YOUTH
THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | JUNE 23, 2021
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Local star headed to San Diego State University BY GRANT GREABELL Foothills Focus Staff Writer
C
actus Shadows’ Ryan Wintermeyer will be suiting up for the Aztecs next year as a long snapper. The 2021 Under Armour All-American accepted a preferred walk-on spot at SDSU. Wintermeyer had scholarship offers from Akron and Air Force, but nothing compared to SDSU. “When I started snapping, I wanted to go to San Diego State. I loved everything about them. My mom went to San Diego State,” Wintermeyer said. “That was my No. 1. It’s a dream come true to be able to go there.” Wintermeyer started long snapping go-
ing into his freshman year of high school and has never looked back. He has been training with Ben Bernard, who trains long snappers across Arizona, since his very first day practicing at the position. Wintermeyer has two goals set for himself once he heads to campus on June 12. “My main goal right now is to win the job. Winning the job is for sure my No. 1 YOUTH priority. And then behind that is to get the scholarship. Those are my two big goals right now,” Wintermeyer said. The life of a long snapper comes with a lot of pressure, though. It is one of the few jobs in sports that requires perfection out of an athlete. Wintermeyer understands that and is ready to take a jab at the next level.
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“Another goal is to have no bad snaps in a game, because my job is based on being perfect every single time, and that’s just what I need to do,” Wintermeyer said. Though he is a bit nervous to head off to college, Wintermeyer is mainly excited to get started on his new journey. A plus for him is that he knows the San Diego area well. “I’m very excited, a little nervous of course, but I’ve been to San Diego a lot before. That’s why I’m not too nervous. I know the area very well. My family would go on trips to Mission Beach every year,” Wintermeyer said. He will study business at SDSU, which is something Wintermeyer is very interested in and something he hopes to pur-
sue in the future. If there’s one thing to know about Ryan Wintermeyer, though, it is his work ethic. At his position, there is zero room for error, and that means to perform at an elite level, a long snapper must put countless hours of work in. He has and will continue to do just that. “I am a hard worker. At the long snapper position, it’s not about how athletic or how big you are; it’s more about how much effort and time you put into it,” Wintermeyer said. “You need to practice a lot, and I’ve spent hours upon hours in my backyard and at practice with Ben Bernard just practicing and perfecting my craft.”
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