Today, we are featuring Rubio Long Snapping legend Nick Monaghan!
What is your occupation? Police Officer
Where do you live? Minneapolis, MN
Married? Kids? Married to my wife Kacie and I have two kids – a boy named Jett and a girl named Josie.
What is your fondest memory of your time playing college football? Hands down hanging in the locker room and just being with the boys always. I loved getting serious before gameday and loved going out with the fellas after games. It was a really cool feeling knowing I was able to represent the Univ. of Missouri. I truly loved and embraced all of it.
If you could give ONE bit of advice to the current Rubio Long Snappers, what would it be? Snapping PARENTS, what would it be?
Long snappers – HAVE FUN. It may feel like you’re going to be in college forever but that 4 years goes by quickly. You will never have that time again. Don’t let the pressure get to you, at the end of the day, all you’re doing is taking an odd shaped circle and throwing it to someone between your legs. I always over thought everything and let the pressure and anxiety get to me. Looking back, it truly was all made up in my head. We are long snappers, not curing cancer. Have fun with it! Also network like crazy. You never know what connections you make while playing ball could help you, or you can help them, down the line! Learn how to advocate for yourself, the tools you are learning now are GREAT for numbers on the scoreboard, but in reality, being a college football player, it’s like being your own business so to speak. You adapt to a schedule, you position yourself for promotion, you train your mind and body for the opportunities you want in sport. The same thing holds true after ball, you just learn how to do it in your job.
Parents – BE A PARENT. Let your kids be the athlete, I know a lot of athlete’s whose parents were over involved or put too much pressure on their athlete. Of course be there for them, help guide them but don’t be a helicopter parent. My parents, I felt like, were a great example, I could come to them for anything and ask them anything, and they would provide guidance and their advice. Remember, college football, in my opinion, is the greatest preparation for life. You want your child to learn how to advocate for themselves, learn to take opportunities for themselves, learn who they are and who they want to be, and learn how to build themselves up for the job that they want. In a few quick years, they will be out in the real world and they will have to do it for themselves. I learned more about the real world and advocating for myself, learned how to position myself for opportunities, all from college football.
When was the last time you snapped a ball and for what reason? Last weekend – when on patrol, I keep a football in my squad car so that I can play catch with the kids in our city. It truly helps build good relationships between the citizens and the Police. Also gotta show em that the old man still has it!!
If you could go back and play football in college again, would you go to the same school or adifferent one? Why? Without a doubt University of Missouri. Back to back SEC East Champs, Cotton Bowl Champs, Citrus Bowl Champs. The players that I got to share a locker room with were incredible. I keep in touch with a lot of them to this day.
Any regrets during college? Anything you wish you had done or hadn’t done? I regret taking myself too seriously. I got in my own head often and I would get anxious. Down the line, looking back, it really did not matter, what matters is how you play the game, how you treat others, the impact you make on the fans, your team, and the staff all around you is what makes a difference. If you do all those things and prepare properly, all the stuff on the field will take care of itself. I would have also gotten a sports psychologist, I had no idea what performance anxiety was until after I got done playing. I figured it out about half way through my career, but it would have served me much better if I did that earlier on. BUT at the same time, I learned how to figure things out, much like I spoke about earlier.
What tremendous thing have you been a part of or experienced since you graduated? Getting married to my beautiful wife Kacie!! My kids being born – Jett is my mini-me and I absolutely love him with all my heart. My daughter Josie was born with a rare condition so her health journey has been tremendous, just navigating it. She is the silliest girl I have ever met and I love her! I was a photographer for the 2022 Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche, traveled the country with Rubio taking his picture ha! Getting to be a photographer for the Mannelly award (truly an incredible experience), about to go hunt big game in South Africa, being a Police Officer has been incredible, the stories I have are truly something else. Life has been wild, I have gotten to do some incredible things and oftentimes I look around a room and wonder how the heck I got there. I have a pretty sweet life, I am truly blessed by my Father.
Rubio Long Snapping is, by far, the biggest and best resource for Long Snappers in the country. Rubio has been featured in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the USA Today, Deadspin, Sports Illustrated and countless other publications.
Offering the best instruction and most exposure in the world, Rubio Long Snapping can help you to become the best snapper you can be!
In just 20 years, Chris Rubio, President and Owner of Rubio Long Snapping, has become the #1 Long Snapping instructor in the country and the go-to man when a college coach needs a Long Snapper. Colleges from across the country rely on “Rubio’s” word day in and day out on who the best Long Snappers are in the country. Rubio Long Snapping has assisted in over 1,850 Long Snappers earning full scholarships and preferred walk-on opportunities to major colleges and universities just for Long Snapping and many into the NFL as well.
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