MILTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The Champlain Valley Cornhole Club is raising money to send a St. Albans man to a major cornhole tournament in California after he climbed to the No. 2 ranking in the world.<\/p>\n
Colin Hodet, 2, picked up the sport at age 13 after his father introduced him to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad got me into it,\u201d Hodet said. \u201cI wanted to get good enough to play with him so I started practicing every day by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
From backyard to world stage. Hodet and his father, David, eventually entered their first tournament together \u2014 and won.<\/p>\n
\u201cEver since then we\u2019ve been partners,\u201d Colin Hodet said.<\/p>\n
David Hodet said he can still occasionally beat his son in a match. \u201cWe used to watch all these pros on TV play and then now he\u2019s one of them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Colin Hodet spent one year saving money to enter every American Cornhole League tournament, competing across the country. After a series of losses, he reached the top world ranking before settling at No. 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to be at the top one day and I just kept working, kept working, and it\u2019s paid off,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hodet is set to compete at Worlds in South Carolina next week before heading to California for what the family described as the biggest tournament of the season. Sunday\u2019s fundraiser was organized to help cover the costs of the California trip.<\/p>\n
David Trayah, secretary of the Champlain Valley Cornhole Club, said the club was eager to support Hodet.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe represents Vermont, and you know, he\u2019s one of the top players in Vermont and we\u2019re all proud of him,\u201d Trayah said.<\/p>\n
The family said they did not set a specific fundraising goal for Sunday\u2019s event. Colin Hodet said the community turnout was meaningful.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know a lot of people supported me but actually seeing it in person is like really crazy and surreal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hodet said he plans to continue playing professionally for as long as he can.<\/p>\n
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