Josh Thielen's Cornhole Biography

Drew Brown

I am ACL Pro Drew Brown from SouthEast Conference the and this is my story of how I became a professional cornhole player at the American Cornhole League. I grew up playing baseball year round in high school. I was a very aggressive pitcher/3rd baseman and had a passion for winning all my life. During my senior year I contracted mononucleosis and was told by doctors that it was the worst case they had seen in almost 35 years of practice. I went from 155 lbs to 125 lbs in just over a month and they rushed me to the hospital twice within that month to be sure I was getting the right amount of fluids. I also missed my last month of my senior year of high school but I was fortunate enough to be released on the day of graduation and was given the "OK" from doctors to attend the ceremony. After high school I went on to play college ball at Bethany College, but quickly knew I didn't have the strength that I once had. In an effort to focus on my health and devote more to my studies, I transferred to a school closer to home. I needed something to keep my competitive edge going and that is when I turned to cornhole. My cousin, Wes Phillipson, brought boards to our thanksgiving dinner one year and needless to say I was very much a beginner player. He beat me in every game that we played that year and I there was only one way I knew how to respond. PRACTICE. All winter long and through the summer I practiced everyday, even tying the chandelier to the banister with a rope in my mom's house when it was cold out so I could play indoors. I wanted to make sure at the next family function I wouldn't be able to be beat so that I had bragging rights at the dinner table. Sure enough my dedication paid off. So much so that I thought that I was one of the best in the state at that point taking down local tournaments in my hometown. After that I started googling tournaments and I would take my buddies CJ and Jake Blanchard to play cornhole across the state just to play in tournaments. That was when I ran into the unstoppable duo of Matt Guy and Randy Atha in Dublin Ohio at the Irish festival. They beat us 21-0 but I quickly received word on who these two were in the cornhole world. That was who I wanted to be. This is where a new chapter began and my search to become one of the household names in cornhole started. I knew I had a lot of work to do to get where I needed to become one of the best. During one of my google searches, I found a tournament in West Virginia and got introduced to my good friend, Ted Dillon. He is the one that I give a lot of credit to, for he was the first person to take a chance on me as a player and be my partner. It also helped that he ran an abundance of regional tournaments where I slowly started to meet and play against today's most familiar faces. Now after over 10 years of playing against the best in the world, I believe I am ready to prove to everyone that I have what it takes.

Chris Caudill

I started playing Cornhole while camping and at family parties and gatherings. That lead into finding some small bar leagues which turned into locals, regionals, conferences and opens. I've played for about 10-12 years but competitively for only about 4. Had a couple close friends as my partners but my favorite partner to compete with is my sons CJ and Cameron. My wife travels with me to tournaments and is my biggest cheerleader and statistician. We make the best of cornhole weekends by camping near tournaments or being "tourists" in whatever town we are in. I've met so many people through the Cornhole community that are such great friends now. In 2020 we moved from Maryland (Mid-Atlantic conference) to Florida. We never skipped a beat after finding all he places to play Cornhole down here. Meeting Dave at Cornhole Addicts several years ago at COBS in Philly was a blessing not only for sponsorship but for a great friendship as well!

Rod Jara

I am TeamAddicts Sponsored Player Rod Jara and this is my story of how I started playing cornhole. I got started in cornhole in 2018 when my g/f's mom at the time used to bartend at the Lacey Elks. She told us about a cornhole league starting up and wanted to see if we were interested. Up to this point, I had maybe thrown 5 cornhole bags in my life at backyard BBQ’s. Needless to say, it was something completely new to us. Nevertheless, we joined the league as it was something new and social for us to do. My first season, I was BAD. If I landed 1 bag on the board out of 10 throws, I was happy. The league was run by some great people that are still close to us today. By the end of the 1st season i had developed some what of a flat bag and knew I wanted to give it another go. So we came back for our 2nd season. That's when I started learning more and applying more of my time to the game. I would ask everyone questions about how they threw, they would teach me how to stand, the hold, the release, etc. I really enjoyed it, even though I wasn't very good. By our 3rd season, I finished top 5 in our league and that's when i started playing in cornhole tournaments around NJ. I would partner up with guys from my own league. Everywhere I'd go, I'd get rocked. But i enjoyed playing and learning so I kept at it. I then joined the ACL and played in the competitive division for a year. I won numerous regionals in singles, until our director bumped me up to advanced in 2020. Covid then hit, and everything went virtual. That's when I would practice 5+ hours a day in my backyard. I LOVED practicing! I would take the fastest bags i had, all the way to the slowest bags, and i would make myself adjust to the conditions. The ACL then opened things up again and we started going to conferences and opens all around the country to compete against better competition. I now play in the advanced division and hope to work my way up to the PRO division soon.

Jim Glasscock

I am ACL Pro Jim Glasscock from the Mid-South Conference and this is my story of how I became a professional cornhole player for the ACL.

Tom Walter

I am ACL Pro Tom Walter from the Great Lakes Conference and this is my story of how I became a professional cornhole player for the American Cornhole League. I started out like most people, playing cornhole (or "bags as we called it) in my back yard or up at my cabin with corn filled bags against family members. I was always pretty good at it so I joined a local league and then entered my first ACL regional where I quickly discovered I really wasn't that good. Sure I was competitive, but it was very apparent that I was not in the same ball park as the local studs! However, I became hooked on the ACL and with the regional competition and I slowly but surely improved to where I began winning or placing high in most of the tournaments I entered. I then began going to the ACL nationals to compete and became even more hooked on the game. I have been fortunate to be able to retire from my job several years ago which has allowed me more time to practice - and that certainly has improved my game as well. I am truly a living example of the ACL's saying that "Anyone can play and anyone can win".

Adam Acton

I am ACL Pro Adam Acton from the SouthWest Conference and this is my story of how I became a professional cornhole player for the ACL.

Started playing cornhole eight years ago when I got moved to Indiana. Met my wife and had a child then moved back to Oklahoma. Cornhole was minimal and I enjoyed played so I started Oklahoma cornhole and sold it 4 years ago to focus on being just a player.

Florentino Mendoza

I am ACL Pro Florentino Mendoza from the West Conference and this is my story of how I became a professional cornhole player for the ACL.

I started playing cornhole in 2017. I originally played horseshoe’s in California and when I moved to Arizona in 2017, my cousin introduced me to Cornhole. I started playing in tournaments and being very competitive. Then I started practicing to master the game. In 2021/2022 my hard work paid off when I was selected for the ACL Pro Development Cup.

Brandon Corwin

I am ACL Pro Brandon Corwin from the Mid-East 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 about 12 years ago while home on leave from the military. My buddy asked me to play some Cornhole with him and immediately I had the same response as many others when first asked to play Cornhole “WTH is wrong with you?” LOL. After figuring out what he was talking about I was hooked. We eventually started a blind draw league at our local tavern in Mansfield, Ohio when I finished my active duty stent. I learned very quickly that I had a hell of a lot of work to do because I was getting my butt kicked. Being super competitive in no matter what I do, I started training if you will? I would play in as many blind draws and local tournaments that I could find as well as play in the back yard as much as possible. That eventually got me to where I’m at today. I am a third year ACL Pro and 2018-2019 ACL Pro invitational champion. I’m ready for this years action.
IT’S GO TIME!!!