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Any recommendations for improving stability and strength in the full overhead squat position of the Snatch?
 
I go limp and get kind of “noodle-ey” in the bottom.
 
Are there particular assistance exercises I ought to do?  Things I should consider for future practice/competition attempts?  Anything else I didn’t mention? 

 
There are a number of ways to stay rigid and tight when you are in the hole.  One is just to concentrate on what your doing…  sometimes the excitement of having caught the snatch puts a smile on your face and you forget that you have to finish the attempt.  Remember, its not over till you finish. So concentrate on what your doing, all the way to the finish.

Should you always squat down when you’re snatching? I’ve seen a lot of videos where the bar is snatched up without going down into a full squat… is this incorrect form or are there different kinds of snatches?
I really don’t know a whole lot about Olympic lifts…

A snatch is a snatch no matter if you catch it low or high.  If you catch a snatch high above 90% then we in weightlifting call that a power snatch.  A power snatch is just an excercise that forces the athlete to finish more!  To catch the bar high like in a power snatch you really have to pull the crap out of it, hit the bar like a punch from mike tyson, and get underneath the bar faster than Ali’s feet.  The same aplies with catching the snatch in the whole, but the power snatch forces you to finish a little harder so you can catch the bar high, where the full snatch you can catch it so low sometimes the athlete does not finish at the top like they should and they start to go under to early and therefor missing the weight!  Also the power snatch is a great way to mix up the workout, so you are not doing the same thing every damn day, I personaly think the power snatch is fun.  But you can do a power snatch in competition and it would be fine, but you can lift alot more weight catching the bar in the whole than high!  I didn’t make that up, its physics!!!!!!!!    When a weightlifter is first starting out I always have them do the full lifts for the first year or so so they can get the feel of catching it low.  Begginers need to get in a good habbit of catching every lift in the bottom, if not they get in a bad habbit of catching the bar to high and then the bar slowly pushes them in the whole and it is slow and un effective.  After a year they can start powering.  Jon North  2012

If you are not feeling stable in the whole you might not be catching the bar IN THE HOLE.   You might be catching the bar to high and then having the bar slwoly push you into the bottom position and thats not good.  When the bar is pushing you down with heavy weight over your head the weight starts to move around over your head.  When I use to catch high I use to miss alot of snatches behind me or even in front.  Ctaching the bar In the hole is the best way to lift in the snatch and clean.  Not only do you catch the best “BOUNCE” in the whole but you are as solid as a rock in the catch and then you dont miss like the new and improved Jon North.  Thats what my problem was at Pan Ams and everything before that, to much arms and I caught it to high ebcuase of the arms.  Once I took out the arms at the top and start “hitting and catchnig”  shit, haha now I snatch 160 and I dont miss.  Catch the lifts in the whole and use less arms and your lift will be much faster, easier, more explosive, conistant and your weight will go through the roof.  shit I should write a book, even coach Penlday is taking notes!