He used to play for fun. He even played previously in the Escalon Police Department’s annual Park Fete Cornhole Tournament.
But now Greg Collins of Escalon is stepping up into the spotlight, getting ready to compete at the American Cornhole League, ACL, Nationals event in Florida. The Escalon resident is currently ranked Number 1 in the Western Conference for the sport, and is going in to the Feb. 5 through 7 competition with a positive attitude and high hopes.
“I guess it was just the desire to compete,” Collins said of turning from cornhole enthusiast into a cornhole pro in January of 2019. This is his first appearance in the Nationals, with the first event of 2021 set in Winter Haven, Florida.
You progress in the sport through earning points at the various local, regional, and conference competitions and the goal is to get to the Nationals, competing against the best in the country.
“I knew of the game,” Collins explained of originally playing for fun.
He then learned of a group that played in Manteca and got involved in that local league, eventually igniting the competitive fire.
He also said it is a game that can be enjoyed by anyone, all ages, and that – at 60 – he will be one of the oldest competitors at the Nationals event.
Collins and his wife Tamara – Escalon residents since 1998 – pointed to friends Paul and Maybelle Abplanalp as truly getting them involved, and they enjoy playing with the ‘Escalon Crew’ group on a fairly regular basis.
Now, however, the stakes are a bit higher.
“As a pro, you sign a contact with the ACL,” Collins explained. “They have to invite you to be in it (Nationals) and it’s very, very competitive.”
Collins estimated that he spends 50 to 60 percent of his time with the sport competing, about 40 percent practicing. It also is a game of strategy as much as skill, since you can knock your opponents bag off the board to take away their points.
Bags in the hole are worth three points; bags on the board are worth one but scores are based on both players’ throws, so if you throw the same, it would be a ‘wash’ with no points awarded. The game is to 21 points.
“I pretty much play every day,” noted Collins. “Occasionally I will take a day off, but not often.”
The boards themselves must adhere to strict guidelines for competition and from the front of the board – where you can launch the bag from – to the hole in the opposing cornhole board is 30 feet. The boards themselves measure two feet-by-four feet and the ‘hole’ is just six inches.
And while Collins said he thoroughly enjoys competing, the sport has also brought him joy in other ways as well.
“It’s really the people you meet,” he said. “There’s a great competitive environment, a community environment and there’s a spirit of competition but the people are just great.”
So far, Collins has traveled to numerous states to compete, including South Carolina, Arizona, Nevada and more, with the season running for several months. Tamara serves as his travel manager, PR director and “best cheerleader.”
Along with the Singles competition, Collins will also play in the Doubles at Nationals, paired with Rudy Ai of Acampo, his doubles partner.
Collins is sponsored by Ultra, the company that makes his cornhole boards, based in San Diego. He will be wearing his Ultra gear for the Nationals, with the top competitors being featured on ESPN2.
Both Collins and Tamara said the sport is really exploding, as it is an all-age game, and they are excited to be a part of the movement. They also said their approach to the game comes from Proverbs 27:17.
“Iron sharpens iron,” Tamara said. “It’s really our motto.”
The more he competes, the better he hopes to get, Collins added.
And while he will be on the national stage, he doesn’t expect there to be too many nerves.
“Once you’ve played the top players and you realize, I can hang with them, it builds confidence,” he said.
