Lauren Silberman has little chance at making the NFL.

She's never kicked anything more than a football in an organized game and just started practicing NFL-style field goals.

Even so, the first female kicker scheduled to try out at an NFL regional trials would like to see where her new hobby will take her.

The 28-year-old Silberman will try out on Sunday at the New York Jets' training facility in Florham Park, New Jersey.

"I am working hard to prepare but I am also realistic about my chances," she wrote in an email. "I hope my willingness to put myself out there inspires others to seize opportunities and challenges. The support from around the world has been so heartening."

The odds are clearly stacked against her. There are only 32 jobs available in the league, and teams tend to stick with kickers they trust, whom they know will react under pressure when they game is on the line, in the snow in Denver, for example.

Before they even consider her in that regard, scouts will want to see her connect on extra points and chip-shot field goals with some consistency before moving on to long-range kicks.

Silberman will compete against more accomplished or polished college kickers, all hoping to prove they have the leg strength and accuracy worthy of earning an invite to an NFL training camp. St. Louis Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein participated in a regional trial last year before he was drafted and morphed into "Legatron."

Cincinnati Bengals special teams coach Darrin Simmons said teams look for several things specifically when judging kickers in these situations. The most important is leg strength, followed by accuracy on field goals over 40 yards, and how they did on important kicks in college.

"When rating field goals, the deepest we test at the combine is a 50-yard field goal. There's not many attempts over 55 yards. We don't practice kicks much deeper than that _ rarely do we do them," Simmons said. "You can tell after watching a 50-yard field goal how far the ball goes over the crossbar if they can hit from 55. They've got to be able to hit from 55. On kickoffs, they've got to be able to get the ball out of the back of the end zone."

Silberman won't be kicking against the best of the sure-footed prospects, but there will be talent on hand regardless. The regional trials debuted in 2011, and feature players who weren't among the 333 invited to the main trial in Indianapolis. So no first-round picks are likely to show; only potential, hidden, undrafted gems or late-round risks. The league is holding these sessions in 10 cities this offseason, with the most impressive players advancing to a super-regional trial in April in Dallas. It's sort of the sports version of a TV reality show, where each hit and tackle can wow a scout and move a player on to the next round. Only instead of a recording contract, it's an NFL one.

"If you're talented enough, you're going to get recognized. And if you put up good numbers, the numbers don't lie," said Doug Whaley, assistant general manager/director of player personnel for the Buffalo Bills.

Silberman hasn't treated the tryout like a publicity stunt. But Silberman, whose NFL.com bio listed her as a footballer at Wisconsin University, seems to understand what she's up against. More likely, she wanted to use the weekend as an opportunity to promote greater diversity in American football.

While a female has never played in the NFL, if the gender breakthrough did happen, it most likely would be at kicker.

Females have kicked or tried out for a roster spot in the college ranks for years. Just last season, former goalkeeper Mo Isom tried out as a Louisiana State University placekicker. In 2003, Katie Hnida became the first woman to kick for a top college football team, scoring in one game for the University of New Mexico.

Hnida, who later kicked for the Fort Wayne Firehawks of the Continental Indoor Football League, was surprised a player with no true kicking background would be scouted at a combine.

"I thought it would be an athlete who has come through the ranks of playing football for a long time," she said. "It is so different kicking in a live situation, too, dealing with the timing of the snap, having guys rushing at you. That's where you separate the good from the great."

Sean Landeta, a Super Bowl champion and considered one of the NFL's great punters, gave Silberman credit for competing, one way or the other.

"I think it's courageous on her part in trying this, and certainly groundbreaking if she could prove her skills are good enough to play in the NFL," he said. "What a team's policy would be as far entertaining the thought in signing a female, that's still debatable. No one knows that answer. ... I give her points for giving it a shot. She's obviously following her dream."