The guy organizing this is a former NFL punter and part of the reason he does it is to show how hard it actually is to kick a 33 yard field goal. The whole point is that it looks easy and college kids step up to fail miserably.
In Australian rules football even our under 16s kids can kick 30m goals, using a similar profile ball. I guess that's why we export so many punters to the US.
It is a fair point, but there's legitimate differences. In Aussie rules you're generally kicking from your hands, whereas an American field goal requires kicking a stationary ball off the ground to clear a 10-foot crossbar while staying between somewhat narrow uprights. That's a different technique, not a big matter of distance. There's obviously European football in the US and those players would agree with you that this isn't very impressive.
That said, the biggest difference is probably experience. Australian kids grow up kicking oval balls thousands of times, while many Americans have barely kicked one in favor of hand sports. A 33-yard field goal isn't particularly impressive for a trained kicker, but it's genuinely challenging for someone who's never practiced.
In the NFL the skill is being able to do it relaibly when there's a game on the line. I can hit a 3 point shot in basketball but not nearly every time and not when the pressure's on. For these kids, it's about the pressure of doing something you have zero practice in with the excitement of a crazy prize.
Aussie kids will have a lot of practice kicking oval balls off the tee. They have thee sports which require it. Rugby League, Rugby Union and Aussie Rules Football.
Sure I was focusing on the comment about Australian rules football where players generally kick from their hands. Rugby league and union actually reinforce the point that Australian kids get a lot more practice kicking oval balls, but you're right of course.
It's more about experience than athletic ability. Just like an Aussie kid might struggle to throw an accurate 30-yard spiral, which isn't uncommon for American high school football players.
Rugby League and Rugby Union (in Australia, UK etc) all kick off a tee for conversions which are similar distances . So yes, 16 year olds are doing 30m conversions every weekend. Exactly the same as what is pictured here.
The longest successful (adult) kick recorded for Rugby Union is 70 yards at a quick google
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u/TapeDeckSlick 2h ago
I'm English so probably misinformed but this really doesn't look that difficult?