{"id":79,"date":"2012-01-11T07:34:00","date_gmt":"2012-01-11T15:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/target\/"},"modified":"2016-11-08T23:52:32","modified_gmt":"2016-11-08T23:52:32","slug":"target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/?p=79","title":{"rendered":"Target"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;\">In honor of the 10th Annual National Snapping Event sponsored by Nike in Las Vegas in a couple of days, I have decided to have a Rubio Long Snapper (who wishes to remain anonymous) enlighten us with an essay he wrote for a class in high school. I read it last year and had this week in mind for it&#8217;s unveiling. I think you will know why once you get to reading this solid piece of work. With no further adieu, I give you Target by ______________.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;\"><b><u>Target<\/u><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\">Sparks fired from the bottom of my spine as I heard my name announced. \u00a0After two days of grueling preliminaries, I had miraculously made the \u201cTop 12\u201d finals round of the prestigious National Long Snapping Competition held in Las Vegas, Nevada.\u00a0 This unique competition showcases hundreds of trained high school athletes battling for a glimmer of a glance from college football coaches by faultlessly throwing a ball upside down and backwards through their legs.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\">Rating high enough to make the finals was miraculous to me because my left arm had been useless for the past two months due to an injury to my shoulder.\u00a0 Even though I had prepared all year for this event, the injury definitely had set me back quite a bit as my doctor had just okayed me to use my arm the previous week.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\">Because it seemed implausible that I could win, my tense muscles relaxed as the contest began.\u00a0 The crowd settled and I calmly snapped my first ball \u2026 straight into the target. One after another, my long snaps inexplicably flew directly into the net of the target.\u00a0 Applause erupted each and every time I won and, surprisingly, soon I was prepping for the final round of the highly respected National Long Snapping Title.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\">The buzz of chatter filled the damp field air and although doubts still clouded my mind, my body was operating on its\u2019 own. \u00a0My final opponent, the top ranked snapper in the country, was an unstoppable machine who snapped hard without losing consistency or accuracy.\u00a0 I cleared my mind of this thought as I scanned the bundled up crowd quietly sitting on the cold\u00a0green turf and smiled at my luck so far.\u00a0 As my name was called, I swiftly bounced up ready to face my fate.\u00a0 If I hit the target, the title was mine. \u00a0I firmly set my feet the perfect distance from the ball, squatted myself lower while resting my elbows on my knees. My right arm extended to grip the ball while my left arm moved a moment after the right. Once I had full control, my weight shifted back to my heels. I tightened up like a spring, ready to release. Simultaneously, my legs locked out while my upper body and arms went through the opening between my legs. As my arms reached the furthest my flexibility could handle, I extended my wrists and locked out my fingers to release the ball. Fifteen yards and less than a second later the ball flew \u2026 into the net!<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\">The crowd went crazy as my opponent and I gaped in amazement.\u00a0 Hands were flying in my face, camera lights were flashing and the buzz was contagious.\u00a0 I was filled with emotion \u2013 shock, happiness, disbelief and awe.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\">As I pondered how I could have won, my answer silently came \u2026 the only answer I found \u2026 <i>faith<\/i>.\u00a0 I believe faith releases our fears and allows us to be calm in spite of what is going on and I know that is exactly what happened that day.\u00a0 This particular event was very significant to me because it was such a big leap of faith.\u00a0 Considered the most important long snapping event of the year, I knew that I had to do well to prove myself or suffer the consequences of a poor performance.\u00a0 The pain in my shoulder kept me from practicing and I even questioned whether I should attend the event, but <i>something<\/i> kept me going and I am very grateful.\u00a0 My muscle memory clicked in leading me to my first National Title and proof that nothing is impossible.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">(Click <a href=\"http:\/\/rubiolongsnapping.podomatic.com\/entry\/2012-01-11T07_34_07-08_00\" target=\"_blank\">HERE<\/a> to have this blog read to you by me)<\/span><\/span><\/span>_________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Chris-Rubio-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-4075\" src=\"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Chris-Rubio-2.jpg\" alt=\"Chris-Rubio-2\" width=\"175\" height=\"181\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/rubio-long-snapping\/\" target=\"_blank\">Rubio Long Snapping<\/a> 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\u00a0can help you to become the best snapper you can be!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In just 12 years,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/rubio-long-snapping\/bio.php\" target=\"_blank\">Chris Rubio<\/a>, President and Owner of\u00a0Rubio Long Snapping,\u00a0has 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 \u201cRubio\u2019s\u201d word day in and day out on who the best Long Snappers are in the country. Rubio Long Snapping\u00a0has assisted in over 300 Long Snappers earning FULL SCHOLARSHIPS to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/rubio-long-snapping\/the-list.php\" target=\"_blank\">major colleges and universities just for Long Snapping<\/a>\u00a0and many into the NFL as well.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Rubio_Card_frontMAGNET.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3898\" src=\"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Rubio_Card_frontMAGNET.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Rubio_Card_frontMAGNET.jpg 1051w, https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Rubio_Card_frontMAGNET-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Rubio_Card_frontMAGNET-1024x585.jpg 1024w\" alt=\"Rubio_Card_frontMAGNET\" width=\"550\" height=\"315\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"bawpvc-ajax-counter\" data-id=\"79\">40<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In honor of the 10th Annual National Snapping Event sponsored by Nike in Las Vegas in a couple of days, I have decided to have a Rubio Long Snapper (who wishes to remain anonymous) enlighten us with an essay he wrote for a class in high school. I read it last year and had this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,28,2,5,47],"tags":[6,8,9,10,14,15,17,218,19,20,39,23,539,1422],"class_list":["post-79","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","category-deep-snapper","category-long-snapper","category-motivation","category-vegas","tag-chrisubio","tag-deep-snap","tag-deep-snapper-2","tag-deep-snapping","tag-long-snap","tag-long-snapper-2","tag-long-snapping","tag-long-snapping-camp","tag-longsnapper","tag-longsnapping","tag-rubio-long-snapper","tag-rubio-long-snapping","tag-rubio-target","tag-vegas","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6320,"href":"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79\/revisions\/6320"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rubiosblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}