Hechter reflects on dream debut college season
Hechter set himself the daunting challenge of working towards earning a US College American Football scholarship as a specialist kicker.
Cade Hechter is not one to do things by halves.
Barely four years ago, when he was about to start year 12 at Moriah College, and was yet to kick a gridiron ball “properly”, Hechter set himself the daunting challenge of working towards earning a US College American Football scholarship as a specialist kicker.
He not only achieved that dream when recruited by the Bethane-Cookman University (BCU) Wildcats in Daytona, Florida in early 2023, but played in all of their eight games in his first season, kicking seven field goals, and 23 out of 24 extra point conversions.
“My dad [David] is American, and the NFL was always on our TV on Monday mornings during the season, so that’s how I really got into following the game,” Hechter told The AJN earlier this month when back home for an off-season break.
“When I was 17, I knew I wanted to go to college in America after high school, and suddenly when I was watching an NFL game and saw a player kicking, it just clicked in my mind, that I can do that.”
For the next six months, he pulled out of his soccer team to focus solely on kicking practice.
He was then invited to spend January 2020 trialling for the Melbourne-based Pro Kick Australia training program.
“I got to have a one-on-one trial with a coach called John Smith who was an Atlanta Falcons player, and after that they said we want you in our program when you finish school.”
In January 2021, Hechter moved to Melbourne for two years to train there as a kicker.
Then it was a waiting game, until he got a text message from Pro Kick in December 2022 telling him that the BCU Wildcats had him in mind.
“I got a verbal commitment, only to have that withdrawn, so for the next few months it was an emotional rollercoaster, until their new head coach offered me a scholarship as the Wildcats’ main kicker.
“That was such a special moment, and in June last year, I moved to Daytona for pre-season training.”
Hechter was picked to start in game one on September 3 – away against Memphis in front of 30,000 spectators – and he even got to do the kick-off.
“I was thinking, did this really happen? And a moment later, my leg was shaking as I kicked my first extra point.
“Because kickers spend time on the sidelines, I can look around and soak it in, but the moment I step onto the field, I don’t notice the crowd at all.”
The Wildcats 2023 South West Athletic Conference division 1 season was hampered by injuries to key players, and the team only won three of their eight games, but positive signs were their solid defence, and that four of their losses were by 10 points or less.
Always an optimist, Hechter is confident the Wildcats can make their conference finals in season 2024, which kicks off in late August, and has set himself the goal of becoming the conference’s leading kicker.
And he is very grateful to his “parents, grandparents, extended family and friends, and to everyone at Pro Kick Australia”.
His advice to high school students who may feel nervous about setting big goals is, “You can’t half-do anything, so if you want something enough, go for it, because it’s worth it.
“And feeling nervous about it is normal,” he added. “It just means you care.”
Other Jewish Australians about to recommence pre-season US College American Football training next month include Melbourne native Jesse Ehrlich – a punter for the California Polytech State University Mustangs – and Sydney native Izi Bonfil, a defensive back for the Missouri Valley College Vikings.
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