LAURINBURG — Adam Clark knows the secret to a good cornhole toss.
“It’s actually your hand position when (the bag) leaves your hand,” the 29-year-old Laurinburg resident said. “That’s all it is.”
It’s not all about how you angle your arm or any other aspects of your delivery style, Clark noted. It’s more about keeping the bag flat while it spins through the air, so it maintains its trajectory and goes where you want it to.
Clark knows this because he’s a professional cornhole player.
As a competitor in the American Cornhole League, Clark has had the chance to compete on ESPN and other digital platforms. He was won numerous tournaments and awards alongside partner Jason Tyson.
Clark’s passion for playing cornhole started when his his father introduced him to the game.
“My dad was in the military,” Clark said. “He went overseas. When he was in Egypt, they were bored and someone picked up the game, so they built their own set. When he came back he showed it to me.
“We got to playing in the yard, and I’ve always been competitive, so I started practicing a lot so I could beat him,” he added. “That was my first goal.”
Clark eventually set his sights on other opponents. After excelling in some local cornhole tournaments, Clark was encouraged to check out larger events in the Raleigh area.
That’s when he realized his love for the game.
“I was into it real heavy then,” Clark said.
Ever since that moment around 10 years ago, Clark has been competing against some of the best cornhole players in the world. From the earliest stages of his career, Clark learned the value of practicing his craft daily and learning new strategies. He maintains that work ethic to this day, and he’s just as passionate about being an advocate for competitive corn-hole.
Clark encourages others to try the game on a competitive level. The ACL has helped facilitate that process by hosting five different levels of competition, ranging from recreational players to professionals. The hope is that players starting from the bottom will eventually become more comfortable with the game and move up the ladder.
And with enough work, they might get to the level Clark and Tyson are at now. But there is plenty of work to be done as part of that process; competitive cornhole players are heavily methodical in everything they do, from how they throw the bag to where they aim their shots.
“A lot of people think it’s an easy game,” Clark said. “It’s very, very hard. It’s a lot more strategic than just throwing it in the hole.”
There’s some planning that goes into the game, but Clark said much of his approach depends on his opponent’s strategy.
“If you’ve never played someone before, the way you throw is you just throw them all in (the hole),” Clark said. “If they try to do something to you, try to block you, you play your game. Don’t try to play their game. See where they’re at. If you see they’re struggling in a certain part of their game, that’s when you start exploiting them.”
Attempting to throw all the bags in the hole might seem like a foolproof approach, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes it’s better to strategically block the opponents’ bags, or use other tactics to put the opposition at risk of making mistakes, according to Clark.
Clark said one-on-one practice sessions help him run through many of the scenarios he’ll face in competitions.
“They’ll shoot certain shots, and you’ve got to stay with them,” he said. “Figure out if there’s a way you can clog the hole up without them getting back in there. Sometimes giving up two points is not a bad scenario.”
Clark’s approach to the game has worked well over his decade-long cornhole career, and he has his eyes on more achievements in the future. Clark and Tyson are digging in for another season on the ACL circuit.
In order to achieve their goals, the pair are hoping to receive support from local sponsors. The duo will showcase their sponsors at local, regional and conference tournaments. Major sponsors will also get exposure during matches televised by ESPN.
Clark said sponsors are a big part of the ACL’s success, and the league recognizes that.
“If we didn’t have the sponsors, we wouldn’t be able to travel like that all the time,” Clark said. “(The league) is trying to give them thanks and get their name out there.”
