Hi, I’m J. Jonah Juniped here and I caught up with Philadelphia Rookie Flask Panda and his friend/personal translator Professor. Oak to discuss his first season in the NSFL and his thoughts about it all. Flash Panda finished his rookie year with 28 catches for 336 yards, an average of 12 total. He also had 3 touchdowns and his longest catch was 40 yards. He played two seasons as a running back for the Norfolk Seawolves before being called up to Philadelphia and changing to wide receiver.
Q: Now Flash Panda, let's first talk about your position switch from Running Back to Wide Receiver, I know that change can be difficult for some players, how has it been for you?
(All answers are given through his translator and abridged for clarity)
A: I’ve been able to adjust pretty well I think. It took a while to get the hang of catching the ball, but I have been able to handle it. It’s kinda strange going from running to catching like this, as well as actually touching the ball a lot less but I get to run around with my team and have fun on the field still so it’s ok. I get to play against some fun people in a more 1:1 way so I like that. Less pressure.
Q: That’s wonderful Panda. Are you enjoying your new team? It’s probably quite different than Norfolk.
A:I’m loving the new team. The facilities are much better than what I had in Norfolk, and the staff has been wonderful. I also have enjoyed the team very much and have many new friends, as well as come over with some old ones. I have even made a drinking buddy that I get to spend time with! However I don’t think I can get drunk like they can, I can drink much more of what's it called, rum? The coaches have been very helpful and encouraging to me and I think I can be the best football player I can be here. Also they feed me well and put bamboo in the endzones I get whenever I score a touchdown, which is very nice. I am very happy here and glad that I can help them win, even if I’m only the 6th offensive option.
Q: Now I know we never got to talk about it but how do you feel about being the 3rd overall pick from the liberty last season and how did that effect your gameplay?
A: Honestly it was hard. I don’t consider myself a first round pick, let along third overall so I had a hard time adjusting to the pressure. My coaches told me not to worry about it but with all the media attention and eyes on me it was hard to. I think it did affect me and my gameplay and I might have suffered for it. However I won’t use that as an excuse, I should have been able to play through it. I will use the experience to get better and next season I won’t let affect me. I want all Liberty fans to know now that I will do my best and I hope to perform even better for you next season. I will help take the Liberty to the playoffs for you all.
Q: DO you have any advice for new draftees?
A: I want the new rookies to know that you shouldn't focus on where you get drafted as much as I did. I let it get to me and clearly it affected how well I played and my motivation for the game changed. I no longer played for the fun of the game but I played to prove people wrong which was just a negative mindset of mine. clearly I should have stuck to my values and just played for the fun of the game and for the food that my coaches would give me every time I scored a touchdown. I think it's important to try and make a good relationship with your team. You're going to be with them for a while even if you opt out of a rookie contract so remember that your teammates are just regular players just like you and they're here to help you out.
Q: What do you plan on doing to improve this offseason?
A: Yeah actually I have a four-step process planned out with my coaches for this offseason. Step One is I'm going to work a lot of physical training, my strength and endurance are low compared to other players even though I'm a bear. I'm hoping to get those up so that I can keep up with the other players that I'm playing against. next I am going to train with the rookies both to help me work on my fundamentals and to help them get better. since I don't have the same kind of experiences as a bear that others can have working on my fundamentals is something that's always important and as part of my daily training regimes even during the regular season. During the offseason I am also going to be going to do some cross sport training to work on some coordination and skills that might help me on the field. I'm going to be taking a step down in Florida playing baseball and then a couple weeks in Colorado playing hockey both of those will help me with my hand eye coordination my tracking and balance. I'm not used to catching balls so I need to do whatever I can do to get better at catching them.
Well thank you flash Panda and it sounds like you have a lot going on but I'm hoping to see some great things from you. I know you've been ahead on the field for fans of the Philadelphia Liberty oh, and I know they're excited to see what you can do your sophomore year in the league. I'll be keeping in touch and hopefully we can check in sometime later during the season or hopefully even better after you make playoffs.
This is J. Jonah. Juniped signing off.
(1025 wods)
Q: Now Flash Panda, let's first talk about your position switch from Running Back to Wide Receiver, I know that change can be difficult for some players, how has it been for you?
(All answers are given through his translator and abridged for clarity)
A: I’ve been able to adjust pretty well I think. It took a while to get the hang of catching the ball, but I have been able to handle it. It’s kinda strange going from running to catching like this, as well as actually touching the ball a lot less but I get to run around with my team and have fun on the field still so it’s ok. I get to play against some fun people in a more 1:1 way so I like that. Less pressure.
Q: That’s wonderful Panda. Are you enjoying your new team? It’s probably quite different than Norfolk.
A:I’m loving the new team. The facilities are much better than what I had in Norfolk, and the staff has been wonderful. I also have enjoyed the team very much and have many new friends, as well as come over with some old ones. I have even made a drinking buddy that I get to spend time with! However I don’t think I can get drunk like they can, I can drink much more of what's it called, rum? The coaches have been very helpful and encouraging to me and I think I can be the best football player I can be here. Also they feed me well and put bamboo in the endzones I get whenever I score a touchdown, which is very nice. I am very happy here and glad that I can help them win, even if I’m only the 6th offensive option.
Q: Now I know we never got to talk about it but how do you feel about being the 3rd overall pick from the liberty last season and how did that effect your gameplay?
A: Honestly it was hard. I don’t consider myself a first round pick, let along third overall so I had a hard time adjusting to the pressure. My coaches told me not to worry about it but with all the media attention and eyes on me it was hard to. I think it did affect me and my gameplay and I might have suffered for it. However I won’t use that as an excuse, I should have been able to play through it. I will use the experience to get better and next season I won’t let affect me. I want all Liberty fans to know now that I will do my best and I hope to perform even better for you next season. I will help take the Liberty to the playoffs for you all.
Q: DO you have any advice for new draftees?
A: I want the new rookies to know that you shouldn't focus on where you get drafted as much as I did. I let it get to me and clearly it affected how well I played and my motivation for the game changed. I no longer played for the fun of the game but I played to prove people wrong which was just a negative mindset of mine. clearly I should have stuck to my values and just played for the fun of the game and for the food that my coaches would give me every time I scored a touchdown. I think it's important to try and make a good relationship with your team. You're going to be with them for a while even if you opt out of a rookie contract so remember that your teammates are just regular players just like you and they're here to help you out.
Q: What do you plan on doing to improve this offseason?
A: Yeah actually I have a four-step process planned out with my coaches for this offseason. Step One is I'm going to work a lot of physical training, my strength and endurance are low compared to other players even though I'm a bear. I'm hoping to get those up so that I can keep up with the other players that I'm playing against. next I am going to train with the rookies both to help me work on my fundamentals and to help them get better. since I don't have the same kind of experiences as a bear that others can have working on my fundamentals is something that's always important and as part of my daily training regimes even during the regular season. During the offseason I am also going to be going to do some cross sport training to work on some coordination and skills that might help me on the field. I'm going to be taking a step down in Florida playing baseball and then a couple weeks in Colorado playing hockey both of those will help me with my hand eye coordination my tracking and balance. I'm not used to catching balls so I need to do whatever I can do to get better at catching them.
Well thank you flash Panda and it sounds like you have a lot going on but I'm hoping to see some great things from you. I know you've been ahead on the field for fans of the Philadelphia Liberty oh, and I know they're excited to see what you can do your sophomore year in the league. I'll be keeping in touch and hopefully we can check in sometime later during the season or hopefully even better after you make playoffs.
This is J. Jonah. Juniped signing off.
(1025 wods)