Lake Mills student Pedro Abreu is discovering a new kind of football.

Abreu, a foreign exchange student from Brazil, decided to join the Bulldogs football team this fall and has become the team’s kicker. Abreu has done well in the position. He has missed one kick and had one blocked. The rest he has made, to the applause of Lake Mills football fans.

“In the games he starts to pay attention a little more when we get closer to the goal line,” teammate Kevin McDonald said. “He comes up to me or other players asking if it’s time to kick because he’s so excited to do it.”

Whether chatting up teammates on the sideline or around school Abreu seems to always have a smile on his face.

“I like it here, I like the people,” Abreu said.

Abreu is from Presidente Prudente, a town located 12 hours west of Rio de Janeiro with a population of around 230,000. He is living with his host family Shawn and Kelley Jensen in Scarville, Iowa, a town with a population of 89.

Abreu had never even kicked a football before joining the team and has shown the ability to kick from distance. He can hit from a range of 35 yards and can be stretched to 40 yards.

Before joining the football team Abreu had been a soccer player for the past 10 years and wears his soccer cleats when he suits up for football games.

“He’s trying to understand the concept of the touchdown and goal line and how many points the extra point and the field goal is,” Lake Mills head coach Bill Byrnes said. “He just knows as a kicker that’s your time down by that goal line”

Abreu has an enthusiasm for the game and he has had to step outside his duties as the kicker to help the team. Two weeks ago against Garner-Hayfield Abreu made a touchdown-saving tackle on a kickoff return, displaying some of his athletic ability.

“Actually, Pedro’s a pretty good athlete,” Byrnes said. “He might be the best athlete out of any foreign exchange kid we’ve had.”

Abreu isn’t the first foreign exchange student to join the Bulldogs football team; in fact, he isn’t even the first foreign exchange kicker. Three years ago Lake Mills had a foreign exchange student from Russia who did the kicking duties for the football team. He kicked 21 extra points that season, and the Bulldogs have had success with foreign exchange students as kickers.

The team is off to a 2-1 start in district play and is in a four-way tie for second place.

“I think when he came here he didn’t really know how everything worked,” Byrnes said. “It took him a little bit of time to know what’s expected of him in school and out here. He’s adjusted well, he’s doing a good job.”

Off the field Abreu is a monster in the lunch room, McDonald said.

“The kid is a monster at lunch,” McDonald said. “He grabs six milks and he goes up for doubles all the time.”

The team has liked having Abreu around and have certainly enjoyed his infectious high spirits.

“He’s always got high spirits,” McDonald said. “He’s always happy-go-lucky.”