As a defensive back for James Madison University, Ryan Smith was focused on becoming the best player he could each time he stepped on the field. There was no way he could’ve envisioned that same competitive drive would see him become one of the top stars in the American Cornhole League.
Growing up in Ashland, VA, Smith didn’t grow up playing bags, but he did toss around horseshoes, which has some similarities to the rapidly growing niche sport. He was introduced to cornhole in 2015 by his brother, and quickly became hooked. When he began attending local events, he was not only surprised at the turnouts but also how intense the play could get.
Once Smith learned of the American Cornhole League, his interests were fully piqued. He would turn pro in 2019.
What does turning pro in a sport stereotyped as more of a backyard activity mean exactly?
With the business sponsorships the league has gained, the exposure on ESPN, the current pot distributed amongst winners in pro qualifier competitions is six figures. The current focus for the league is getting the prize pool to $5 million, meaning that there will be a day where being a pro cornhole player can become a career for some.
“When the American Cornhole League came around, I just knew big things were coming,” Smith said. “Now, it’s just amazing and mind-blowing how [the sport] has taken off.”
He added: “Once I got into playing cornhole, it was I’m going to keep playing and practicing until I could master techniques so I could compete with some of the well-known guys that were winning a lot of these events at the time. I definitely saw myself getting to this level.”
We spoke with Ryan Smith on how he’s become one of the best in the sport, how he trains now to land air mail’s and not defend screen passes, and why you should begin to tune into the ACL.
Misconceptions of cornhole
Most people say it’s just a tailgating game. Maybe a few years ago, it was just that. Now, it’s much more than that. There are huge prize pools and there’s a lot of us that are actually making a living out of cornhole. It’s definitely different than just your standard tailgating/backyard game now.
Ryan Smith puts in the work
They say you really don’t need to work out with cornhole, but I’d beg to differ. Obviously, I’m not doing my football workouts, so I’m not doing hang cleans and things like that, but I do still lift heavy because the gym I go to is a powerlifting gym. There’s a lot of people in there who are competing, so that just gives me that drive. Things I do that I would say translate over to cornhole are the shoulder workouts, bench press, military press, triceps, biceps, and things that help with the underhand motion of cornhole. Doing it over and over, I’ve built those muscles up and that helps give me the endurance to last an entire tournament. Sometimes, you’re throwing up to a thousand bags a day, especially when a tournament lasts two or three days.
I use vice grips that work the wrists, hands, and forearms — I find that most beneficial for the wrist movements needed for cornhole. Obviously, the way you release the bag and how much force you use will impact it more. Some players have a much harder release that has more impact on the wrist. Some players have a softer and higher release. I kind of use both. I use the vice grips so that I’m not affected by fatigue during a tournament.
Throughout the week, I try and practice throwing three to four times. Training is anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes, and 500 to 1,000 bags per session. That comes out to 1,500 to 2,50 bags a week. I honestly work out just as much as I practice, so about three to four times a week. I usually go to the gym, and after that, I go to my company’s warehouse and practice there.
Courtesy of Ryan Smith
Pursuit and responsibility
It’s definitely a lot of time management. Fortunately, I’m able to practice at my company’s facility, which is about five minutes away from where I live. My routine is I get off from work, go home and change, go to the gym, do my workout, and head to the work facility to practice from 30 to 90 minutes. After that, I head home, eat, and call it a night. As far as our actual tournaments, most of them are on the weekends. I’ve been with my company for a while now and they are pretty flexible with me there. If I have to take a Friday off here and there to travel, it’s usually not a big issue.
Say we play Friday morning. Usually, that’s a 9 a.m. start. I like to get up early because I’m an early bird and I’m paranoid that I’m going to miss my alarms and miss the event. I usually get up around 6:30. The first thing I do is take a shower. I’ll listen to music in there to get my mind right. I usually eat light before the tournament, so I’ll have some fruit or a granola bar and a Powerade to get me through the morning. Once I get to the facility about an hour before I play, it’s time to warm up. I try to find a board where I can just throw by myself and get dialed in. I’ll throw as many bags as I can to just get warmed up. After I get into a groove with that, I’ll start working on different shots, and once it gets close to start time, I’ll take a little break and get a playlist together before I play.
When I’m not playing, I do a lot of mental imagery. I try and play through the tournament, play my upcoming opponent or match. I just visualize myself making shots and utilizing certain tactics I’ll need to win the game. During the game, to minimize distractions, when I’m not on a broadcast, I usually have music in my headphones to help me get in my own world and focus on me and the boards.
Cornhole requires cardio (believe it or not)
Along with throwing bags all day in these tournaments that can go three to four days at a time, there’s a lot of walking around in these buildings. You can get tired, and then your legs can start aching. Along with my lifting, I run on the treadmill for a mile or two. I’m doing a lot of leg workouts, squats and calf raises to strengthen everything up so that fatigue is not a factor during the tournaments and it’s just strictly my corn hole game I’m focused on.
Why the American Cornhole League?
I think people should pay attention because it’s much more than your backyard game. There’s so much strategy and things that go into it other than throwing the bag into the hole over and over again. There are many more mental aspects of the game. Once you actually learn the scoring and rhythm, it’s very interesting to watch and play. It’s an awesome game and it’s only trending upward.
