By Philip Haldiman
Mail | X: @PhilipHaldiman

Peoria resident Brittany Ethridge thought she was good at cornhole until she was invited out in 2021 to play in a tournament at Mavrix in Scottsdale’s Talking Stick Entertainment District.

She had only played the lawn game in backyards with friends and at Country Thunder, and admits she was awful that night at Mavrix, and didn’t win a single game.

But she has always been driven, particularly in athletics — she was a four-letter varsity athlete at Apollo High School, where she swam and played volleyball in same season, as well as played basketball in the winter and softball in the spring.

So her competitive spirit pushed her to become better at cornhole, which has become ubiquitous in the last decade, exploding into one of the fastest-growing sports in the world as it evolved from a casual backyard game.

“I had to keep going back because I was so bad that I wanted to get better. It bothered me that I was that bad at something athletic,” she said.

Ethridge considered cornhole a challenge — it requires athleticism, hand-eye coordination, and mental toughness when games can go long.

She worked diligently and with discipline to become a professional player with the American Cornhole League earlier this year.

And she’s about to participate in the 2026 World Championships, July 27-Aug. 2, in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

This isn’t her first rodeo. Ethridge is currently ranked the 31st professional woman in the nation.

She recently won the Arizona title in women’s doubles, and this will be her third time competing at the world championships, where there will be more than $800,000 in cash payouts.

As the world championship approaches, Ethridge has upped the practices, but between the summer heat, the wind, and now monsoon season, practicing outside on the side of her house has become challenging.

So she made a couple social media posts within the Peoria community, asking for an indoor place to practice, and received an overwhelming response, she said.

From indoor spaces at people’s homes and RV garages to warehouses, she received well over 100 responses.

“It was an outpouring of support. It might have sounded crazy asking to come into someone’s home, but then a lot of people started following me,” she said. “I’ve never really truly self promoted, but there was such great support from the community.”

As she approaches the world tournament, she said the practice has been instrumental in her preparation, and has been thankful to the community. But she is making sure travel is planned, gear is organized, and making sure not to waste mental energy on things that don’t matter, “because I know I’ll perform better if I’m taking care of myself before I ever throw a bag,” she said.

“This season has been a little different because I’ve been competing through a back injury that’s heading toward surgery,” she said. “If anything, that’s taught me to stay present. I can’t control the draw, the conditions, or who I’m playing. I can only control the next throw. By the time I step on the court, I want my mind to be quiet and focused on execution, not everything else.

Senior News Editor Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on X @philiphaldiman. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@inusua.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Philip Haldiman
Senior News Editor | Peoria

phaldiman@iniusa.org

Meet Philip
Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.

Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.

Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater. 

Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.

Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.