As hockey season approaches, so too does football season. We all know that professional athletes are in excellent shape from the intense strength and conditioning training and the all of the cardio work they do. Some NHL and NFL players even grew up as multi-sport athletes when they were younger. Take Patrick Mahomes, QB for the Kansas City Chiefs, for instance. Mahomes is a prime example, having played both baseball and football growing up.
Victor Hedman is a freak of nature. We already know this. The 6-foot-7, 240-pound defenseman has a pair of Stanley Cup championships under his belt and is also a Norris Trophy winning defenseman(2017-18). This week, Hedman was at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice facility and actually drilled a 50-yard field goal kick. Have a look.
Just for reference here, when an NFL team goes for an extra point following a touchdown, the ball is placed at the 15-yard line. The kick from ball holder to uprights is about 33 yards. Even then, sometimes kickers miss from that distance. Hedman just nailed one from 17 yards further out. To take it a step further, the longest field goal kick to be completed in NFL history was a 66-yard kick by Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, in a game against the Detroit Lions in September of 2021.
Obviously, we don't know how many attempts Hedman had before the camera started rolling. I'm sure he was run through a practice routine before they began filming, but either way, this is pretty impressive. There's also a big difference between hitting a field goal in a practice facility and doing it in a game setting, especially if there's wind to consider. Still, this is pretty damn cool.
