Player Spotlight: Matthew Carey

The next player to be featured in our Player Spotlight series is Matthew Carey. Matthew is a relatively new player to the Arizona cornhole circuit. Although he's been shooting bags for about 4 years, he's just started playing competitively about a year ago. Matthew just recently notched his first regional victory by winning the intermediate doubles division with his partner, Bryan. That win will surely boost his confidence as he prepares to compete in his first out of state event - the Wild West Shootout - next month in Las Vegas.

Along with his most recent victory, Matthew finished 9th in the Open Singles division this past June at the 2017 Arizona State Cornhole Championships. This year, he's hoping to improve upon that finish and to break into the Top 10 in Arizona's season-long rankings. One day, he plans to play on the big stage at the Championship of Bags (COBS) in North Carolina.

Matthew got his start playing bags when his roommate brought home a set of boards. The group would play against each other late in to the night at parties. From there, he started playing weekly blind draws at The Hub where he gets to compete against some of the top players around. While competing, Matthew likes to ask the veteran players how they might approach a certain shot in a given scenario. He'll then go back and recreate those shots when practicing in his backyard.

Matthew can also claim the title of professional golfer; technically, he says. Matthew studied Professional Golf Course Management at ASU. Part of the program required him to pass a playing ability test, which he did.

It's clear that Matthew loves playing the cornhole, especially now that his wife is so involved with the game. He loves the atmosphere around the cornhole community and comments how the other players "treat [me] like family" and that everything is done "with the intention of teaching and growing the game".