For the first installment of “Where Are They Now?” I thought it only appropriate that I start with Rubio Long Snapper Casey Hales. You see, Casey is the first Long Snapper I ever worked with! He was/is a little surfer kid from Orange County, CA with a great attitude that played his college football at Duke!
Check out what has been going on with Rubio Long Snapper Casey Hales….
1. What is your current occupation? – Medical Device Sales, specializing in spine surgery.
2. Where do you live? San Francisco, CA
3. Married/ Kids? No
4. What is your fondest memory of your time playing college football? My favorite experience was traveling with the team on road games.
Whenever we would fly it would be on chartered planes, with a police escort, the way it should be. My fondest memory specifically would have to be playing at FSU my true freshman year. I was a little bit on the chubby side, and these really aggressive fans started taunting me right above our sideline. They were screaming and pointing at me trying to get my attention “Hey Chunk, do the truffle shuffle!” Haha! Classic line from Goonies. They repeated this over an over all game. That always reminded me how special it is to play college football, especially when playing in front of 90,000 hostile fans, against the teams I grew up watching on T.V.
5. If you could give ONE bit of advice to the current Rubio Long Snappers, what would it be? SET GOALS, and have fun! Make sure you are putting in the work that is going to get you the results you want. It’s easy to be comfortable when you think you are “good enough” either in HS or College. Keep raising the bar for yourself and be accountable for your progress.
6. If you could give ONE bit of advice to the current Rubio Long Snapping PARENTS, what would it be? Be consistent. Try not to get too high or too low based on a games outcome or 1 snapping performance. If you are consistently being supportive that is enough.
7. When was the last time you snapped a ball and for what reason? This past weekend on the beach. I was tossing the rock with some friends and it just happened.
8. If you could go back and play football in college again, would you go to the same school or a different one? Why? I would go back to Duke in a heart beat. I wouldn’t trade my teammates or the Duke experience for anything. Plus I was one of the most active long snappers (punts) in the country.
9 .Any regrets during college? Something you wish you had done or maybe hadn’t? The only thing I wish I had was a redshirt year to develop more. I wasn’t the most physically gifted and could have used another year in the weight room to adjust to the college game and speed.
10. What tremendous thing have you been a part of or experienced since you graduated?
Besides Rubio Long Snapping….
After graduation I was one of 10 Duke Athletes selected to participate in the Coach for College Program in Southern Vietnam. This was a 6-week Student-Athlete Program that allowed us to promote the benefits of higher education and athletics. This was a special experience because it allowed me to connect my love for coaching/teaching with the lessons I learned playing football at Duke. We created a multifunctional sports court and got to work with some great kids.
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