A new club has been added to the school’s repertoire—the Cornhole Club. 

At the first meeting, students sat in desks pressed against the wall, and learned the rules of cornhole. Many of them cracked jokes with the Cornhole Club founder and president, junior Ryan Lapp.

“All of our sports here at Smithson Valley are very competitive and you need a lot of dedication to do them,” Lapp said. “I wanted to have a sport where we can just chill out and be regular people.”

According to the American Cornhole Association, the game involves opponents tossing 16-ounce bags of feed corn into holes on two wooden boards.

Meetings take place every available Thursday after school from 4:30 to 5:30 in room A206.

Forensic science teacher Michael O’Rourke, the 2020-21 faculty cornhole champion, is the club’s sponsor. 

“Ryan approached me about wanting to have a cornhole club, and I thought it’d be really cool,” O’Rourke said. “I think this will be a lot of fun for people to be loose and lighthearted.”

The club gained traction prior to its first meeting, leading junior Carissa Mendoza to find herself interested.

“I thought it was kind of funny at first,” Mendoza said. “But after (Ryan) explained that it was a place to have fun with other people and just forget about homework, I knew I needed something like that.”

The local Home Depot donated materials to help build boards specially made for the school’s Cornhole Club. The club also wants to expand its horizons outside of campus.

“At some point, we want to see about helping out with the community,” O’Rourke said, “maybe having some tournaments to raise money for some good causes.”

Students from all grades are invited. All they have to do is show up — and invite their friends.

“There’s probably going to be people here I don’t know,” Mendoza said. “I just hope I’m able to make friends.”

  The Cornhole club is already working on getting shirts made. The next meeting is after school on Thursday.

“I hope that people will find kind of a happy place,” Lapp said, “that they’ll be able to take time out of their day to just enjoy life — and play some cornhole.”