Siblings Jesus and Vanessa Salamanca run a weekly competitive cornhole league for veterans at Able Ebenezer Brewing Company in Merrimack.
The goal was to bring veterans together in a low-key, fun space where they could build community through competition — especially with sports that are easier to pick up, like cornhole.
Jesus started NH Urban Sport, which runs the cornhole league and a few other social sporting leagues, shortly after coming back from active duty nearly ten years ago. He said he missed the sense of competition from being in the Army.
“When I left active duty and I came back, the biggest thing that I was missing was that sense of competition,” he said. “I got into other sports leagues and I really enjoyed it, but it felt like I was trying to fill a void. That's kind of what I was trying to replicate here with New Hampshire Urban Sport.”
He roped in his sister, Vanessa, to help run the league four years ago. They grew up in Manchester in a large Puerto Rican family led by a single mom. Now that they’re both parents, paying it forward is central to how they approach their community — everything from building friendships to helping a league member get his GED.
“We had to use these resources and have kind-hearted people help us out. And so I want to be able to advocate for the voices that are either afraid to speak up or just don't know how yet,” Vanessa said.
Even if it’s a lot of work, they say running the league has been a rewarding experience, bringing people together that might otherwise not have met.
“I want us to be competitive. I want us to have a good time,” Jesus said. “Now we're hanging out outside of the league. Now we're creating those connections outside of the league. And it just I feel like [it] sets the roots really deep in the community that we're trying to build.”
In the fall, Urban Sport is starting a coed flag football league and hoping to start a new darts league in Salona Bar in Manchester, which is the same venue where they started cornhole.
