photo by: Chance Parker/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Yusef Iskandrani celebrates after nailing a field goal during the season opener against Shawnee Mission East on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Lawrence.

Free State senior Yusef Iskandrani has kicked a ball for his entire life. His form on placek icks, however, was backwards.

“I started kicking with my left leg and planted with the same leg, which I guess you’re not supposed to do,” Iskandrani said. “I realized that you’re supposed to land on your plant foot.”

Iskandrani grew up playing soccer and is the goalie on Free State’s boys soccer team. On the soccer pitch, he uses his leg sparingly, but in those moments the power is obvious. That led to him reaching out to Free State football coach Kevin Stewart about joining the team when Free State’s former kicker transferred to Lawrence High School.

It took about three game weeks for Iskandrani to gain the confidence to be a kicker, but now in year two with the team, he has solidified his role for the team and came up big in the team’s season-opener win over Shawnee Mission East, where he hit a 40-yard field goal for the first score of the year and later pinned the Lancers inside their own 10-yard line on a punt that eventually led to a safety.

Iskandrani’s legs have a long week. The Free State soccer team plays on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with football playing on Friday. Three games a week means little time for rest and recovery or even practice, yet he still fits it all into his schedule.

“I have more games than practices in a week,” Iskandrani said. “I try to fit in on Mondays football practice before soccer practice, then I’ll (practice) if I feel like going on Wednesdays if my leg isn’t tired.”

Just as a pitcher rests his arm, Iskandrani tries to rest his leg. Wednesdays are a crucial day to avoid overexerting his leg before he has to perform on Thursday and Friday. Still, Iskandrani takes extra time to work with private kicking coaches to improve his game.

It has only been two years since he started playing football, but Iskandrani has already decided that football is the sport that he’s working toward pursuing in college. Growing up, soccer was always Iskandrani’s game, but he noticed that his natural talent in football was greater, even if his tackling still needed some work. Iskandrani said that so far he’s attempted two tackles in a game, and the results ruled out a future spot at linebacker.

Iskandrani’s ability to play all kicking specialist positions for Free State has made him one of the team’s most valuable players. In practices where quarterbacks are usually exempt from being hit or tackled, Iskandrani also gets the same treatment as the only kicker. That comes with pressure, but that’s something that Iskandrani has dealt with throughout his playing career, especially being a goalie.

While both the goalkeeper and the kicker are under high pressure, Iskandrani says it is a different kind of pressure. In soccer, things are going so fast that he doesn’t have time to think, only react. The opposite is true for place kicking. Iskandrani has time to think through everything — almost too much time, which leads to kickers overthinking it.

Iskandrani believes he manages it all well and can do well in challenging situations when the moment comes during the football season. The confidence built over his two-year playing career has led him to pursue football in college.

“I realized I was already at a high level when I started, and if I kept at it then I could be at an even higher level,” Iskandrani said.

Social media is one of the main ways that Iskandrani tries to get recruited. After every Free State football game, he posts a highlight reel of all of his kicks, from kickoffs to field goals to punts. He works with private coaches who post clips from their sessions, which get seen by coaches.

Iskandrani said he hit a 62-yard field goal in practice, which is the longest he’s ever hit. He hit one from 47 yards in the season opener, which is his longest in-game kick.

This fall will continue to be busy for Iskandrani. The Firebirds boys soccer team is 4-2, competing in a tough Sunflower League where they will need their stout defense in every game. Free State’s football team is off to a slower start with a 1-2 record, but the Firebirds have a good amount of returning talent to turn the team around.

Iskandrani will be there for it all with both teams, something that he wouldn’t have ever thought of doing just three years ago. If life is about taking advantage of the moment, then Iskandrani is doing well. If Free State’s former kicker never transferred, Iskandrani would’ve never started playing football and wouldn’t be working toward a college career in kicking.

“I still talk to him sometimes and say thank you,” Iskandrani said. “I wouldn’t have done all of this if it weren’t for that.”

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State goalkeeper Yusef Iskandrani looks to pass to a teammate during a 2-0 loss to Mill Valley at Free State on Tuesday, September 24, 2024.