When Justin Wrecke tells his friends he’s playing indoor football in Topeka, their response is typical.

“A lot of my buddies are going, ‘You should have been doing this a long time ago,'” he said.

Wrecke, who has spent the last four years as an assistant football, basketball and track coach at Free State High, has been itching to play football since he completed his college career at Washburn University.

Washburn friends gave Wrecke a call when the Kansas Koyotes, a member of the American Professional Football League, held tryouts in April. That he made the squad wasn’t a huge surprise.

“He’s talented, no doubt,” FSHS head football coach Bob Lisher said. “He sometimes races the kids in practice, and I don’t think he’s been beat yet.”

Wrecke, a wideout and holder for the Koyotes, runs the 40-yard dash in about 4.4 seconds. He’s powerfully built, a result of hours in the weight room. And, unlike other former players his age, his coordination hasn’t slowed.

“He’s actually one of the better athletes I’ve been around. He’s 29, works out all the time and just looking at him you can tell he’s in good shape,” said friend and FSHS girls basketball coach Bryan Duncan. “I don’t want to pump him up too much, but he’s 5-10 and can dunk a basketball with one, two hands, you name it.”

Still, Duncan conceded there was one part of playing football that didn’t appeal to him — he marvels that Wrecke doesn’t mind getting slammed into walls and pounded by defensive players when the Koyotes play.

“He’s definitely one of the better athletes around — with a screw loose,” Duncan said. “But I don’t think I’d want to go out on a Saturday night and get hit.”

Justin Wrecke, a Former football assistant coach at Free State High, catches his breath during practice. Wrecke was working out with the Kansas Koyotes of the American Professional Football League Tuesday in Topeka.

For love of the game

This wasn’t a rash decision for Wrecke.

He drove to Lincoln, Neb., twice a week last year to play for the Lincoln Capitols. But as the season wore on, that drive wore on him.

“That was a commute,” Wrecke said.

He would travel to Nebraska for practice from 7-9 p.m., often not returning to Lawrence until after midnight.

So when Toby Thomas, a cornerback for Washburn, called Wrecke and asked if he’d be interested in trying out for the Koyotes, Wrecke didn’t think twice.

“My buddies I played with at Washburn asked me if I wanted to play,” he said. “They knew it was something I’d been wanting to do.”

Former Free State High assistant football coach Justin Wrecke pulls down a pass during practice. Wrecke and the Kansas Koyotes, who worked out Tuesday night at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, will play for the American Professional Football League championship Saturday.

Wrecke has to love it. Koyote players don’t rake it in, getting paid anywhere from $50 to $200 a week based on whether they’re on the active roster and how much the team makes at the gate and in concession sales.

“They also give us clothes and food vouchers for places in Topeka, which I have a lot of,” Wrecke said. “But I try to trade those in for tickets.”

He doles out those tickets to family and friends, who take in an entertaining evening of big hits, lots of touchdowns and occasionally, a free football.

A show to behold

Duncan watched the Koyotes play the River City Redemption June 28 at the Kansas Expocentre. It was his first indoor football experience, and it was memorable.

When Duncan and a friend, Lawrence High graduate Craig Butler, walked in, 10 men on motorcycles were on the field, revving their engines while the Koyote girls dance to music. Two minutes later, team introductions began and the show was under way.

The Redemption, the Nebraska football league champs, entered the game 10-1, while the Koyotes were 7-0. Players can cover ground quickly on the field, which is 50 yards long and about 30 yards wide.

The Koyotes, the league’s highest scoring team, led 21-14 after the first quarter — although Wrecke didn’t play an offensive series.

Wrecke entered the game at the start of the second quarter, but didn’t have a ball thrown his way until a minute into third quarter. He did have a fumble recovery, though.

With 3:11 left, Wrecke made his first catch of the game on third-and-four, extending a Koyote drive. Two plays later, Wrecke bolted past the cornerback to the corner of the end zone, cut across the field and made a diving grab for a 21-yard touchdown.

He turned, pointed to Duncan and Butler, then trotted over and tossed Duncan the ball.

Wrecke made their night.

“I think I’m gonna have him sign this, then have (FSHS athletic director Steve) Grant put it in the trophy case at Free State,” Duncan said.

Kansas Koyotes football player Justin Wrecke, a former Free State High assistant coach, dresses prior to practice. Wrecke worked out with his American Professional Football League team Tuesday night at Kansas Expocentre in Topeka.

And, just like that, he’s hooked.

What’s next?

Afterward, as the Koyotes meet and greet fans on the field, Wrecke downplayed how physical the game looked.

Kansas’ 64-20 victory was every bit the blowout it sounds like. Saturday’s APFL championship (8 p.m. at Expocentre) against the Missouri Minutemen probably won’t be much more competitive. The Koyotes have won the previous three meetings by a combined score of 176-80.

The title game will have to fulfill Wrecke’s football needs for the summer. He won’t be back at FSHS this fall, and is hoping to be hired as an assistant at Olathe Northwest. Wrecke and his wife, Marci, live in Olathe, where he will teach P.E. at Indian Creek Elementary.

Still, after nine games since late April, Wrecke is ready to be done with this season.

“At this point, with one game left, I’m really eager to get some things over with and do some things on my own,” he said.

“But next year when it rolls around, I’ll be ready for it to start up again.”