Hobby turns serious for corn hole player

Corn hole has morphed into one of the faster growing sports in North America and has transformed athletes like Michael Aston-Klinck into serious players. "The thing that draws me in about cornhole has to be my competitive side." Mike said. "I love the competition and strive to be the best at whatever I do .

Sports is a big part of his life. The 28-year old grew up playing baseball, basketball and suited up for the Catholic Central football team. He discovered corn hole a year and a half ago and has been hooked ever since. "I currently get in as much cornhole tournaments as I possibly can."

He recently won the Competitive Singles division at the Ontario Cornhole Championships at the Essex Fun Fest. He beat Dave DeThomasis in the final 21-9. A highlight of the tournament for Mike came when he beat Brian MacLeod in a nailbiter 19-18. "I hit an air mail over six bags to secure the victory and move forward in the bracket."

A highlight of his young career came a couple of months ago at a tournament at the Fogolar Furlan when he won the doubles event. "He’s my biggest supporter so it was an amazing feeling."

A corn hole tournament is set up for this weekend at SunSplash in Belle River. Mike says he's looking forward to playing more at the Fogolar and in McGregor while entering more tournaments in the U.S. later this year. He would like to be a ranked player one day.

"I’m still fairly new to the sport so I only got the time to go and see where I can take this."

Here are some shots of Mike.

Check out some of the other winners at Essex Fun Fest.

Source: ACL Canada Central Conference