"Sport Stacking or Cup Stacking" originated in the early 1980's in southern California and received national attention in 1990 on a segment of the "Tonight Show", with Johnny Carson. That was where it first captured the imagination of Bob Fox, who was then an elementary classroom teacher in Colorado.Speed Stacks founder Bob Fox says, "When I first became passionate about sport stacking in 1995, a lot of people would hear about it and scratch their heads. Stacking a sport? The only way to explain it was to show them firsthand - sport stacking is truly something you have to see to believe! I absolutely love the challenge of turning skeptics into believers, and the list of stacking enthusiasts grows every day."
What are the benefits of sport stacking? Kids don't need to be convinced about the benefits of sport stacking. They just plain love it (even your "way too cool for it" kids).
For teachers and parents, we've always touted hand-eye coordination, quickness and ambidexterity. We now can substantiate those claims. A university study by Dr. Brian Udermann, currently at the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse, confirms that stacking improves hand-eye coordination and reaction time by up to 30 percent.
Sport stacking helps students develop bilateral proficiency equal performance on both sides of the body. By increasing bilateral proficiency, a student develops a greater percentage of the right side of the brain, which houses awareness, focus, creativity and rhythm. Stacking helps train the brain for sports and other activities where the use of both hands is important, such as playing a musical instrument or using the computer. Sequencing and patterning are also elements of sport stacking, which can help with reading and math skills.
See It, Believe It, Teach It! A lot of innovative teachers around the world are discovering sport stacking with Speed Stacks. We're proud that it's being adopted into so many quality programs and are excited to see the enthusiasm teachers everywhere are bringing to the sport. If you're one of those innovators, "I want to welcome you into our stacking family and let you know we at Speed Stacks, Inc. are dedicated to doing everything we can to support you and your students", says Bob Fox.
The Benefits of Sport Stacking
Sport Stacking is a fitness based sport that kids from all backgrounds and abilities can do. For the athlete and non-athlete alike, regardless if you are instructing eighth graders or kindergartners, sport stacking can be a great enhancement for your fitness routine. With over 70 fitness based activities, sport stacking helps to motivate kids to be active and fit. Teachers and parents also like sport stacking because it can be done at home. Much like a Scholastic book order encourages kids to read at home, a Group Order through Speed Stacks encourages fitness at home.
SELF-ESTEEM:
One of the comments we receive consistently from teachers, parents and school administrators is how sport stacking levels the playing field for their kids. Non-Athletic kids can now compete head to head with their more athletic counterparts. This significantly raises their self-esteem, motivating them to work harder in PE and be excited to participate. It's a WIN, WIN!
ACADEMICS:
Today schools, teachers and parents are focused more than ever on academic achievement. Sport stacking not only promotes physical fitness, but also academic learning. Students that sport stack on a regular basis have shown increases in test scores and levels of concentration. This is achieved by students using both their right and left sides of their brain. When students sport stack they are crossing the "midline" of their bodies and developing new connections in their brains. These new connections help to spur brain growth which in turn promotes greater academic achievement. Please refer to our studies and articles below for more information.
