Hailing From: Winter Haven, Florida U.S.A.

Throwing Since: 1998

Mr. Sanders may be best summarized as a low-ish profile, very high talent Sports Throwing athlete. Though he competed in his first organized live tournament in 2011, the Texas State Knife and Tomahawk Championship, Sam and his brother Mike have been competing with each other and building their skill for 26 years. In fact, he tells us his biggest influence as a throwing athlete is his brother, “We both started throwing around the same time period even though we lived in different States. A tradition developed between us to have a hawk throwing contest every time we were able to get together. In the beginning we weren’t aware of any competitions or games so we developed our own. We threw at small water balloons with just one little puff of air in them. We even had a traveling trophy for the winner. We were both extremely competitive and pushed each other to improve. It was interesting how our skills always seemed to develop in tandem”. 

Sam has competed in 13 or 14 live tournaments in his career, mostly at the Texas State Knife and Tomahawk Championships, participating exclusively in Mountain Man competitions, which is firmly his favorite category of throwing and for which he is most well known. He has even taught Boy Scout troops tomahawk throwing and had nearly all of them sticking within a few throws. He first became aware of the Aim Games during ‘K14 Ultimate Bullseye Challenge’, and played for the first time in ‘H4 Hall of Fame Style’, having collected many accomplishments since. When asked about his Aim Games experience, Sidewinder tells us “The Aim Games is a phenomenal organization like nothing the sport has ever seen. Every tournament is unique with a great storyline and all the games are extremely challenging.  And it is impossible to participate without your game improving as a result”.

Nickname Backstory:

“When I first started competing I had a very pronounced side arm throw. It worked well for me at the time but I was not aware I was throwing side armed as it was totally unintentional. Upon seeing a video of it for the first time it was surprising and confusing. I had to stop viewing the videos because they did not agree with my mental image of the throw. Anyway, someone called me Sidewinder and the name stuck.”

Advice To New Throwers:

“Beyond the absolute basics, don’t try to imitate anyone else’s particular throw. Your throw is unique to yourself. Try to find what feels right and natural to you. After you are able to stick consistently, take a session or two and just throw repeatedly without thinking about it at all. Pay attention but don’t think about every throw. You may gain some valuable insights or see your body subconsciously make small adjustments to your benefit. And most of all, just have fun!”

Notable Achievements:

Outside the Aim Games, Sam Sanders has placed 1st in the Texas State Knife and Tomahawk Championships for six consecutive years, placing second two years in a row, prior. 

Inside the Aim Games, Mr. Sidewinder has placed in the top 10 in four different tournaments from June 2020 to February 2022, placing as high as 4th in ‘H7 The Tunnel’, and currently holds a 5 Superstar rank.