My friend who plays for the football team at my school approached me today telling me i should try out for the field goal kicker b/c i play soccer but i have never kicked a football while trying to put it through a field goal so my questio is How is this different and similar to soccer kicking?
Well, the ball is pointy so the center of mass is higher off the ground. And you want to kick it high, so you have to forget all those lessons about keeping the ball down when you shoot it. But it should be pretty similar. I think after a few tries you should be able to get it through. Just get a football and bring a friend or two and try it at the school field (it goes faster if you have a guy retrieving the balls and throwing them back to the holder).
I made the transition pretty easily, so don't worry about it too much. My coach had a good suggestion of putting powdered chalk (the stuff they put on their hands in the weight room) on your kicking boot so you can see where you're hitting the ball and can learn how the different points of contact affect the flight of the ball (this requires someone to catch them). The main idea is to get a consistent swing/follow-through and learn your distances based on the number of steps you take. I only played my senior year and wished I had done it sooner. It was great beating everyone so easily in the conditioning drills and running down the field on kick-offs was fun except I had to be the last man (all those pads and I wasn't allowed to go get him!). Also, be prepared, there's always seemed to be some guy assigned to go after the kicker on kick-offs.