Eric Ryder

Professional Cornhole Player

ACL Pro for Carolina Conference

Eric Ryder's Biography

I am ACL Pro Eric Ryder from the Carolina Conference and this is my story of how and when I started playing cornhole and worked my way up to an ACL Pro. Back in 2009 I was invited to a friends house for a cookout. He had some cornhole boards made and pulled them out and explained the game to me. I had never heard of cornhole prior to that day. We played all afternoon and I was hooked. I bought my first set of 2x4/plywood Red Sox boards with corn bags and started playing in the neighborhood with neighbors. Soon heard about a tournament that Trey and I would play in and get our butts handed to us. We met some good players and learned about throwing a flat bag and resin bags and how there were tournaments every week in the area. It was at that point I knew this was a game I would be playing for a very long time.

Cornhole Achievements:

2016-2017 ACL Top 10 Season Singles finish

2017 ACL Championships of Bags Top 20 finish

2017 Norfolk ACL National Top 5 finish

2017 Las Vegas ACL National Top 5 finish

2017 Las Vegas ACL National 2nd place finish in doubles

2018 ACL pro invitational Coney Island NY 2nd place

2018 ACL Championships top 20 finish out of 600

2019 Carolina Conference #1 Doubles Champions

Numerous 1st place ACL finishes at both a local and regional level, in both Singles and Doubles.

Many 1st place finishes at local non ACL events.

Having been diagnosed with Esophagus cancer January 2019 this past season as a pro was difficult. My game suffered badly and by far my worse season but i keep battling and keep playing.

My Sponsors:

My Most Memorable Moment
I have had many but as a cornhole player my most memorable moments would be playing on ESPN and having the opportunity to be interviewed on various news outlets and radio.

About Me

Nickname

The Reaper

Pro Partner

Dusty Thompson

Preferred Bags

Gladiator Empire Pro VIII, Gladiator Dagger Pro VIII and Gladiator Predator Pro v2

Favorite Color

Orange (Go Tigers!!)

Favorite Hobby

Working out!!

Favorite Food

Pizza, Steak and Japanese

Occupation

Gladiator Cornhole Gear founder, QA Manager Wells Fargo

Hometown

Lake Wylie, SC

Favorite Player

I respect and admire the talents of many and there are certain players I like to watch.

Favorite Shot

The curve bag, bully bag and long push bag.

Mentor

Dusty Thompson; what most people do not know is that Dusty was one of the first people I saw play at the elite level and back when i first started he was the best in the area.

Sharing is Caring

RANDOM CORNHOLE PROFESSIONALS

Jay Rubin

ACL Pro for Great Lakes Conference

Jay Rubin
ACL Pro for Great Lakes Conference
I am Jay Rubin aka Jaybirdie Bird ACL Pro from the Great Lakes Conference and this is my story of how and when I started playing cornhole and worked my way up to an ACL Pro. I started playing cornhole in backyards, alleys, and bars here in Chicago 10-11 years ago. For about 2 years I would play in a local country station tournament but usually got destroyed in the sweet 16. Took 6 years off due to not having a partner. I showed up at a local tournament in Villa park back in 2015, and beat a really solid team that was well known. That victory opened up all the avenues I needed when it came to finding a partner. My first 2 years I would go to 5-10 local type of tournaments a year to get a sense of what I was really up against. During that time frame, I realized I had a lot of work to do if I wanted to be considered one of the best. 2 years ago I figured out how to throw a flat bag, which immensely helped my slide game. After that I started working on pushing, step outs, covering/blocking, airmailing, and the strategic side of the game. Once I had a good feel for all the tools needed to be successful, I decided to give the ACL a shot. In my first season I finished 25th in singles, and 36th in the overall rankings. During the summer of 2018 I elevated my game even more by winning several $1000-$3000 tournaments, while taking down some of the best players in the game. Some of my biggest accomplishments so far this season is 13/13 in regional singles, won a conference doubles, and a National in advanced doubles on ESPN. I'm currently competing for the $10,000 devour player of the year title, and also for player of the year in the ACL season. Still have a lot of work to do in order to accomplish either. Looking forward to seeing what the next 10 years brings me in my career!

Contact

Office

Rubies

Home

Baby Blue

Email

Cornhole

Skype

Pizza (Lou Malnatis Deep Dish)

Location

Addison, Il

Check Skills

Killer instinct

Aggressiveness

Calmness

Sliding Proficiency

Step out Proficiency

Pushing Proficiency

Blocking/Covering Proficiency

Airmail Proficiency

Shawn Smith

ACL Pro for Atlantic Conference

Shawn Smith
ACL Pro for Atlantic Conference
I am Shawn Smith ACL Pro from the Atlantic Conference and this is my story of how and when I started playing cornhole and worked my way up to an ACL Pro. I started playing competitive cornhole in 2016 in the ACO and switched over to the ACL in 2017. In 2016 I also introduced my brother Ryan Smith to cornhole at the competitive level. During the 2016-2018 seasons, I never played in enough tournaments and wasn’t committed enough, to really see how good I could be. So basically, I never played a full season until the 2018-2019 season in the ACL. So at the end of the ACL World Championships in 2017-2018, I committed myself to play in 1 regional a month, 3 conference events and 2 nationals for the following season. I started finding time on my lunch breaks this past season to work on stance, grips, follow through and just getting as many reps as I could in 30 minutes. If I had a couple hours on the weekend to practice, I would get it done. My 3 year old daughter, 5 year old daughter and wife are really important to me, so I couldn’t commit to more tournaments than I did. I still was able to finish ranked #103 in the nation overall (without maxing out in local points) for this past season and proved as an advanced player, I can throw with the pros and anyone ranked top #160 in the nation.

Contact

Office

Reynolds

Home

Grey

Email

Cornhole, fishing, slow pitch softball, and tailgating

Skype

Steak

Location

VA

Check Skills

Slide game

blocking

Airmails

Eric Ryder

ACL Pro for Carolina Conference

Eric Ryder
ACL Pro for Carolina Conference
I am ACL Pro Eric Ryder from the Carolina Conference and this is my story of how and when I started playing cornhole and worked my way up to an ACL Pro. Back in 2009 I was invited to a friends house for a cookout. He had some cornhole boards made and pulled them out and explained the game to me. I had never heard of cornhole prior to that day. We played all afternoon and I was hooked. I bought my first set of 2x4/plywood Red Sox boards with corn bags and started playing in the neighborhood with neighbors. Soon heard about a tournament that Trey and I would play in and get our butts handed to us. We met some good players and learned about throwing a flat bag and resin bags and how there were tournaments every week in the area. It was at that point I knew this was a game I would be playing for a very long time.

Contact

Office

Gladiator Empire Pro VIII, Gladiator Dagger Pro VIII and Gladiator Predator Pro v2

Home

Orange (Go Tigers!!)

Email

Working out!!

Skype

Pizza, Steak and Japanese

Location

Lake Wylie, SC

Scott Jones Sr.

ACL Pro for Carolina Conference

Scott Jones Sr.
ACL Pro for Carolina Conference
I am ACL Pro Scott Jones Sr. from the Carolina Conference and this is my story of how and when I started playing cornhole and worked my way up to an ACL Pro. My son got me into playing cornhole. His partner asked me to be a fill in for a local tournament about 3 years ago. When I saw some of the people playing I knew I wanted to play more and get better at the game.

Contact

Office

Draggin Bags

Home

Green

Email

Motorcycles and cornhole

Skype

Wings

Location

Summerville, SC

Check Skills

Airmail

Slide

Block

CORNHOLE BAGS

$150.00Select options

Game Changer Bags – Dual Sided Bags

$150.00

$50.00Select options

Slide-Rite Cornhole Bags | Perfect Stick and Slide

$50.00

$50.00Select options

Run N Gun Cornhole Bags | Addict Approved

$50.00

$55.00Select options

Assassin Cornhole Bags

$55.00

$45.00Select options

Mach 1 Cornhole Bags

$45.00

$55.00Select options

Addicts All Slides Cornhole Bags

$55.00

$55.00Select options

Legend All In Cornhole Bags

$55.00

$55.00Select options

BG Dark Slide Cornhole Bags

$55.00

$50.00Select options

Cheetah Predator V2 Cornhole Bags

$50.00

$50.00Select options

King Cheetah Pro VIII Series Cornhole Bags

$50.00

$50.00Select options

America Slide-Rite Bags

$50.00

$50.00Select options

Limited Edition Jesus Slide-Rite Bags

$50.00

$45.00Select options

Quake Cornhole Bags

$45.00

$50.00Select options

Reynolds Pro Touch

$50.00

$50.00Select options

Maximus Cornhole Bags

$50.00

$50.00Select options

Dagger Cornhole Bags

$50.00