The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) hosted a regional cornhole competition at Putters and Gutters on Nov. 4. The competition included eleven teams from all over Central Texas.

FCA required an entrance fee of $50 to participate in the tournament. Half of the money goes to the winners and the other half is donated to FCA. 

Lampasas County FCA Ambassador Tony Marquez is in charge of FCA in this area. He looks to create a positive environment for athletes and this event has broadened their ability to develop their ideals.

“Our goal is to create leadership opportunities for athletes and coaches, to develop spiritual leadership abilities to lead other people of the coming to Jesus,” Marquez said.

Senior Tex Kirkpatrick attended FCA’s cornhole competition at Putters and Gutters and placed second with his father. Adults Cody Herd and Paul Stewart won first place. 

The competition assisted Tex in more ways than one.

“I’ve been in a slump,” Tex said. “Tuesday I was in a slump real bad, so on Thursday night I threw about 1,000 bags. It really helped me. It got me back to where I almost was. In about two weeks I will be playing well.”

To find different techniques for cornhole, Tex throws over 1,000 one pound bags a day to practice for these competitions. 

“People say it’s really easy, but it gets hard,” Tex said. “Your arms, back and feet get sore from throwing 5 to 10 thousand bags a day in competitions.” 

Cornhole might be perceived as a simple game, but there are many complicated plays that are personalized for the team to win. 

“You have to use certain types of bags because there’s slower and faster bags,” Tex said. “There’s a lot of ways to score too. You can push with the bags, roll them, air mill, drag. My air mills were hitting on Saturday so I kept throwing them.”

Tex is prolific in the cornhole community and is thinking about playing cornhole in college. 

“I’ll definitely keep playing after high school,” he said. “I have three scholarships to the University of Auburn because of cornhole. I’ve won money. I’ve won plaques, and a lot of money, I never really counted it.”