College – Page 14

Rubio Long Snapper Trey Lamastus commits to the University of Alabama at Birmingham!

December 10, 2012 By Rubio

Long time Rubio Long Snapper and TOP 12er Trey Lamastus (LA, ’13) has committed to the UAB as a preferred walk-on!

Lamastus is known for his incredible drive, always improving and terrific flowing hair. He is built well, has a solid frame and is expected to start his first year on campus.

When I was notified of his commitment, Lamastus said to me “Thank you for everything. Without you I wouldn’t even know how to pick up a ball. Thanks Rubio. Really wouldn’t know where I’d be without you right now. Not even as a snapper but a person also. You’ve always been there for me!!”

Love it…absolutely love it!

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Rubio Long Snapping is, by far, the biggest and best resource for Long Snappers in the country. 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 12 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 300 Long Snappers earning FULL SCHOLARSHIPS to major colleges and universities just for Long Snapping and many into the NFL as well.

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Filed Under: Article Archives, College, Deep Snapper, Exposure, Football, High School, Long Snapper, Motivation, N.C.A.A., Recruiting Tagged With: Chris Rubio, college recruiting, deep snap, deep snapper, deep snapping, deepsnap, deepsnapper, deepsnapping, football recruiting, Long Snap, long snapper, long snappers, long snapping, LongSnap, longsnapp, LongSnapper, LongSnapping, Louisiana Long Snapper, national recruits, nationally ranked long snapper, Rubio long snapping, Trey Lamastus, UAB, UAB Football, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Rubio Long Snapper Daniel LaMontagne picks up Award

December 10, 2012 By Rubio

Long time Rubio Long Snapper Daniel LaMontagne of Furman University has been named to the All-Freshman Team for the Southern Conference! This is a massive honor and couldn’t happen to a better person.

LaMontagne has been with Rubio Long Snapping for over two years and just continues to improve with each showing at a camp. Originally, his form was a tad off and he was little undersized. He worked right and hard to achieve greatness. He is now, obviously, one of the best Long Snappers in his class. Tremendous attitude and work ethic make him an excellent snapper and person for Furman University to have on their roster.

LaMontagne will be on the Rubio Long Snapping staff this January at the 11th Annual National Snapping Event in Las Vegas. See you there.

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Filed Under: Article Archives, College, Deep Snapper, Exposure, Football, Freshman, Long Snapper, Motivation, N.C.A.A. Tagged With: All-Freshman Team, Chris Rubio, Daniel LaMontagne, deep snapper, deep snapping, deepsnapper, deepsnapping, Furman, long snapper, long snapping, LongSnap, LongSnapper, LongSnapping, Rubio long snapping, SoCon, Southern Conference

Look for Chase Dominguez to Excel at the Next Level!

December 10, 2012 By Rubio

Rubio Long snapper Chase Dominguez recently earned a scholarship to play football at the University of Utah to become their Long Snapper. As far as Rubio Long Snapping goes, Dominguez is virtually flawless in all aspects of the position. Chase is long and athletic and has the frame to become a fantastic blocker. Chase is smooth under pressure, concentrating on the mechanics of snapping in the toughest situations. There is no doubt that Dominguez will be a huge asset to the University of Utah’s college football program as a Long Snapper, as long as he stays healthy and continues to practice. His size, intelligence and talent makes him a player to watch in the future.

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Filed Under: Article Archives, Athlete, College, Deep Snapper, Exposure, High School, Long Snapper, Motivation, N.C.A.A., Recruiting, scholarship Tagged With: Chase Domingez, Chris Rubio, college recruiting, deep snap, deep snapper, deep snapping, deepsnap, deepsnapper, deepsnapping, football recruiting, Long Snap, long snapper, long snappers, long snapping, Long Snapping Scholarship, LongSnap, longsnapp, LongSnapper, LongSnapping, Rubio long snapping, Scholarship, University of Utah, Utah, Utah Football

Rubio Long Snapper Jeff Overbaugh dominating at SDSU

December 6, 2012 By Rubio

Dominating Rubio Long Snapper, Jeff Overbaugh is a five star long snapper for the class of 2012. Jeff is originally from Anchorage, Alaska where he made ESPN’s high school all-Alaska team, helping his team, the Robert Service High School Cougars to a 10-0-1 overall record in 2011. Ranked #3 overall in the country by Rubio Long Snapping, The true freshman starter, now playing for San Diego State, heated up in summer camp and didn’t cool off. With twelve regular season games in the books, freshman Jeff Overbaugh is 105 for 105 in all snap attempts.

Jeff is my third Rubio Long Snapper in a row to get picked up by and dominate at San Diego State. Tyler Schmitt was my first, who has now gone on to be drafted by the Seahawks, and Aaron Brewer was second, who currently is with the Broncos. Rivals.com said, “Instructor Chris Rubio who rated Jeff a five star D1 ready long snapper must be smiling knowing he got it right.” Yes, yes I am smiling! The success of my students is what drives me.

Watch the clip and see for yourself!

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Filed Under: Article Archives, Athlete, College, Deep Snapper, Exposure, Football, Freshman, Long Snapper, Motivation, N.C.A.A. Tagged With: Aaron Brewer Broncos, Chris Rubio, deep snap, deep snapper, deep snapping, deepsnap, deepsnapper, deepsnapping, Jeff Overbaugh, Long Snap, long snapper, long snapping, LongSnap, LongSnapper, LongSnapping, San Diego State, Tyler Schmitt Seahawks

Rubio Long Snapper Picks up Full Scholarship!

December 4, 2012 By Rubio

Brendan Turelli of Arizona, Rubio Long Snapping class of 2013, has just been awarded a full scholarship from the University of Wyoming. He is a 5 star Long Snapper and Two-Time Top 12er!

Update: Brendan has committed to Wyoming!!! Congratulations to him and his family.

Here’s an excerpt of what’s being said about him:

Turelli is a machine. Very nonchalant when he snaps, but that is because he can be. Kid snaps bullets that are smooth and never misses. Lefty that has tremendous zip on the ball. Ball just appears in your hands. Love to watch him snap. Moves very well on his feet for his size. Really can be a threat in coverage. Handles pressure very well. Sure fire scholarship kid.

Want to read more about Brendan? Take a moment and follow this link to his Player Ranking for 2013.

And while you are here, take a look at some of Brendan’s snapping skills!

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Filed Under: Admissions, Article Archives, Athlete, College, Deep Snapper, Exposure, Long Snapper, Motivation, N.C.A.A., Recruiting, TOP 12 Tagged With: Arizona Long Snapper, Brendan Turelli, Chris Rubio, college admissions, deep snapper, long snapper, Long Snapping Scholarship, nationally ranked long snapper, Rubio long snapping, Scholarship, scholarship athlete, TOP 12, University of Wyoming, Wyoming, Wyoming Football

Q & A about High School Football Recruiting

November 29, 2012 By Rubio

As soon as the football season begins to come to an end, questions start to really creep into a recruit, and their parents’, heads. To begin, if you are a Long Snapper, it is still very early in the recruiting process. Many things can happen from now until you actually step foot on a college campus to start your career. Here are some top questions I am getting through email, text, Twitter, Facebook and even Instagram.

1. Is it me or has recruiting been slow this Fall?
– You are correct and it (recruiting) is always slow in the fall. I call it the “First Thing’s First” period of time. College coaches are obviously coaching during the football season and they are spending a massive amount of time doing so with their current team. Up until about late November, they are more worried about what their current team is doing instead of what their future team will be doing. Therefore, when late November rolls around, most coaches have a pretty good idea whether or not their current team is phenomenal or if their current team is pretty much out of the picture and they can start recruiting next year’s crop of talent. Bottom line, if you are a solid recruit, get ready for a wild ride.

2. Should I transfer since my coach just got fired for not winning?
– Absolutely not! I know you didn’t choose your school based on the coach, so that shouldn’t even matter. Unless you have a massive issue (think Penn St.), you will have to sit out a year and won’t be able to play right away. Therefore, you are asking a future school to pick you up, scholarship you and wait. All the while, when they most likely already have a current athlete on scholarship within your position. Coaches are not into “burning” two scholarships on the same position, especially for a specialist. Think about it, would you pay for a car that you aren’t using? Didn’t think so and neither would the coaches.

3. I have several schools that are recruiting me now and I know many others will be coming on board, should I apply to all of them since application deadlines are right around the corner?
– Absolutely not UNLESS you are CERTAIN you can get in on your own academically and without athletic assistance. It is easier for a school to recruit you later in the process, even after the application deadline, and get you into school IF you have not already been denied admittance. If you have already been denied, they have to pull some MAJOR strings to get you in and they hate doing that unless you’re the stud of all studs.

4. Is it a problem if a school starts to recruit me after the application deadline and I didn’t apply to their school?
– Nope. It doesn’t matter. They (the coach) will literally walk your application to the admissions office and have it expedited through the process. The whole operation can easily take less than a day.

5. If a coach wants my film, how should I get it to him? DVD or online?
– A couple years ago, I would have said both, but today, I am heavily leaning towards simply online. Online is faster, quicker, it won’t get lost, they don’t have to carry it and they can see it anywhere, immediately, if they have their cell or iPad (which is everywhere they are). And, when creating your online highlight tape, be sure to use YouTube and not any other video sharing services. I continue to hear coaches say they only want YouTube since there is NEVER a problem with it’s service.

Click HERE to have this blog read to you.

Bryce Haynes of Ohio St. signing his letter of intent
after a long and rewarding recruiting process.

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Filed Under: Admissions, Article Archives, Ask Rubio, Athlete, Athletics, Coaches, College, Deep Snapper, Eligibility, Football, High School, N.C.A.A., Recruiting, Transfer, YouTube Tagged With: athletic, Bryce Haynes, Chris Rubio, coaches, college admissions, college recruiting, deep snapper, eligibility, football recruiting, high school, long snapper, long snappers, long snapping, national recruits, national scouts, NCAA, recruiting season, Rubio Long Snapper, Rubio long snapping, transferring, YouTube

Making Sure You Are Ready for College

October 30, 2012 By Rubio

I recently posted a blog about being a freshman that spoke about how to handle yourself in the first year of college. After speaking to college coaches and national sports writers, I felt that I better write a new blog about actually making sure you are ready to graduate high school first, in order to be that freshman.

GO SPEAK TO YOUR COUNSELOR
One of the biggest issues high school students have is believing they can get into a specific college simply because they are graduating from high school. There is nothing that can be farther from the truth. You actually can graduate from high school, even with honors, and still not get into specific schools. You MUST make sure your counselor knows which particular schools you are interested in so you are able to plan to take the specific classes that each school requires. If they (your counselor) brushes you off and gives you a “trust me, you are definitely on course to graduate” type of answer, you need to insist they double check that you have the right classes for the school(s) you are shooting for after high school.
For instance, some schools require four years of English or extra Fine Arts classes. Nothing against electives, but imagine if you missed out on getting into a college simply because you forgot to take an art, cooking or ceramics class? Don’t roll your eyes, I have seen it happen…several times.

TAKE BOTH THE ACT & SAT TESTS
If you are planning on going to college, you know of the SAT and ACT tests. Some regions of the country lean more towards one test over the other. The best advice I can give is to take them both and take them both twice.

Let’s face it, the first time you do anything, you are caught a little off-guard and are not really sure of what you are doing. The first time you take the ACT & SAT is simply to become familiar with it and know what to expect the second time. If you end up doing very well the first time, that’s great! Now, just think how much better you will be able to do the second time.

The reason for taking them both (even though, as I stated, one may be more common in your region of the country) is simple: you may do better on one over the other. True, they are both similar in nature but, for some reason, I have seen many athletes do average on one and dominate the other. For example, I had one athlete that scored approximately 1,900 out of 2,400 on the SAT. Very respectable score but nothing to write home about in the long run. He proceeded to take the ACT and scored an amazing 35 out of 36! People at NASA score in that zone 🙂 Had he not taken both tests, he would never had known how high a score he could have achieved to impress the colleges and make his entry, as an athlete, that much easier.

Rubio Long Snapper Scotty Thompson

made sure he was all set in high school

and earned a full scholarship to NC State

GET CLEARED BY THE NCAA
When you have fully decided that you are headed to college after high school, you want to make sure you register with the NCAA. Once you are registered (not the easiest process but it will pay off in the end) and have shown you are taking the right classes, you will be cleared by the NCAA. Being “cleared” basically means you are now eligible to play sports at the NCAA level (college). It does NOT mean that you necessarily will be admitted to the college of your choice, but it does mean you are eligible to play IF you do get in.

This is huge for coaches and recruiters as it shows that you are ready to go and they won’t have to jump through a ton of hopes in order to get you to play. Think of it as being pre-qualified to buy a car or home.

To cut questions off at the pass, YES, even if you are 100% sure you are attending a JC (Junior College), you should take the ACT, SAT and get cleared by the NCAA in high school. The reason is, if you are cleared, you will be able to leave your JC early without having to stay and complete your A.A. degree. You would be able to enroll at a four year college for Spring Ball instead of having to wait until the Fall to start with the team. This can be huge for recruiting purposes and you don’t want to miss out on any opportunities that may come up for you.

Be sure to spread this blog out to as many high school athletes as possible so they don’t have to miss out on an opportunity and wonder what if?

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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 15 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 1,000 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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Filed Under: A.C.T., Athlete, College, Eligibility, Graduating, Graduation, High School, Long Snapper, N.C.A.A., Recruiting, S.A.T. Tagged With: ACT, ACT & SAT, Chris Rubio, Cleared by NCAA, Clearinghouse, college, Counselor, Grades, long snapper, long snapping, LongSnapper, LongSnapping, NCAA, Ready for College, Rubio Long Snapper, Rubio long snapping, SAT, Scotty Thompson, Speak to Counselor, Steps for College

How to get Exposure as a High School Athlete

October 15, 2012 By Rubio

One of the most common questions I receive is “Rubio, how can I get exposure to the college coaches?” Great question that is easily answered once and for all here….

1. Get yourself to a reputable camp that actually has connections to the colleges.

It is very easy to make a nice looking website and claim things on the website. The problem is that many sites are simply smoke and mirrors with tons of claims and no actual facts. Do your homework, talk to coaches to see who they recommend, check testimonial pages and speak to others that have attended the camp to see if it is worth your time and, more importantly, your hard earned dollar. You should go to a camp because you know it will be good and worth it, not because it might be good and worth it.

2. Make sure your high school coach knows that you are serious about your position and getting to the next level.

Once you have decided that you will stop at nothing to make it to college, you must let your coach know. Tell them that you are going to camps, you work on your position year round and are wiling to do what ever it takes to make your dream a reality. This will impress the coach (as long as you are truly doing what you are saying) and make your name stick in his head when the colleges come knocking on his door. Please note: take your coach’s advice on recruiting to a certain extent. This becomes an issue if a coach pushes someone too high. To clarify, unless your coach is VERY familiar with your particular position, take Long Snapper for instance, don’t rely on his word too much. What this means is that quite often a high school coach will tell a player “You are the best Long Snapper I have ever coached! You are definitely going to college for snapping!” This is fantastic if the coach has actually coached several college Long Snappers. If he hasn’t, you just might be the best of the worst and yet another reason you need to attend quality camps (see #1).

3. Always be in the right place at the right time.

Let’s say you have a top tier running back on your team and college coaches are always on campus to see if he passes the eye ball test at practice. You have essentially hit the jackpot. ANYTIME a college coach is at your practice, you need to MAKE SURE you just happen to showcase your talent in front of them. If you are a Long Snapper, you should just happen to be snapping 15 yard bullets so they can see you. If you are a lineman, you should be working on your stance and steps. Make them notice you. This is your chance, do not let it pass you by simply because you were shy. You don’t want any opportunity to pass you by.

4. Create a YouTube channel.

First of all, I like the YouTube channels over other film sharing services for a couple reasons. A) You don’t need an account to view a YouTube channel and B) YouTube is such a large company there is rarely issues with their server(s). The last thing you want is to send your coach a link and either he can’t access it, it is broken or takes way too long to load. With YouTube, you are relatively safe in these matters.

Creating a YouTube channel for yourself is very easy to do, save you tons of time in the long run and always will give you a base to send coaches to see you and your improvement. To make your own YouTube channel simply…

Go to YouTube. com

Click create a YouTube account. If you already have a gmail account, you can simply use that. If you are starting fresh with this process it literally takes one minute.

Once your account is created, there is blueish profile silhouette of a person in the upper right hand corner…click on it.

A drop down menu will appear….click on MY CHANNEL and then press OK, I’M READY TO CONTINUE

You will now see a very basic version of what your page will look like. You can fluff this up anyway you want and I would recommend a solid action shot of you in uniform to show how great you are in your sport right off the bat.

At the top, just to the left of your name, click on UPLOAD and let the games begin!

You should upload practice and game footage once a week during season and approximately once per month in the off-season. If you are below average at first, that is ok and, don’t erase those videos in the end. Leave them, it shows how much you have improved over time.

5. Associate yourself with a reputable recruiting service.

Similar to #1, there are tons of services out there that create flashy websites and claim tons of things when, in actuality, they just take your money and do nothing for you. You want to find a service that can be a one stop shop for you. They should be able to do research for you about coaches and ways to contact them, send out mass email blasts for you, create a page for you, create a video for you, and have it all go to the right people. If you are true D1 athlete, that is the direction they should send your information. If you are more of a D2-D3 athlete, the majority of your blasts should be sent in that direction. You don’t want to waste your’s or the coach’s time by sending them info if you are not at their level. (Please note: I have encountered many of these companies and one of the best I have seen is NCSA).

6. Create a Twitter account and Facebook page to keep in contact.

Most already have one, if not both, of the above mentioned social media monsters and they should. The NCAA has not banned college coaches from using them yet, so it is a loop hole that should be utilized. When you begin to make contact with coaches/recruiting coordinators, let them see your personality, keep your pages clean (yes, parents feel free to monitor them as well) and be sure to send them links to your newly created YouTube channel.

Follow these six steps and you should get all of the exposure you could ever imagine. Now, the ball is in your court to put all of the exposure you will be getting to good use.

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Filed Under: Athlete, College, Eligibility, Exposure, Facebook, Featured Posts, Graduating, High School, N.C.A.A., Recruiting, S.A.T., Twitter, YouTube Tagged With: Chris Rubio, Exposure, Facebook, LongSnapper, LongSnapping, NCSA, recruiting, Rubio Long Snapper, Rubio long snapping, Testimonials., Twitter, YouTube

Adjusting to Something New

August 15, 2012 By Rubio

All over the country, Long Snappers are right in the mix of starting their football seasons. They are meeting new people, learning new things and possibly even living in new locations. Many are experiencing the exact same things and don’t even know it. I am going to clarify some glaring issues for all….

“My coach is not the same to me now as he was when he was recruiting me”
Well, of course he isn’t. He got what he wanted (you on the team and not playing for someone else) and you are essentially locked in. He did what he did to get you and now YOU have to prove yourself to HIM. He proved himself to you to get you there and now the rolls are reversed. He is the general and you are his soldier. You have a war coming up (season) and he is using you to do the fighting. He NEEDS to make sure you are ready on all accounts. If you are not, he looks like an idiot for recruiting and playing you. If he looks like an idiot, he gets fired and doesn’t get paid. You are with the big boys now and the stakes are higher. Deal with it.

“The other players are treating me like crap because I am a Long Snapper”
This is standard. You know how many of them think what you do is stupid and anyone can do it? You know how many of them are upset you took a scholarship from either a buddy of theirs or even them personally? You know how many of them can’t stand the fact that you get as much stuff (scholarship, gear, etc) as them, yet don’t have to go through the same type of practice as them? Hint: The answer to all is almost 100% of them.

You need to be yourself and take pride in what you do. Don’t act like just a long snapper, you need to act like THE Long Snapper. Take pride in your job. Don’t look down on it. Don’t publicize it too much (they won’t embrace right off the bat) but let them know (by action) that you take a sincere amount of pride in your job (extra drills, always perfecting your craft). This will pay off once they grasp the concept that you aren’t robbing the system, are actually very beneficial to the team and they won’t be able to win without you.
“I am not ready for the speed at this level!”
Very few are right off the bat. It takes time, you just have to be on a strict learning curve. Think about it this way: often, a team will bring in a top notch quarterback, has that quarterback been absolutely flawless? I am betting he has not. Everyone needs some time to adjust and you will as well. The trick is to putting in some extra work the right way (drills, film, meetings with coaches) to ensure that you are learning to deal with the speed at a quicker pace than others. Being overwhelmed is acceptable at the start . Being overwhelmed and not doing a thing about is not.

“I am having a tough time dealing being away from home and making new friends”
It is time to put on your big boy pants. As I stated in my last blog, if you are obsessing about the past, you can’t live in the present and make your future. It is wonderful to have a ton of friends back home and, with the onslaught of social media, it is easier than ever to remain in contact with them. But, now that you have moved on, and hopefully they have as well, it is time to spread your wings and meet new friends. Welcome to the real world and learning to associate with people outside of your comfort zone. Meet new people, learn new things, embrace differences. A couple of my greatest friends in college were not football players and it was definitely a nice change of pace. Once school starts, the possibilities are endless for meeting new people. Try to jump out of your normal routine to find new folks and see what they are all about. You might just be surprised. Remember, it is not what you know, but who you know and how well you know them:)

I am going to end this blog with some words I took, by permission, from the first Long Snapper I have trained. His name is Casey Hales and he played at Duke back in the day. He looks nothing like a Long Snapper (think surfer that has been sleeping on the beach for a solid decade) but holds the record for most starts at Duke and is an absolutely terrific person. Here is what he had to say about the above statement:

As a freshman in college it’s easy to get frustrated when you’re finding your way in a new environment.Being away from home, in a new state or even across the country can be/is overwhelming at times. You don’t know anyone, you’re doing your best to get around campus, and from time to time you get lost.In this situation it is easy to look back at the comfort and familiarity of your hometown HS relationships and feel even more uncomfortable with the transition to making new friends in College. This is completely natural, but can be a slippery slope if it prohibits you from branching out.
Adapting to college culture right out of high school is a process. Right out the gates you are holding on to what you know: your home life, HS friends and “remembering what that was like.”As you begin to get settled in and embrace college, you start to slowly let go of the times and experiences from HS to make room for new ones in College. This brings up two important topics to keep in mind: Attachment and Detachment. You will always have your friends from HS, but it’s crucial to make sure you’re not too attached to them, it can consume your energy by dwelling on missing those relationships. It is common to feel the bond of attachment to home and all that is dear to you, but keep in mind the the stages of human development. We must be free and able to detach and search for new friends and experiences. Change is happening all the time all around you, and you need to flow with it. The big key here is to be aware of these feelings, and recognize when you are too attached to something or someone that is preventing you from living an independent lifestyle.In this case, a need to detach yourself from the past to embrace the present i.e. College and everything that awaits you.Don’t sit on the sidelines, there are no spectators here, College is about participating and taking advantage of new opportunities. You will be amazed at what learn about yourself during this time.

I spoke with Casey about this topic last week and wanted to use him as an example. Not because he speaks so well and just dominated college life, but just the opposite and this is something very few people in the world know about him. In the second semester of Casey’s second year in college, he came into my home with his mother and told me he was done with football and school at Duke. He was going to transfer and knew exactly how he was going to do it. He couldn’t handle being away and was having a very rough time adjusting to college life and football.

He and I basically had it out right then and there in my home. We went back and forth with me explaining to him exactly what he was about to throw away (free education and new experiences in lieu of paying for education and experiences he already had). He listened and listened well. He decided to stay at Duke and ended not coming back on his allotted time (spring break, summer, etc) because he was having such a good time out there once he learned to accept and embrace it. He dove head first into college and experienced every single thing it had to offer him.

Never ever forget……
You make your life. Good or bad, you are in control of it. You make it what it is and what it will be.

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Filed Under: Article Archives, Athlete, Change, College, Freshman, Frosh, Graduating, Long Snapper, Motivation, Recruiting

How to BE a Freshman – Part 2

August 7, 2012 By Rubio

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– Mark Twain

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Filed Under: Article Archives, College, Freshman, Graduating, Graduation, Maturity Tagged With: Chris Rubio, Freshman Long Snapper, long snapper, long snapping, LongSnapper, LongSnapping, Mark Twain, Quote, Rubio Long Snapper, Rubio long snapping

How to BE a Freshman

August 1, 2012 By Rubio

BE Quiet – You should be extremely proud of all that you accomplished in high school, but remember just that…it was in high school. If you are lucky enough to play a college sport, you will be surrounded by All-Americans. Get over yourself and keep what you did in the past, in the past. Strive for new accomplishments and dominate.

BE on Time – You should always be at least fifteen minutes early to everything. Be late once and a coach will never, ever forget it. My motto is if you can’t be on time, be early.

BE Responsible – You should know that you are now officially a role model and many people are looking up to you and will want to emulate you. Whether it be the child that wants to be you or the parent that wants their child to be like you, you have a major responsibility to not let them down. Think before you do anything (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram). One slip up can hurt you for the rest of your life.

BE Nice – Whether it’s to the equipment guy, kids wanting an autograph, your parents, your tutors or academic advisor, you need to be nice. There is no doubt that all those involved in your life will speak to one another and if you are rude to one, they will all know and begin to look at you in a different light.

BE Assertive – It is very common for the upperclassmen to try and pick on you. It is what they do so get over it. They are simply testing you to see if you belong on “their” team. Advice: stick up for yourself but don’t start anything. IF, and the key word is if, someone at practice attempts to push you around, push them back. Don’t take any crap or you will immediately be know as someone with no backbone that they (the team) won’t be able to rely on in a time of need. I repeat, stick up for yourself but don’t start anything.

BE Willing and Able to Adapt – When you go off to college, that is your new home. Accept and embrace it. Know that you are making a change and go in with an open mind. It is a new stage in your life and you need to go into it with wide open arms and not continuously talk about, think about or want to be home. If you are obsessing about the past, you can’t live in the present and make your future.

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A Parent’s Role in Recruiting

July 15, 2012 By Rubio

1. Don’t speak to a college coach when they are recruiting your son/daughter.

I have said this one countless times on my Twitter (@TheChrisRubio) and even within this blog, but for some reason, parents still aren’t grasping the concept. The coach will want minimal contact with you. They are recruiting your son or daughter, NOT YOU! Be cordial and answer their questions IF they are addressing you, otherwise butt out. Like I have spoken in the past, when you were dating your husband or wife, did you want go out on dates with them or their parents? Same thing.

2. Don’t speak for your son/daughter amongst adults.

If a coach, or any adult with some authority, asks your child a question, let the child answer. Nothing worse than when I ask an athlete their height and weight and they either look at mom or dad for them to speak OR the child doesn’t even have the chance to speak before the parent chimes in. In doing this, it shows that the parent is overbearing and the athlete relies way too much on them. This is a red flag for a coach since they immediately begin to wonder if the athlete will be handle real life when mommy and daddy are not around. This one can completely crush your child’s recruit-ability, especially if you are looking at a school that isn’t located on the same block as the athlete’s home.

3. Be Supportive Mentally

This one shocks me, but it is a reality. Many parents simply aren’t supportive at all with their kids and can be downright negative. Very hard for an athlete to believe in themselves if their own parent doesn’t believe in them. You would be surprised at how much an athlete can improve PHYSICALLY when they are encouraged in a positive manner MENTALLY.

If you feel this may just be you (little too negative at times), try the Oreo approach. Oreos are a simple food with two black cookies surrounding a frosting center. Think of the cookies as positive statements and the frosting as a negative one. Therefore, if your son didn’t have the greatest snap you would say “Your form is looking good. You had a bit of an issue with not getting your eyes all they way through, but that snap was definitely coming back quick!” You got your criticism in, but sandwiched it in between two positives. Trust me, it works and it works well.

4. Don’t be overbearing

You didn’t really think I would leave this one off the list did you? If you want something and your kid doesn’t, it simply won’t work out. Going to college or the pros is a wonderful thing, but if both the athlete and the parent aren’t on board, it will never work out or be a train wreck if it does. It has to be a united front or the child will end up despising the parent and the sport. Any positive that once came from the sport will now be looked as a negative. Remember, it is just a game. Instead of really riding your kid before a game and stressing them out, how about just trying a simple phrase like “Have fun out there and try your hardest!”

Being overbearing doesn’t just pertain to parent and child. It can mean flat out harassing coaches, writers and recruiting services. There is very fine line between being persistent and being annoying. You cross it and your child could very easily be blackballed. If your child is that good, they will already know of them and won’t need to be told…over and over again.

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Tips for Long Snappers

September 21, 2011 By Rubio

Being a former Long Snapper that has been told he “worked the system better than any other human being in the history of the world” and by dealing with hundreds of them per year, I tend to know a bit about the subject. Therefore, I have created a list of pointers for all of the Long Snappers out there. Here you go:

No TV Time
Long Snappers only play about 10-15 plays per game. Hence, not a lot of TV time…..until you read this blog! Couple ways to work around this one…..

First, when you are not in the game (about 99% of the time), stand next to the head coach. That cat is always on the tube. Make sure your helmet is off and you are looking sharp. That will get you a ton of tv time during the game. Be careful though, if the coach or that manager who holds the cords next to the coach spots your antics….you are finished.

Second, Long Snappers are smart. And, in being so intelligent, you know you want the big time spots….highlight footage that will air countless times over the next couple of days! This one takes some work and hustle (shoosh, it will be worth it). You really have to watch the game and not the stands (stadiums are like a fish bowl of lovely ladies come game time). In watching the game, eventually you will see a big hit or catch come towards your sidelines. Immediately jog, no running unless chased is my rule, to the commotion and help the teammate up. This serves two purposes….1) you will get on the tube for highlights and possibly even plays of the week. 2) When picking your teammate up, you arm will be flexed for the crowd. Bam! You’re welcome.
Third, walk (this is key to max jumbotron footage) off the field with your kicker. Given, you will have just snapped a great ball and your kicker will want to thank you for making his “job” so embarrassingly elementary. When he comes to you, embrace him and proceed to walk off the field, slowly, with him. Cameras are always on the kicker after the kick, so if you hang out with him, they will also be on you. Sailer and I were legendary for a very slow stroll, possible slight back massage, wave to the camera or a tap on the bum as we left the field. It got so bad my senior year, that the coach actually tried to reprimand me for taking up too much screen time. Key word: tried.

No Gear
A Long Snapper is basically like the Rodney Dangerfield of the football team. They get no respect. Therefore, you tend to not get a lot of the top gear: abundance of cleats, wristbands, extra socks (trust me, you’ll need them), better off-season shoes, etc. This can be changed…..There is one man that controls this booty (pirate terms, not physical) and that is the equipment manager. First thing to know about the equipment is that it is usually free to the school per the sponsors. For instance, if your team is sponsored by Nike, then Nike will give the school eleventy billion pairs of shoes. Second thing you need to know, ALL equipment guys believe they have paid for all of the equipment out of their own paycheck and are beyond stingy with it. I mean to the point of shocking. You are nodding right now if you are a college Long Snapper and will be if you are a Long Snapper in high school.Since you have an abundance of free time (not a lot of meetings or practice), you need to befriend equipment guy. He just wants to be loved and not be taken advantage of. You need to realize that every single person wants something from him. By being the one guy that doesn’t want something from him, you will make yourself unique.

Offer to help him with some of his jobs (most can be done sitting, so you can embrace). You would be amazed at how much they expect him to do in a short amount of time. He will love the fact that you helped him and guess what… he will make sure you get the best of all the equipment and maybe even a little extra for your buddies and ladies back home:)

No Press
A Long Snapper rarely gets any press (unless you are a Rubio Long Snapper, then you are embraced) and that is simply unfair and wrong. Of course, there are ways around this and here they are……

After you have stretched, done your drills and snapped perfect balls during the live time of practice, there tends to be a good deal of downtime. One way to rectify this is cruise around and check out the other positions. Bad move. First off, very boring and it pisses the other guys off. See, they are all very salty it takes them so long to master their craft that it bothers them to see you breeze through yours. Also, the coaches see you watching and they will immediately put you to work. The last thing you want to do during practice is hold a bag or be the fake center to the qb drills. What you need to do is hang out with the press. The press is always at practice and usually the same group of people. You see, they have assignments and usually the same person will have the same assignment all year. A little friendly banter with these chaps will go a long way.

Do not ask them to write a story. It will come to you. Eventually, they will be tired of writing the same old, same old stuff about how some fast guy ran somewhere or some big guy tackled someone. Just gets old and stale. They will eventually need a fluff piece to win back the hearts of their readers. Who should they choose to write about? Yup, that friendly stallion o’ the gridiron that is always hanging around with the great personality:) Trust me, it happens to Long Snappers.

That’s all the info I am giving out right now. I am fully expecting to see my Long Snappers dressed in the finest gear, while holding a newspaper with their story on the front cover all while getting some massive coverage on the TV:)

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 18 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 1,700 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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What You Do….What They See

August 24, 2011 By Rubio

I speak with a lot of college coaches throughout the year. We hang out together and we speak about a lot of different things. Being the kind of guy I am, I like to do a lot of listening and observing….lots of it. Often, I will sit back and watch a coach watch an athlete. In doing so, I have noticed that coaches tend to do a lot of hidden “watching.” Not in a weird way or anything, they just really, really like to eyeball a prospective recruit. And, after communicating with many of them over the years and just being able to figure things out on my own, I have come to the conclusion that they see and decipher things you are doing that you might not even be aware of. Therefore, I decided to create a little chart to help you out. It will be broken down into two parts and will be labeled as WHAT YOU DO vs WHAT THEY SEE.

What You Do: Walking to greet them
What They See: An athlete’s gait (basically means strut and/or the way you walk) is a huge one for coaches.

Do you look awkward and/or nonathletic? Do you have your head down? Are your shoulder’s hunched? Are you shuffling along? All of these are Code Reds for a college coach. Hold yourself up high and be confident in your strut. You would already know this one if you had read this long snapping blog.

What You Do: Getting water. Hanging out in the locker room. Eating with your friends.
What They See: How you interact with your teammates.

Are you social? Too social? Reserved? Rude? Passive? Aggressive? These are all things coaches want to see. Most coaches really like a kid that is social but not too social. Bottom line, have fun but don’t be a jerk. Rule of thumb, if you wouldn’t do it with me standing right next to you, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.

What You Do: Hanging out with your family
What They See: If you are rude or not to your parents/siblings.

Trust me, they get you are a teenager and unless you have reached the age where you actually start embracing your parents again (patience parents, it will come) they understand the dynamic. Saying that, they want to see if you are a donkey or actually a decent human being. You can tell a lot about a person by how they treat their parent(s) and coaches know this. Now, you don’t have to be over the top as that will show you are too dependent on them (or the parent needs to spread out) but you also don’t have belittle or spit venom at them either.

What You Do: Grabbing the football
What They See: How flexible or athletic you are.

Not even kidding, I have witnessed a ton of coaches focus on when an athlete reaches over to grab a ball simply to see how he bends. Do you look like a 115 year old man or are you fluid? Also, I have witnessed even more check out how a kid catches a snap or fiddles with a football to see his coordination level. I have seen coaches lock onto a kid simply because he looks athletic and not awkward catching someone else’s snap!

What You Do: Running
What They See: If you have that certain type of speed they are looking for.

Ok, so you saw this one and said, duh Rubio. But did you know, many coaches know a Long Snapper is not usually going to be a gazelle out of the blocks so they want to see how you finish the play. They look for something called closing speed. Closing speed is when you are finally at full throttle (let’s pray it is less than a quarter mile to this point), you see where the punt is, zero in on the returner and then head towards them. Many top athletes will almost hit a sixth gear at this point and coaches LOVE that in their players.

What You Do: Stare at them, nod at them, have fujidadobs (pronounced foo-ja-da-dobs)
What They See: You are distant, you are fake, you are clueless.

Are you even paying attention to the coach? Skip this one and write your own ticket to never playing for that team.
Are you looking them in the eye? They want to make sure you have the confidence to stare them down just like they are doing to you.
Are you nodding? Coaches know the I-am-going-to-nod-at-every-single-thing-you-say-so-it-looks-like-I-ameally-paying-attention trick. You look like a weirdo and you aren’t fooling anyone. Throw a nod in every once in awhile, but continuous nodding makes you look like a bobble head.
Are you in full-on fujidadobs mode? I have good friend named CP. His family (I believe) came up with the term fujidadobs. Every person in the world has done it and the trick is to not do it often or in public. Fujidadobs is the process of being so enthralled in something that you completely zone out, let your mouth open and become glassy. Really bad cases of fujidadobs will involve drooling. If you are still confused, turn on Animal Planet or any show about building the biggest something (plane, tanker, megaloader, tractor, bridge) in front of a male and sit back and watch them. Within five minutes, they will have a huge case of fujidadobs.
Bottom line, focus on the coach and listen to what they are spraying but do not zone out. If they ask you a question and you have no clue what they have even said, you are going to look like a complete idiot and not someone they want on their team.

A coach sees everything….everything. Their job/money/life is based on who they recruit. They control you, but you almost control them as well. Therefore, a coach is going to want to recruit a very athletic, physically good looking, well mannered person who listens. And, this Über athlete should be someone that he would be comfortable with babysitting his child (Lord help us) or dating his daughter (I don’t care how hot she is, run for the hills).

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Filed Under: Article Archives, Coaches, College, Long Snapper, Maturity, Motivation, Recruiting Tagged With: Chris Rubio, College Coaches, LongSnapper, LongSnapping, Rubio Long Snapper, Rubio long snapping, What College Coaches See, What You Do and What They See

An Open Letter to Parents

July 6, 2011 By Rubio

Been thinking about doing this one for awhile and just needed the right time of the year. Well, that time is upon us and here you go. This blog is going to be an open letter to parents of graduated senior Long Snappers.

Dear Parents,

You did it! You have produced an upstanding young man that also happens to be one of the best Long Snappers in the country. That is quite an accomplishment to say the least. I know the past couple years have been, let’s just say, interesting. Most likely you have gone through the “I don’t want to be seen with you” stage to the “I need to be seen with you for money and to borrow a car” stage to the “I actually don’t mind your presence that much and kinda enjoy hanging out with you” stage. Well done.

Now comes the hard part, letting them go. There is going to be a fine line in letting them really lead their lives to the fullest and being flat out absent. You need to be there for your child but don’t hold his hand. Guide from a distance is the best way to put it. Since you are a parent of a Long Snapper and Long Snappers play football, there is a pretty darn good shot your son is already heavily involved in the “voluntary” summer workouts. Your son will need you only for motivation right now. His life is going to be a cross between really fun (new place and new people) to really bad (summer workouts mean they push them as hard as possible knowing they have a couple months to be healed) and he is going to need a little push every once in awhile. Keep on him and don’t let him miss a workout. You don’t want him pissing the coach off this soon in his career. They are like me, they remember everything.

During season will be simple due to their schedule. They will be so busy, they won’t have time to miss you, their friends or their home-life. That is a good thing. Keep up with the calls and such. Send them a little treat every so often. Gift card, simple note, baked goods. Doesn’t have to be a big thing. Just something that shows them you are behind them and will always be there for them. They will love it and be the envy of others. Trust me.

Off-season is going to be very rough for them. They have no football (except conditioning – think summer time but worse since you have even more time to heal) so they will have a lot of free time on their hands. The free time is when they get into trouble with their thinking (too much of it which equals woe is me attitude and wishing for familiarity of home and past friends) and girls (too many of them and one will try to lock on…why wouldn’t they, your son is a Long Snapper!). Between January and May is the time when I would highly suggest a family trip out to the school if possible. He will need some family at this time, even if he doesn’t admit. Also, at this point, he should be acclimated enough to actually show you around and not look like a completely lost moron. Get him through this part of his first year and you should pretty safe the rest of the time. The rest of the time at school will be his second, third and fourth time through the process. This first year is the toughest. If you get to June and he is solid, you are sitting pretty.Do not let them transfer. It rarely works out. If they bring it up, shoot it down immediately. Do not let them fall behind on their grades, it is a rough road to get back on track. Do not let them come home every weekend, they need to spread their wings and learn to survive on their own. I don’t care how much they beg, don’t let them do it.

When it really starts to hit the fan, remember this and feel free to pass this along as it works for the parents and the kids: You are not the first person to go through this process and you definitely won’t be the last. If others can do it, so can you! I have used this phrase a ton in my life and I hope it can help you as well.

Rubio

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Filed Under: Article Archives, College, Deep Snapper, Graduating, Graduation, High School, Long Snapper, Maturity, Parenting, Relationships Tagged With: Chris Rubio, Graduating Long Snappers, Graduation, Letting your Long Snapper Go, LongSnapper, LongSnapping, Open Letter to Parents, parenting, Parents of Long Snappers, Rubio Long Snapper, Rubio long snapping, Seniors

College Football Recruiting: Are You Dating, Engaged or Married?

June 29, 2011 By Rubio

Anyone that has even been a top tier athlete or involved with one, knows that recruiting is a wild ride. I have taken to this blog and described how recruiting basically occurs in waves and now I want to explain what happens when you actually do get recruited. The fact that you are reading this means that you are ahead of the game so I say well done to you. I decided to break it down in a pretty easy fashion so it is clear to anyone whether you are an athlete or just a casual observer. To me, when you are getting recruited, it is very similar to….

DATING – When you start getting recruited you are essentially just dating. When dating, you are not really locked down to one person and can play the field. Same with schools and coaches. You are not locked into them and they are not locked into you. You will look at other schools and they will look at other athletes. You would be ignorant not to and so would they. “Dating” in recruiting is when you really get to know the other person/coach/school. This is the time to ask a ton of questions, check out the environment and see if it is right for you. If the person/coach/school is right for you, than it is time to move onto getting…….

ENGAGED – You have found the one for you and you are ready to take it to the next level. You are ready to lock yourself in by verbally committing to a person/coach/school. When you verbally commit to a school before signing day you are essentially engaged to them. You are telling them I want you and only you just like a normal engagement to a person. And, just like a normal engagement, you do have an out. You have not signed on the dotted line (National Letter of Intent) and, therefore, are still not truly committed to them. You can back out of your engagement and, just like in real life, the other party will not be happy if you choose to do so. Committing and de-committing over and over is heavily frowned upon by schools, me and writers. It shows a lack of character at times and is not a good way to make yourself look like a stable human being. So, when you are really, really ready to take the next step you get……

MARRIED – You have dated, you have been engaged and now you want to commit…to the fullest extent. You are going to officially lock yourself into the person/coach/school by signing on the dotted line. Once you sign your National Letter of Intent, you are married. No pulling back now. You are committed to them and they are committed to you. Don’t even think about getting divorced/transferring as it is an uphill battle that rarely works out for the athlete. You lose a year of eligibility and many schools won’t take a chance on an athlete that has left somewhere else. Think about it, the school will immediately wonder why you left? are you a bad person? did you not get along with the coaches? did they not get along with you? why did it not work out for you? They will most likely contact the program you left to see what the deal was. Can you even imagine if new husbands or wives did that to ex’s….wow. That would get extremely ugly and it can for athletes and coaches as well.

Get married to your school and stay there. If you went through the process of dating, being engaged and did all your homework, your decision will suit you well for the future of your academic and athletic career.

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How to Speak to a College Coach

June 15, 2011 By Rubio

The expression “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” is never more prevalent than when you introduce yourself to a college coach. From the second they see you, they are eyeballing you up and down to see what you are made of from the bottom of your feet to the top of head. You remember that scene in the movie Madagascar (come on, don’t act tough, you know you have watched it) when the lion sees the zebra as just a giant steak?

https://youtu.be/le14ovT6wWo

Welcome to your world of college recruiting. Side note: you aren’t the lion.

Don’t blame the coaches, I would do the same thing. Their job/pay is based on how they recruit and how well those that they recruited do within their program. If you turn off a coach right off the bat, it is hard to get back into their graces. Here is how to start off on the right foot……

Stand tall. In football, size matters. Plain and simple. When you are about to approach a coach, breathe in. It makes you look taller. Careful, there is a fine line between breathing in to look a tad taller and breathing in and looking like a complete idiot that is trying too hard. Example: look at 99% of the kids in a high school football program and their head shot. You know how they are leaning back and trying to make their neck look fat and thicker? Really, really lame since everyone at the upper levels knows that trick and mocks it.
Look the coach DIRECTLY in their eyes. I mean directly. Almost piercing. Look right through him as though you are in no way intimidated by them. They will respect you for your confidence.
Shake it to break it. A hand shake is one of the things that will immediately separate you from the pack. Coaches are former football players and football players are usually strong. They will not have a weak grip and will judge someone who does. Open your paw, reach out and engulf their hand. Hold it until he relinquishes and keep your eyes on his eyes the entire time. Don’t look down to where it looks like you are surprised you have such a great hand shake. Do the exact same thing to the women you meet on your trips, but just hold off on the pressure a tad. No need to crush their hand but you also don’t want to do the finger grab thing. You aren’t on the set of the Titanic so knock off the pomp and circumstance.
Little on the thin side? Wear thermals on the top and bottom. You won’t look like you have toothpicks for legs and you will look thick throughout your whole frame.
Wear appropriate clothing. A collared shirt is always acceptable. Don’t look sloppy. If you are going for the rahah angle, wear the appropriate school’s gear. For instance, and this may seem like a no-brainer, but, unfortunately it is not, if you are going to visit say Alabama, don’t wear a Auburn sweatshirt. That is just ignorant and shows no respect for the coach or the school.
Don’t fidget. After you gave a good shake and you are standing tall, keep your paws to your side or on your hips. Do not put them in your pockets or pick at your hands. In pockets, conveys you are hiding something and picking is a distraction and will take the coach’s attention away from your whole body and only to your nervous habit.
Speak slowly. I know you are nervous. They know you are nervous. When someone is nervous, they tend to speak a lot quicker. Slow down and speak clearly. For instance, when you tell them your name and where you are from you need to realize that is something you have said a zillion times and almost have a pattern. They wont know the pattern or be familiar with your distinct name and hometown. To avoid a back and forth game of “huh” and “what” just slow down.

There you go. You are now prepared to speak to a college coach. Now, get focused on your grades, your body and your form to make your dream of getting to the next level a reality.

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Rubio Long Snapping is, by far, the biggest and best resource for Long Snappers in the country. Rubio has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the USA Today, Deadspin 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 14 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 300 Long Snappers earning FULL SCHOLARSHIPS to major colleges and universities just for Long Snapping and many into the NFL as well.

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How to Choose The Right College

June 3, 2011 By Rubio

So you finally finish your junior year of high school and are really starting to focus on the next step of your life….college. Choosing the right college for you (and only you) is a major decision and should not be taken lightly. Like they say, college is “four for forty” meaning it is a four year experience that will affect you for the next forty….better choose wisely.

Here are my thoughts on how to pick the right school for my Long Snappers:

NEVER, ever, ever choose a school based on the coach. Yeah, yeah, yeah I know he loves you and has been so nice to you and his 3rd grade daughter absolutely loves her elementary school and he and his wife just redecorated the house and blah, blah, blah. That coach gets a better offer and he is gone. Gone. I was at UCLA for five years and had only ONE coach finish with me that started with me. Shocking? Actually quite common. With coaches leaving for greener pastures and other issues, stay clear of choosing a school simply for a coach.
Make sure your choice is a school that you could see yourself attending if you did not play football. God forbid you get injured or a coach leaves which makes you sad (refer to #1), you should be able to handle your school sans football. Football only swallows your time for certain months of the year. When season is over, you will need to be able to find yourself on the campus and the community and be happy.
Remember where you are from and what you are used to. Make sure you understand that the USA is a very different place state by state. Whether it be the climate (humidity), types of people (polite or rude), restaurants (Five Guys) or even customs (y’all). America is a vast place and if you are not familiar with your surroundings it can be a shell shock that will make you want to head back home…..which you do not want.
I am not saying you shouldn’t go out and explore or move away. I embrace something new for my guys. I am just saying you should understand what moving away entails. Think ahead so you don’t have to move back. Yet again, you don’t want that within your college career.

Take your time with your college decision. It is something that will have a great deal of affect on you for a long, long time. You will meet a ton of interesting people and might even end up working with them. Nah, that couldn’t happen…could it?

Sailer and I at UCLA circa 1997 dominating the kicking and snapping world

Sailer and I at 9th Annual Event in 2011 dominating the kicking and snapping world

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Are You Helping or Hindering Your Athlete?

May 24, 2011 By Rubio

There is a very simple, tiny little factor that can make a terrific athlete (Long Snapper in this case) an absolute disaster. It isn’t something you can touch, buy or even give to someone. It is a feeling and it is often brought about by a person that loves the athlete the most. The feeling is TENSION and the person(s) often inflicting it are the PARENTS.

Athletes can be tense from self inflicted pressure (rarely) or, more often than not, from an outside source (parent/guardian).

An athlete that is working, truly working (camps, lessons, doing drills on their own, watching film, etc) to become the best KNOWS what rides with each “step” they take in life. They know the implications, they know the ramifications and they know the factors that will enable them to reach their goals within their sport. They got it. Trust me, they know. They do need a little motivation now and again (notice I say motivation which means being positive and not negative) but they do not need to be harassed.

When a parent rides an athlete and nags them, they will make them tense. Very tense. Being tense is not the same as pressure. Pressure is something that every athlete, and person, will have to deal with in life. It is a given. Whether it is a game winning snap, a public speech, a deadline or making your paycheck stretch, you will experience some sort of pressure….so why would you want to add on to that pressure for your son/daughter with tension?

So, how do you know if your athlete is tense? How do you know if your athlete is really into his/her sport and doing it because THEY want to or because YOU want them to? Here are the two biggest ways I have noticed…..
1. Sit back and see who approaches who to get some practice in to get better. Are you asking THEM to get some work in or are they asking YOU? If you find yourself pressing the issue, you might want to pull back a bit. Odds are they are doing it for you, are stressed out and are filled with tension.
2. After each particular key play (a snap in this case) do they focus on what they are doing or do the immediately look up to see your reaction? If an athlete tends to look up immediately for approval from a parent, they are usually running very tense and will never be fully happy or succeed to their fullest extent.

So, what should you (a parent) do? Watch your kid in sports, let them see you NODDING in approval, let them hear you giving them PRAISE and being POSITIVE.

Or don’t.

The choice is yours.

I have been working with top athletes for over a decade and I have NEVER seen one perform better when they are tense. If you simply don’t have the ability to nod (side note: you seriously might want to work on that) I recommend just staying back a bit. Definitely come and support your child but just keep a good distance. Instead of watching from the sideline, watch from the top of the bleachers. Don’t even let your kid know where you are sitting. Spread out. You’ll still be able to see what is happening and relay back to them what you saw.

An athlete will ALWAYS excel at a higher level when they are confident and relaxed. There is enough pressure on them at the camps, competitions, events and games without someone else adding tension to the equation. Be supportive, not suffocating and watch the results skyrocket. No matter how independent a non-adult athlete feels they are, they will always follow your lead and feed off of you. Be worth following.

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Filed Under: Article Archives, College, Deep Snapper, Football, High School, Long Snapper, Maturity, Motivation, Parenting, Recruiting, Relationships Tagged With: Chris Rubio, deep snap, deep snapper, deep snapping, deepsnap, deepsnapper, deepsnapping, Helping your Long Snapper, Hindering your Long Snapper, Long Snap, long snapper, long snapping, LongSnap, LongSnapper, LongSnapping, national recruits, nationally ranked long snapper, overbearing, parenting, Parents, Rubio Long Snapper, Rubio long snapping, Tension

The Difference Between a Walk-On, a Preferred Walk-On and a Full Scholarship

May 16, 2011 By Rubio

Easily one of the most common issues I deal with since I work with Long Snappers. Unfortunately, some schools still don’t embrace putting a top quality Long Snapper on full scholarship and are locked onto the preferred walk-on option for their specialists. Let me explain the differences to clarify for you….

WALK-ON

A flat out, standard walk-on is a student that has been admitted to the school, the coaches have no idea about and he simply wants to try out for the team. Tryouts are usually held in the spring time right before a team’s Spring Ball. They are usually run by a lower tier coach or even a GA (graduate assistant). Tryouts can last anywhere from a couple of minutes to a week and will cover a ton of athletic aspects and then your respective position. It is often like in high school when a coach had too many players tryout and he would just make everyone run for the first couple days simply to weed out who could and couldn’t handle it. If you can handle the nonsense at the beginning, they will give you a shot at your position but you better be absolutely terrific for them to bring you on the team. Why? Bottom line, they will kind of look like an idiot for having this gem sitting right under their noses and they didn’t even know it. Ever see those people on those antique shows that have their great grandpas old boots or something and it turns out they are worth a ton of cash? You scream out “What kind of moron doesn’t know they have something that valuable right in front of them after all these years?” FYI: coaches don’t like to be thought of as a moron.

It is VERY hard to make the team and this fashion. In all my time at UCLA, I don’t recall one ever making it. If you are going for the angle at a school that you have been admitted to for academics I wish you the best of luck as you are going to need it. Going in blind (not contacting the coach at all) leaves you behind a major 8 ball.

PREFERRED WALK-ON

This is a very common anecdote for a coach with a Long Snapper, as they know the full rides are few and far between. A Preferred Walk-On is an athlete that IS recruited by the school and is offered a spot on the team. Usually they are told and/or it is known, that the athlete will be placed on full scholarship as soon as he starts. The Preferred Walk-On will, depending on the team, get treated exactly like a full scholarship athlete but they just don’t get things (books, food, dorm, school, etc) paid for. Plain and simple. Couple key points about a Preferred Walk-On are….

· Finding out when you are reporting. This is a pretty big one. If the school really wants you and respects you, you will be brought in early with all of the scholarship athletes. Usually early August. D1 schools are only allowed to bring in 105 early. You want to be on that list.

· Knowing the coach will always try to replace you. I was a preferred walk-on at UCLA and was a solid starter for three years in a row to several All-Americans. Good credentials, right? Yup. I was put on full scholarship and guess what? They still would bring in at least two Long Snappers each year to try and beat me out. Why? Why not? They would also try to have me coach other guys on the team (linebackers and tight ends) how to snap so I didn’t have to take a travel spot and they could just do a double duty. Two for one basically. Given, I am not ignorant and didn’t teach those guys a darn thing about how to snap. “Ok, guys, here is how you will take my job” Nice try.

· Not all schools are created equal with their Preferred Walk-Ons. UCLA was great when I was there with all of their athletes. I was treated as an equal and embraced. I have heard of some schools making their Preferred Walk-Ons feel like second class citizens by having them share lockers, not giving them a number, or just making things rough for them. Ask other preferred walk-ons at that school to see what the vibe is. They will be deadly honest with you as where others may not.

FULL SCHOLARSHIP You are a stud. You have received the rare honor (only 85 per team in D1 athletics and the same in lower divisions but they can be split up in percentages) of obtaining a full scholarship to a university. Some lucky school is going to pay for your education and you will earn a degree on their dime. Huge, huge win. Work hard and make sure you don’t waste their money. They are investing in you and they will want a return on their investment. Bottom line, play like a soldier and do your job as expected. Keep your nose clean and represent your university well. Like they say, you will play for four years but will represent your university for at least the next forty.

To summarize, imagine the school as your parents. If you are a full scholarship athlete, they are flat out handing you the keys to the car. If you are a preferred walk-on, they are holding the keys out in front of you while they keep walking away from you. You can get them but you are going to have to work to get them from their grasp. If you are a walk on, your parents hid the car keys and gave you Ray Charles to help you find them.

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 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 15 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 1,000 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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Filed Under: Article Archives, Athlete, College, Deep Snapper, Featured Posts, N.C.A.A., Recruiting, scholarship Tagged With: a Preferred Walk-On, Athletic Scholarship, Chris Rubio, college recruiting, football recruiting, Full Scholarship, long snapper, long snapping, LongSnapper, national recruits, nationally ranked long snapper, NCAA, recruiting, Rubio long snapping, walk on

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The Difference Between a Walk-On, a Preferred Walk-On and a Full Scholarship

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