NC State Wolfpack football: Wall NJ grad Joe Shimko excelling on and off the field

Over four years as the North Carolina State football team’s long snapper, Joe Shimko has delivered 475 snaps for kicks and punts. Not a single one went awry.

Heading into his postgrad season, which kicks off Thursday at UConn, the Wall High School grad aced a different kind of delivery. He presented a $30,000 donation to GiGi’s Playhouse Raleigh, a Down Syndrome achievement center near the campus that serves 1,000 families.

And Shimko, whose work with Jersey Shore-area civic organizations helped raise the money, didn’t just hand off a giant check for a photo op. He’s been deeply involved there for a couple of years.

“Joe has become a regular volunteer, coming in and doing crafts and fitness with the kids — whatever programs are going on,” GiGi’s Playhouse Raleigh president Michelle Pfeiffer said by phone Tuesday. “This is what acceptance and inclusion are about, and Joe is showing that to the community.”

'A different perspective'

Growing up in Belmar, Shimko has been involved in good causes back home alongside his father Robert Shimko, who is the business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 400, a labor union based in Wall. He’s participated in the building of homes for Habitat for Humanity and helped deliver protective equipment to hospitals during the peak of the COVID pandemic. Even smaller kindnesses, like building a ramp to the home of a Wall family with a child in a wheelchair, reinforced the importance of helping others.

“The ramp was pretty much falling apart,” Joe said. “It was sketchy to walk on, let alone have a wheelchair go up it.”

Upon arriving at N.C. State in 2019, he found the Wolfpack football program’s ongoing partnership with GiGi’s Playhouse to be right up his alley.

“It gives you a different perspective,” he said. “They’re awesome to be around. You’re laughing the whole time you’re with them.”

In February, Shimko and a bunch of N.C. State teammates served as movers as GiGi’s Playhouse relocated, loading and unloading a full-sized U-Haul. In August 2022, Shimko donated $25,000 to the nonprofit.

“Him volunteering was already a win for everybody, but he’s taking it to the next level with financial support,” Pfeiffer said. “We wouldn’t be where we are without the community supporting us, and Joe has been such a big part of that.”

Shimko’s fundraising took place in concert with the Vin Gopal Civic Association (helmed by state Senator Vin Gopal,, D-Monmouth) and the Monmouth Ocean Foundation for Children, which is vice-chaired by Monmouth County Commissioner Thomas Arnone, a Republican. Both politicians have recognized his gridiron achievements in the past. Last fall, Shimko was named second-team All-American by the American Football Coaches’ Association. He also was a semifinalist for the Patrick Mannelly Award for the nation’s best long snapper.

““Long snappers don’t do it for recognition,” he said.

Next-level dreams

Snapping a tight spiral back seven or 15 yards is a task that requires well-honed muscle memory. Shimko fires off 200-270 reps per week to prepare. He also has to be able to block oncoming rushers.

“I don’t think about who’s rushing down on me,” he said. “Getting the snap done first is the most important part. If you have a bad snap and you block the guy, it doesn’t matter because you already ruined the play.”

N.C. State is coming off an 8-5 record in 2022 and is picked to finish fourth in the ACC this fall. Shimko, who already has earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management, will spend the upcoming spring auditioning for NFL teams. His dream is to snap in the league and take his GiGi’s Playhouse support to the next level.

“If I make it in the NFL I will be running this fundraiser for as long as I can, and hopefully raise more money than I am now,” he said.

His advice to aspiring college athletes – use your platform to give back.

“Find something you care about,” he said. “If you care about it, you’ll be willing to put in the work for it.”

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NC State vs UConn: Former Wall football player giving back in Raleigh