I spoke with Cornhole League Manager, Nizam Singletary about what makes these leagues so special.  When asked what he enjoys most about this league, Niz said, "Cornhole is a vibe!  All levels are welcome and everyone helps each other get better.  The BLS Cornhole community is nothing but love."  He continued on to tell me a little bit about what makes it different from other leagues.  "Cornhole is not about speed or power or strength.  It is the great equalizer.  Anyone can come out and beat you!"

I thought about the nights from when I first joined the league and those tournaments right on the street outside Whiskey Lounge after kickball and asked him about that as well.  He said, "Those nightly tournaments were a lot of work but a lot of fun.  Especially when players would team up with players from other teams.  Good times!!"

I had to make sure I asked him one more question for all new players or anyone looking to up their cornhole game.  His one piece of advice?  "High extension follow through and a flat bag."

In order to set the stage for this next piece, I'm going to go back a few years and tell a little story about how I ended up here. I'm certain this story will sound familiar to many of you. Back in 2018, I was home, bored, with nothing to do most days. I started looking for something, anything to do - one of which was a sports league to play in. When I found Big League Sports, I stalked their Instagram and made the decision to sign up as a free agent.  It ended up being the best decision I ever made.  But why?

Big League Sports has always been a social sports league, but over the last few years, they've made a shift.  In order to be a league that is free agent friendly and encourages adult friendships, BLS started leaning more into the "social" in social sports

It begins with their golden rule - which you can often hear BLS official Gino Cabrera reminding leagues on their first day of each new season, "If you are hoping to recapture the athletic glories of your past, this may not be the league for you." But Big League doesn't just leave this rule on paper. They host special leagues, events, and days that are designed for the average, social player.

In the October Newsletter, I spent some time talking about the Holiday Kickball League in Stamford - an entire league designed around the concept of keeping things social and having fun.  The turkey bowl mixes up the rules of the game and rewards players for dressing up like a turkey. The secret Santa switch up is a mix and match style tournament in which players get randomly placed on a team and can win a Santa trophy for having the most runs at the end of the day.  Most people are wearing festive shirts and such rather than their typical Big League shirts.  The Holiday League is a great snapshot of what social kickball looks like.