PEOSTA, Iowa (KCRG) – Four years ago, Dave and Kristy Konrardy could never imagine this. A reporting coming to their Peosta home to talk to them about football.
“Never thought this would happen,” said Kristy.
Her youngest son, Kyle Konrardy, was “rambunctious,” as a kid. But he channeled that energy into soccer. He and his older brother Jacob were mainstays on soccer fields in the Dubuque area.
“He took to it right away,” said Dave. “Him and his brother both started when they were young – four or five years of age.”
A future football player? Far from it.
“He hated football,” said Dave. “He wouldn’t watch it, he wouldn’t play it.”
What changed?
Jacob took over the starting kicker job at Dubuque Senior, and when he graduated, Kyle followed in his footsteps.
“He always was very compeitive,” said Kristy. “He wasn’t gonna let his brother outdo him right?”
As a junior, Kyle had natural talent, going 12-for-15 on field goal attempts and 27-for-29 on PAT’s in his first year of organized football. After a few kicking camps, he was hooked.
Then came a preferred walk-on offer from Iowa State. That means Konrardy wouldn’t be on scholarship, but a spot on the team was still there for him.
“From day one when I walked in with him to Iowa State he turned around, he goes ‘this is where I want to be,’” said Dave. “He had his mind set that he was going to Iowa State and he did what ever he could to get there.”
Just three years after picking up football for the first time, Konrardy got his chance to kick his way into Cyclone history. September 7th, against Iowa, in the Cy-Hawk game.
“I just remember thinking in the fourth quarter ‘oh my goodness,’” said Kristy, who was sitting in the Kinnick Stadium stands with Dave and Jacob “I think we all looked at each other, and said ‘this is gonna come down to a field goal.’”
That it did. But from 54 yards out, Konrardy was on the money.
“Gotta do my job. We talk about practicing and performing all the time so I went out there like I practiced and we performed,” Konrardy said after the game.
“Did you know (it was good) when you hit it?” reporters asked.
“Yes sir.”
Kyle Konrardy’s story goes even deeper. Throughout his freshman year at school, the Konrardys were fighting battles off the field too. The TV9 Sports Team will tell that story during the Countdown to Kickoff Bowl Game Special on Friday, Dec. 20 at 6:30 P.M.
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