To be the best Long Snapper, you have to have several physical qualities that I have laid in a very clear fashion in a previous blog. It is straight-forward, easy to understand and, one would think, the obvious way to be the perfect Long Snapper.
Not true.
More and more, I am seeing that being able to snap a ball really fast and accurate is great for being a “practice hero” but to be a true great one, you have to have the proper mentality of a Long Snapper. You have to have something I call “Lazy Confidence.”
“Lazy Confidence” is having an extreme amount of confidence in yourself, but, not needing it turned on continuously. Most football players listen to some pretty intense music prior to the game. I don’t believe a Long Snapper should. I believe they don’t need to be that hyped and, if they are, it would end up hurting them, their beautiful craft and their time in the game. Long Snappers with too much adrenaline often have the ball fly over the punter and/or holder. While a Long Snapper with too much rage, often has the ball go low or wobble since they grip too hard and hurt the ball. A Long Snapper must remain calm. Hold in their emotions. Dominate their feelings and know that they will be ready when their time comes in the game. A Long Snapper must ease into the game. Be relaxed, be calm. Have the confidence within themselves to KNOW they will do their job once their time has come. (In case you are wondering, this would be a song that I used to listen to prior to Sailer and I dominating)
I heard a college coach refer to Long Snappers as a sniper. That is beyond true. You sit, you wait, you have one job, one shot. You take your shot. You are done. You sit and wait again for your next shot. This is where “Lazy Confidence” comes in. Unlike a linebacker, who must be “on” throughout the whole game, a Long Snapper can have upwards of 40 minutes without even stepping on the field. You simply can’t have that much bravado flowing and heart pounding without doing something to release it. Hence, all other positions can be filled with rage and anger throughout the game as they always have another play waiting to release it. A Long Snapper doesn’t.
A Long Snapper must bottle up their confidence, corral it, KNOW it is there and release it as they stroll on the field to dominate their one very specific job. They know they must approach the ball, grab the ball, look upside down and backwards, take a deep breath, start the beautiful chain of events called their form to create the snap. At this point, their confidence is exploding at the seems. A great Long Snapper KNOWS the process is going to run smoothly as they have harnessed all their confidence for this one particular moment. They have a great snap, walk of the field and let it all build back up for that one particular play they will be back in the game. Could be in five minutes or it could be in an hour. Doesn’t matter. What does matter is their Lazy Confidence will peak at just the right time each and every snap.
Lazy Confidence is why I actually like to see my Long Snappers smile, have a good time and enjoy their time snapping. A great Long Snapper can be amongst friends at a camp, lesson or event and be jovial, yet still let their confidence peak as they approach the ball. The best Long Snappers have this ability. They have the skill level to be smiling and talking one second, to trying to put a ball through the punter the next. This is Lazy Confidence and I love when my Long Snappers achieve this status.
A great Long Snapper, with the perfect form AND with the right attitude, knows there is simply no way they can even have a bad snap, so there is no reason to even let it creep into their mind.
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Ok Chris, but what about the high school long snapper who is playing on one side of the ball or another? Especially an O Lineman, he has to be geared up for the each play, maybe a 6 or 8 play drive, and then shift gears to “Lazy Confidence”?
What are your thoughts on that issue? I realize once you hit college ball, they will be pretty exclusively snappers, but in high school a lot of these kids are position players as well. Any suggestions for making the transition?
Great questions BigFreezer….
For a high school Long Snapper that plays an abundance of plays, you have to look at in two ways….1) It is almost easier for them since they don’t have time to think about the whole process so they usually do very well as their confidence is just continuos and 2) they have to be more able to turn it (confidence in snapping) on and off much quicker due to their mind being absorbed by other things (playing other positions)
Bottom line, the high school Long Snapper essentially has two jobs and has to know which one requires which confidence level.