Leon DeCanta Interview with Kennith Shrader

(written by Rally Ranger)

WFST – Tallahassee’s home for all of your furry sports needs.

L: “And welcome back to the Leon DeCanta show! Today’s special guest is a rookie for the North Florida Renegades, a team from the newly regenerated United Furry Football League. He’s big, he’s tough, and he will shred through any offensive player going his way. That’s right, folks, we are talking about defensive lineman Kennith ‘The Shredder’ Shrader and he is here with us today. Kennith, I welcome you to this show as well as this fine city of Tallahassee!”

K: “Thank you for having me here, Mr. DeCanta. I really love the atmosphere here.”

L: “You’re welcome. Is this place anything like where you are from at Highland, Indiana?”

K: “It is so different! There are more buildings here than fields. When you come over to my area, it is pretty much farm land throughout most of the city. But I have managed to find a few areas around here that remind me of my home.”

L: “That’s good, Kennith. Since we are on the subject, why don’t you tell me about your life at Indiana? Did you spend most of your time out at the barn or were you away a lot?”

K: I come from a family with six siblings, with me being the oldest. I was pretty much at the barn everyday helping out the family and teaching some of my brothers what to do when they were old enough to work out there. I guess you can say there’s where I got my strength at.”

L: “And it shows too. Now with you working out at the barn all day, every day, didn’t you have time for school at all? It says you attended Acorn University over in Ohio for two years, but we have no idea how well you did there.”

K: “We were home-schooled; all of us. At least until I found this new-found passion for football. When I entered high school, I was pretty much a grade up from everyone else and I still found the content in the class to be somewhat easy to go over and finish in due time.”

L: “Ah, I see. Well, let’s back up a little and focus on how you came into the football scene. If I heard right, you started off as a backyard sports guy with some of the neighbors… and you dislocated one of their shoulders. True or false?”

K: *Chuckles* “ Oh, dear… it did start off with a bunch of us kids playing out in our backyards when I was twelve. Imagine me, twelve years old and standing about five foot ten…”

L: “At twelve years old?! You really are a big guy at that age.”

K: *Nods* “Oh yeah… all of the kids wanted me. If I wasn’t captain of that day, then I knew I would be the first ones picked. After that it became a pick-up game. With the few kids we did have on the field, we played both roles. I found my calling when I played defense. The number of sneak attacks and pressure I put on the quarterbacks felt good. One day, I came in for a sack; tackled the kid to the ground hard enough to dislocate his shoulder.”

L: “That had to hurt. Did you get in trouble for doing that?”

K: “The thing about where I am from, is that we are a close-knit community. Yeah, the word spread quickly about what I did, but when I was approached by both parents they didn’t seem mad at all. I remember the kid’s father telling me that this is the kind of sport where injuries happen. That and kids are bound to get hurt one way or another. I know I had a few close calls with the horses back at the barn. Anyways, he said to my father that I had something special in me and that I should enroll in football camp, and so I did.”

L: “And that lead to refining your skills as well as a successful high school career. Did you know you were going to play football when you were going to college?”

K: “I almost didn’t go to college. But my agent insisted to taking a couple years there and playing in their circuit. I’ll admit I learned some things while I was there; much different than high school ball.”

L: “Good choice; let’s talk about your first game in the UFFL. Four tackles and a sack; I am very impressed especially since it is coming from a rookie.”

K: “Thank you once again. I played just as hard as any other game. I am glad to record a sack.”

L: “Yeah, but those hits cost you two weeks out when you had a concussion. Are you ready to play for week four?”

K: “Definitely! I have been with the doctors and the coaches last week as well as this week. We all made sure I was recovered and fully able to head back on the field. I can’t wait to actually practice coming to week four.”

L: “I can’t wait to see you back on the field, Kennith. And with that, it is time to take a break. I would like to thank Kennith ‘The Shredder’ Shrader once more for coming into our studios and talking with us. When we return, we will have more of your favorite sports stories; only on the Leon DeCanta show!”