I always enjoyed to be a defender on the field and I truly fell in love with playing cornerback. Then I started following football more, so I became a big fan of Lions. It was really cool that I was given an opportunity to play at Michigan State, despite the fact that I was a 0 star recruit. There, with the help of coaches, I was able to improve my skills and I had great two last years that led me to DSFL and Bondi Beach. I hope that here I'll be able to help the team win as much as possible!
MB: That’s impressive that your love, passion and dedication to football brought you over to the US for school, you were able to compete collegiately at a very high lev because of you passion! What would you say is your primary goal during your rookie season with Bondi Beach?
IB: I want to improve as a player and simply help the team win. Fans, coaches and my teammates really believe in me, so I believe that I should work as much as possible to justify their hopes!
MB: I can say that Bondi Beach has an outstanding fan base, as they always say, if you love the fans, the fans will love you back! That’s the best first step towards success in your DSFL career! DJ, upon your arrival to Bondi Beach, we’re you able to see any of the sights? Have you been able to see the local scenery, stop at any fine restaurants? What have you consumed your time with so far?
DM: Obviously, football has been at the forefront of my mind. You know, learning the schemes, gelling with my teammates, that sort of thing. One thing that is never an issue, though, is having good weather to train outside. Obviously, we are ramping up our training, ready for our first preseason games, so a bit of extra cardio is always welcome. And honestly, the surrounding area has some astounding scenery. There is one particular route I enjoy along the coastal path to Coogee, the scenery is stunning, and if you need an excuse to rest, you can check out some aboriginal rock carvings and make culture the excuse, not the excruciating stitch!
MB: Team camaraderie is definitely an undervalued asset when looking at the big scheme of success on the field! I would agree, the scenery has been outstanding and I love outside of practice, getting to see the sites in the local area!
Amanda, aside from practice, have you been able to see any sights in the local towns? Have you met any Buccaneer fans and how did they feel about you being drafted to the team?
AHK: Yeah, I'm still getting settled to the team and the new location so I haven't gotten the chance to go sightseeing. Everyone here has an accent here which is neat. I'm going to have to get comfortable soon since the flight back to the East Coast is 20+ hours. I've met some locals here who are naturally inquisitive when they see my trademark look and non-accented voice, the topic of my occupation is a common touchpoint. When I tell them I play for the Buccaneers they tend to ask me questions about Tom Brady.
MB: Well, give it a few seasons and I think the name Amanda HugAndKiss will be more widely regarded and well known than Tom Brady! I think you’re worth ethic will have your name spread across billboards everywhere!
Toast, when you are out seeing the sites in Bondi Beach, do people ever recognize you? How has the conversations and interactions with the locals/fans been?
BT: The people here are very friendly and clearly love their team! I didn't expect people to even know me yet since I was drafted later on but I've had fans come up to me and ask for autographs and pictures and it's really humbling to see the level of passion the fans have for the game. I've been given some pointers from the fans on what I need to do to excel and I'm going to do my best to make sure they're proud I'm representing their team. We're very lucky to have the opportunity to play this sport as our career and the very least I can do is take the time to stop and chat with any fan who wants to make the time for me!
MB: I am glad you’re loving it so far, I have had similar reactions from the fans as well. As I was an undrafted rookie, I assumed nobody would know who the heck I was, but to my surprise, they were welcoming me by name, asking for photos and autographs, it was a very surreal experience for an undrafted rookie!
Mary, how was your pre draft process with all of the DSFL teams? What interested you most shout Bondi Beach, and when you were drafted, what were your first thoughts?!
MM: The pre-draft was fucking exhausting, mate. I mean, there was a couple weeks there where I was flying halfway across the world every few days, you know, Kansas City, then back to Britain to meet with Norfolk, then back to the US to meet with Portland, and of course all the way to Australia to meet the Bucs, and so on, so I definitely felt pretty broken by the end of it. I remember getting to the end of it and being so happy to be done with it. I'm really not accustomed to all that travel. But every meeting was interesting, and I got to learn a lot about the league, so I can't say I regret it. With Bondi Beach, what kind of fascinated me was their fall from grace. Just a few years ago, they won a championship, but they immediately fell to the bottom of the league right afterwards. I guess that's just the nature of developmental leagues, but I was curious what that team—a team that knows both great success and horrible failure—might look like. The other thing about the team that I thought was very interesting was that despite their horrible record, many of their players were drafted very highly in the most recent ISFL draft! So I imagine that the team is probably much more competent than their record suggests, and they definitely know how to develop their players. With that in mind, I was incredibly excited to be drafted first overall. I know I mentioned earlier that I was feeling the pressure that comes with the high pick, but at the same time I know that Bondi Beach will do right by me, and I intend to return the favor.
MB: I think many of the rookies here can relate to that! While my trip was not nearly as extensive, I was bouncing around as well from place to place, mirroring with front offices to see where my services may be the best fit for the direction of their program!
Now that things are settled a bit, Mary, what is the plan with your first professional paycheck? Any big purchases on the horizon?
MM: I can't say that I've ever been *without* money, but I've certainly never had so much money at once. Six million dollars is more than I can really wrap my head around. I plan on buying the apartment I'm renting at the moment, and then I'll maybe set aside a few million dollars for the future, and I'll try to stay frugal during the season, if I can. But when the offseason hits, I want you to know that I will be a fucking goner. I'm going to party so constantly that I won't know what my own name is. I'm going to ingest the kind of substances (chocolate milk) that let me talk to the concept of Saturday (chocolatey wasted). I might check out what the Berlin scene is like. When paying for my own livelihood is no longer a day-to-day concern, I have no idea why I'd do anything else. For a few months, I am going to transform into the pure creature of the id; I'm going to fucking destroy my mind, body, and soul, and hopefully piece it back together in time for training camp.
MB: Well, that definitely sounds like a solid plan! Hopefully you will be able to unwind in the offseason and the new found, and well deserved money, affords you opportunities you never dreamed imaginable!
Toast, how did your family take the news of you being drafted? Will they be able to come out and see you play?
BT: I actually don't stay in touch with my family. That's something that I would rather keep behind me. I do have lots of great friends that I made when I played for Syracuse that kept me focused on my goals and were there for me when I needed support. I had a couple close buddies tune into the draft live stream with me and they were as thrilled as I was when Bondi Beach made the selection. Of course, it's a little far to expect my friends to make it out to a trip but I hope to pay it back for their support by using some of the rookie contract money to fly them out and show them around once I'm a little more comfortable and settled in! Right now they're looking at our schedule to figure out which game they want to come to so I'm sure we'll see a Toast support row at one of the games in the near future! I'm excited to get them out to see a game.
MB: Well I am very glad to hear that you have a solid support system, hopefully they can get out to some games and cheer on the Buccaneers!
Amanda, after the draft had concluded, and it finally set in that you would be one of the newest safeties on the team, what was your first thought? Was it a shock or were you ready for that feeling to hit?
AHK: First thought was just excited to be drafted, second thought was trying to find Bondi Beach. The Buccaneers never actually scouted me so I was not prepared at all to be drafted when I did. I'll never complain for a chance to take the field and at this point I'm just hoping the learning curve isn't too steep and we can start to gel as soon as possible on defense.
MB: What a surprise that was then! I heard this was a massive draft class so honesty their scouting department may have been stretched a tad thin! Regardless, we are more than happy you’re here!
DJ, of the people you have met so far, who have you connected with the best? Is there anyone in the locker room or front office that has been helpful to your transition into Bondi Beach?
DM: I honestly couldn’t ask for a better group of people to share a locker room with. Bondi had quite a high turnover these past couple of seasons, with call ups, and that has meant a lot of the people drafted are people I knew from the Combine, pre-draft workouts etc. The more experienced players have also been incredibly welcoming and helpful with orientation, recommending the best places to eat, that sort of thing. The coaches are next-level as well, they do everything they can to help you get a good grounding in the scheme, they know the playbook and it’s concepts inside out, so know the best ways to help you learn it and retain it. It can be a daunting position to be in, joining your first professional team, but everyone with the Buccaneers organisation makes it an easy transition.
MB: Very well said! I could not agree more with the way Bondi Beach has approached such a large recruit class as well as mixing in the more veteran players, it has been outstanding to see the camaraderie that has been built so very early on in the season.
Ivan, with your recent joining of the Bondi Beach Buccaneers organization, looking at your career as a whole, when you are called up from DSFL to the ISFL, what do you want your fans to think about who you are as a player? What do you want to accomplish as an entire career in the DSFL?
IB: That's a good question. I think that I want to prove to fans that I'm a team player. Not someone whose first goal is to become rich or famous. It is also very important not to be fake, pretend that I am not someone who I am in reallity. Obviously, the goal that I'm trying to achieve in my DSFL career - winning the Ultimini for the Buccs!
MB: Thank you very much for that, sounds like an outstanding career! Now we get to the fun section of the interview! Starting at the top, I will ask each of you two questions back to back, not specifically football related, but more random questions to learn about your personality!
First on the block! Mary! Favorite Tv series, and why? Favorite character in that series?
MM: That's a good question! I think if I had to choose a favorite TV series, it'd have to be It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It's a well-written show with great acting that manages to consistently produce both short-form and long-form comedy. My favorite character would definitely be Artemis, because she occupies a unique place in the show in which she is every bit as depraved as any of the main characters yet primarily interacts with them as an outside observer. Her outward eccentricity is something I aspire to.
MB: Great show! I haven’t made my way 100% through it, but I am getting there. If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, 3 times a day (no health implications of this) what would that meal be and why?
MM: That's tough! There's so many great foods out there. I think my choice would be a nice pasta bake, maybe fresh tagliatelle, with pork mixed with plenty of herbs, some Worcestershire sauce, some beef stock, some red wine, ummm.... maybe toss some spinach and bell pepper in there, and then some passata. I think you'd probably cover that in some breadcrumbs and a bit of parmesan then pop it in the oven (after the passata has thickened up, of course), and... I don't know, sprinkle some greek salad cheese on it when it comes out. If I'm going to be eating this every day of my life, it'd have to be varied enough to really have a lot to enjoy about it, and I think that bake would work out for me.
MB: Sounds delicious! *enter chefs kiss gif here*. Maybe at one of our team dinners you’ll need to whip that up for us!
Toast, aside from football, what’s your favorite sport, athlete in that sport, and why?
BT: I grew up in Ontario, Canada and while all the kids around my age obsessed over hockey I was much more of a baseball fan! I love the summer months and being outdoors. I’m not much of a skater either so I really wasn’t great at keeping up with my friends but playing some catch or swinging a bat with my size felt pretty good. Preferring outdoor sports would lead to my career in football too. Growing up I cheered for the Yankees and idolized Derek Jeter from the historic clips I watched. He seemed to be a natural leader and was an inspiration.
MB: Baseball is a great sport! I am originally from Louisiana, so unfortunately, we have no pro teams. But I have always been a big fan of the sport and players through high school! Do you have a favorite book, what is it, and why?
BT: That’s a great question! I really wasn’t much of a reader growing up. A lot of my time went into sports with my friends or training and practicing. On the bus trips to and from school growing up I’d read to pass the time and I really enjoyed Fahrenheit 451. My English teacher in high school recommended it to me. I was really interested in the alternative world and it got me into that kind of genre!
MB: Cannot say that’s one that I have read before but I will definitely add it to my reading list, thank you!
Amanda, jumping over to you now! If you had to be any animal, what would you be, and why?
AHK: I think it’s hard to answer anything other than cat. You get the household pet perks like not having to find your own food, while getting time to pursue your interests, like knocking over things or finding the highest place to climb. Also, cats are not expected to do much and I think I envy that kind of carefree lifestyle.
MB: Cat is always a great answer! I am allergic unfortunately, but definitely a cute animal that lives some of the best lives. What would you say is your favorite holiday, and why?
AHK: Thanksgiving is. First, there’s a lot of birthdays in my family in November so the atmosphere is already light, plus there’s a consistency with the holiday that I appreciate. Also, giving gifts gives me anxiety so I tend to like gift based holidays less than others, haha.
MB: Thanksgiving is one of my favorites as well, nothing better than a nice plate of cornbread stuffing! DJ, of the 4 seasons, which is your favorite, and why?
DM: I love Autumn, or Fall as you guys call it over here! As a Scot, im fairly cold-blooded, so don’t enjoy the heat as much as some others. And there’s something about the scenery, the browns and oranges on the trees. And, of course, it’s the best time to play Football!
MB: I couldn’t agree more, the change in temperature and the turning of the leaves is a great time of year and settling for a big football game. While I’m not a huge fan of the cold, as my family calls it, “sweatshirt weather” is always the best time of year!
Do you have any hidden talents that the Bondi Beach fans should know about?
DM: Oh wow, that’s a tough question! I have to say, I’m not really an artistic kind of guy, so I can’t sing, draw, paint, barely passable on the bass. I’m fairly athletically-inclined, one of the sports I played growing up was shinty, which is like an aggressive version of field hockey. So I’m adept at both whacking a tiny hard rubber ball with a funny shaped stick, and at getting out of the way of the same balls when others blast them at me! I did try tossing the caber at a Highland Games once, but that is definitely not for me!
MB: Thats awesome! Definitely unique spots compared to what I saw growing up in the southern part of the US. Definitely seem like a great time!
Ivan, if you were stuck on an island, with no way of getting off (no you can’t bring any modes of transportation) what 3 things would you bring with you and why? Factor in, you have shelter, food supplies and clean water.
IB: I guess I would bring two books with me. One written by my favorite author for entertainment and education purposes and one book on survival. Having shelter, food, supplies and clean water is cool but "you can always become better in life, innit?", as one wise man said. The last thing I would bring is a music player with my favorite songs downloaded. I am a big musichead and I have probably 1k-2k songs liked. I think you can't get bored with this huge library of music, which is very important. You never want to go insane!
MB: Music is a very good one! I honestly did not even think about bringing my musical playlist, podcasts would be up there too! Always taking the time to listen to my favorite music or learn more through podcasts about my overall interests!
Ivan, do you collect anything? If so, what is it, and what got you into collecting?
IB: Growing up, I really enjoyed playing video games on my PlayStation and PSP. Despite that I'm not really a gamer at this period of my life, I still have a massive collection of video game covers. I just like the aesthetic of the shelf full of cool looking covers.
MB: Awesome! Well hopefully on some of these longer road trips, you can bring something portable and keep you busy on the flight, and the subsequent bus trip!
Well folks, that about wraps up our segment for today. Thank you all again so very very much for attending and I hope you appreciate your rookie class just a bit more knowing the ins and outs of their life. We look forward to having another segment like this again in the near future and hope that you all are enjoying the season! If you ever have any questions you would like to see here on the segment, please do not hesitate to send them my way. With all that being said, Malik Brooks, OUT!