Flashback to three years ago: Mount Si Wildcats freshman Reed Paradissis simply delivered when his number got called on the gridiron.
Paradissis, who was a 14-year-old freshman at the time, didn’t think he would be the starting kicker on the varsity squad when practices commenced in August of 2015.
“My freshman year the kicker ahead of me had bad grades. I told the coaches I can kick a little bit. They (Mount Si coaching staff) lined me up for a 40-yard field goal in practice and I just drilled it,” Paradissis said.
Paradissis has been the starting kicker on the varsity squad ever since.
Mount Si head football coach Charlie Kinnune said Paradissis made two field goals and hit an extra point in his first ever varsity game.
“He has ice water running through his veins,” Kinnune said of Paradissis.
Paradissis takes pride in his role on the Wildcats football team. Paradissis is strictly a kicker.
“I think I’ve handled the pressure part of it really well. I jumped in right away my freshman year and had to make some game-winning kicks. That primed me for the rest of the years. I think I really excel at handling pressure,” Paradissis said.
Kinnune agreed wholeheartedly with Paradissis’s sentiment.
“He is very cool and calm and has just had a great career for us. He is a multi-sport athlete who is trying really hard to balance two sports (football, soccer),” Kinnune said.
Paradissis said he’s played soccer since he was 3 years old.
“I have played soccer my whole life and I’m still playing soccer. That is why I’m only a kicker, actually, because I don’t really have time because I have soccer practice (club team) three days a week, too,” Paradissis said.
The Wildcats, who will host the Puyallup Vikings in the Class 4A state quarterfinals at 7 p.m. on Nov. 16 in Snoqualmie, know they can rely on Paradissis to hit the game-winning kick if his number is called.
“We’re very comfortable trotting him out there,” Kinnune said.
Paradissis, who said he’s made field goals as long as 55 yards in practice, said Kinnune trusts him from about 45 yards out in game situations.
“I have played with these guys for so long,” Paradissis said while gesturing toward his teammates. “I trust all of them and they trust me. I have shown up when we’ve needed it. That is a big part of it.”
Recently the Snoqualmie Valley Record had an opportunity to ask Paradissis a few questions about his life away from the football field.
Snoqualmie Valley Record: What is your favorite movie of all time?
Reed Paradissis: “The Aviator.” I like the story of Howard Hughes. His life is really interesting to me.
SVR: What is your favorite restaurant in the Snoqualmie/North Bend area?
RP: I like Trappers Sushi a lot.
SVR: What is something unique about you that nobody would know?
RP: I really like to cook. My grandma taught me how to cook. She lives right next to me. I would go over to her house every morning before school and cook something with her.
SVR: What is your dream vacation spot?
RP: It is probably Fiji.
SVR: How many text messages do you send per day?
RP: I probably send around 10. I don’t really text that much. I do SnapChat a lot. I send 300 to 400 of those per day.
SVR: Where do you see yourself in five years?
RP: Hopefully I’m graduated from Western Washington University and on the way to becoming a firefighter.