GLENDALE, Ariz. — "Aim small, miss small," Cardinals rookie long snapper Joe Shimko said. "I will try to hit it there every single time."
Shimko is a man based all on routine. Everything he does on the football field comes with a clear focus and intention with one sole purpose; to perfect his craft.
"I grew up in a blue-collar family, my dad was an electrician," Shimko said. "So details in his job were life or death so growing up there were a lot of details in everything."
In fact, it was Joe's father who came up with the idea to practice his long snapping technique in the backyard during his high school years. Every day he would work with his father doing 400 snaps each at punt placekick distance.
"Yeah, I would chart them all down," Shimko said. "So I guess it really started from the beginning. That was his idea so he definitely loves having that to say."
The countless reps paid off because he later attended NC State where the school claimed Shimko never had a bad snap in 607 attempts. It is there he won the Patrick Mannelly Award as the nation’s best long snapper. He had been a semifinalist for the award the previous two seasons.
But Shimko knows his position is only one piece of what is a very important equation.
"I have a holder and a punter that I have to deliver them the best snap possible so I take it as I want to give them the best opportunity to do their job the best so I don't want to be the reason we have a bad operation," Shimko said.
The rookie is constantly looking for new ways to hone his craft which hopefully results in delivering many more snaps for the Arizona Cardinals this year and beyond.
"The hard work really does pay off," Shimko said. "It's never for nothing. You keep putting the work in, you're going to get something out of it eventually."
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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