McKeesport resident earns professional cornhole contract
By GREG MACAFEE
For the Mon Valley
Independent
McKeesport resident Keith Perry has been playing cornhole for a majority of his life, but until recently it was never more than a game he played in his backyard during family barbecues or tailgating for a local sporting event.
Then, in April 2019, Perry had a revelation. He and his fiancee, Dana, were playing in a local cornhole tournament at Cal’s Cantina in McKeesport in celebration of the restaurant’s 25th anniversary. They won that tournament, and, two weeks later, Perry, 47, was sitting around his house and learned about the American Cornhole League, which is the largest organization of its kind, while watching a tournament that was being aired on ESPN.
“I had watched it but never really put the correlation together of how I could become a part of it,” Perry said. “So I signed up and got my membership.”
Once Perry, who is the director of enrollment for the entry level masters of science program at La Roche, got involved in more tournaments and started gaining momentum. He knew he wanted to become an ACL pro, which is a group that never exceeds 256, and a little over a year later, Perry has accomplished that goal.
During the first full week of August, Perry and his fiancee traveled to Rock Hill, S.C., to compete in the 2020 ACL World Championship. The former West Mifflin basketball star competed in the ACL Pro Qualifier, which had 256 people competing for 32 professional contracts.
Perry went 6-2 during the tournament, placed 18th, and earned his professional contract for the 2020-21 season, which is set to begin in September.
“I didn’t see it turning out like this. I was just a competitive guy, and it was a nice hobby. I never could’ve imagined it,” Perry said a day after signing his pro contract. “It’s so surreal, too, because once I got going, I wanted to become a pro, and now I’m like, ‘Now what? Now, what am I supposed to do?’ Because there is some crazy talent out there.”
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