Mike Kitzmiller's Cornhole Biography

Wilbur McDonald

I am TeamAddicts Brand Ambassador Wilbur McDonald and this is my story of how I started playing cornhole. I started playing cornhole with one of the best people I ever met in my life who unfortunately passed away in 2017. His name was Travis Story. I moved to Virginia in search of a better life and I was fortunate to meet Travis and his family! He was playing this game with bean bags one day and I had no clue what he was doing! He invited me over and taught me the game! I fell in love with it! After he passed away, I decided that one day was going to look on google and see if there was any place that played. I found a tournament in VA Beach and decided to try it out! When I arrived I had no clue how competitive this game really was! I met Jordan Camba and Frank Modlin that day! Jordan told me of other places in the area to play and from there I was able to meet Allan Rockwell, who became a very good friend of mine as well, and I started playing competitively! Rocky was running blind draws out of Eagles Nest in Chesapeake, VA at that time! We became good friends and he would invite me on trips to ACL events he was going to so I could play too! I fell in love even more with this game and I’ve been addicted ever since!!

Mike Kitzmiller

I am Mike Kitzmiller ACL Pro from the MidEast Conference and this is my story of how and when I started playing cornhole and worked my way up to an ACL Pro. Started playing tailgates 10 yrs ago slowly got involved with local tourneys!!! 5 yrs ago started getting more serious getting in bigger tournaments which kept growing more and more each yr and now entering the Pro Level is a big step and looking forward to the challenge

Michael Ferreira

I am Michael Ferreira ACL Pro from the Southeast Conference and this is my story of how and when I started playing cornhole and worked my way up to an ACL Pro. I got started in the game during my senior year of high school. What started out as a friendly bet against my teacher turned into an obsession and now seven years later I am now in my third year as an ACL PRO. This game has brought me all around the United States and Canada which is more than I ever thought would happen.

Emory Parker

I am Emory Parker ACL Pro from the Southeast Conference and this is my story of how and when I started playing cornhole and worked my way up to an ACL Pro. Went to South Bend, Indiana when I was 11 for a Florida State - Notre Dame football game. I had never seen cornhole before that and immediately fell in love. Upon returning home I built a set of boards with my Dad and it became a staple at our tailgates indefinitely. After graduating from Florida State, I moved to South Florida where I was looking for ways to meet people. I ran across South Florida Cornhole and went out for my first tournament that night. The rest was history as I began traveling out of town for tournaments and competing against the best in the state, and eventually the country.

As much as I love competing, for me Cornhole is all about the people you meet. Everyone has so much fun and enjoys being around one another. I cannot say enough about the people I have met from this game AKA "my cornhole fam."

Shawn Smith

I am TeamAddicts Brand Ambassador Shawn Smith from the Mid-East Conference and this is my story of how I started playing cornhole.
Couple of buddies thought it be fun to sign up for this cornhole tournament at our local bar. My partner and I ended up finishing 2nd out of 25 teams. I started the winter of 2021 going to a weekly Mid-Penn blind draw. After building some confidence, I started traveling around and throwing with all kinds of great people.

Chris Cuccia

I am ACL Pro Chris Cuccia from the Southeast Conference and this is my story of how I became a professional cornhole player for the ACL. Jimmy Buffet tailgate 13 years ago. From the first bag I was hooked! My wife and I played together and got whooped all day. They were spinning the bag!!! We bought a set the next day and found our first tournament that weekend. I pulled one of the best players aside and got a lesson and watched most of the day. Haven't stopped playing since.

Curtis Kearns II

I am ACL Pro Curtis Kearns II from the Atlantic Conference and this is my story of how I became a professional cornhole player for the American Cornhole League. I started playing back when I was 15 just like most people at backyard BBQ's. From there I ventured into my first blind draw at a local Buffalo Wild Wings at the age of 17 and I got lucky enough to draw a guy named EB Marsh, the best guy in there at the time, and we ended up finishing second. From then on I was in love with the game. I stayed with the local blind draws for the next 6-7 years and never really ventured off and traveled. I had stared to become one of the best in my area so last year I decided to take on the pro circuit and try to make a name for myself across the country. I ended up Finishing 56th overall In the 2018-2019 season. Time to improve on that in seasons to come!

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.