Hey Yardbarkers--

As I was trying to figure out what to write in my first blog in the 'Yard, I went to Whole Foods to get some dinner. I ordered a sandwich, and as the lady who made it began to cut it, I kinda cringed. She cut my sandwich in half from the side, not on a diagonal. Although probably insignificant to you, for me that single cut evoked a long-repressed childhood memory.

When I was a kid my brother (Mark) and I constantly competed--all sports, wrestling, riding skateboards or bikes. I even learned to tie my shoes by racing my brother (to win I went to Velcro for a year). When it came to eating or sharing food we did not let up. At all.

Because I was the youngest by three and a half years, it took me some time to figure out how to compete and eventually win in these kitchen contests. For an extended period of time, my brother would both cut the food that was to be shared and pick his "half." Eventually I made a rule: one person cuts the food, the other person gets to choose his piece first. Mark quickly agreed, but as he started to cut into the prized chocolate bar he paused and said, "That's not fair." He realized his scam would no longer work. He handed me the knife and I confidently made my diagonal cut. He could not distinguish which side was larger and for the first time in my life I got my fair share.

I love to compete; I've done it my whole life. I look for angles, strategies, and techniques that will result in victories. I have been snapping footballs for the 49ers for the last 9 years and I love the ruthless competition of the NFL. I often teach college and high school kids how to long snap. Here is what I tell them:

I can teach anyone to long snap, but I can't teach anyone to want to do it. It takes all of the following:

Orientation - put your body between the ball and the target
Stance - kinda like you're about to do a power clean but set your feet wider.
Grip - like you throw the ball overhand with the opposite hand mirrored symmetrically
Aim - aim small, miss small, to hit the target
Decide - visualize the desired result
Fire - let go and let God
Follow through - patience as the ball leaves your fingers
Balance - block your guy

Start by snapping a round ball (soccer or volley) like a chest pass in basketball but through your legs. Practice doing it correctly. Always start with perfection then advance from there to make progress. For example, fifteen yards is pretty far, so start from nine or ten. Once you get a perfect snap from that distance advance one yard, then repeat. Do not practice a crappy snap from fifteen yards, practice a perfect snap from an appropriate distance. Perfect practice makes perfect. Build velocity by snapping a medicine ball six or seven yards.

Now comes the hard part. Practice until you believe you are the best in the world. Practice until you know that if you make a mistake there was nothing you or any other mortal person could have done to prevent it. Practice until it is not possible to miss but if that unfortunate day should come, you will have done everything in your power to avoid it. Practice until you know you can not fail.

My fundamental approach to football comes from a book called Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Martz. If you're interested, and you probably are because you're reading this, this book will give you a greater insight into the minds of successful athletes.

I listened to the audio version of the book.

I hope they cut my sandwich on a diagonal next time.

My brother insists on cutting everything.

Go team.