Sport Stacking
by Terry Schmitz
January 18, 2007
Sport Stacking
Westmoreland Elementary
students have been trying their luck out at sport stacking.
Sport stacking is an
exciting individual and team sport where participants stack and
unstack 12 specially designed plastic cups in pre-determined
sequences.
Individually, stackers race against the clock for fastest or best times. Stackers also compete on a relay team racing against another team in head-to-head competition.
The students at Westy have been trying to improve their skills at stacking in PE class. The students were allowed to practice and race against each other. They were also given the chance to try and see how fast they were in some of the sequences by using a timing mat. Most of the students improved through out the week and were starting to get some good times. Here are some of the better times for WES.
If you want to compare these times to the world records or if you would like to learn more about the sport please visit the web-site www.speedstacks.com.
|
5-6 Grades |
3-3-3 stacks |
3-6-3 stacks |
Cycle |
|
Kyle Nelson |
|
6.23 sec. |
22.98sec. |
|
Kasey Minihan |
4.20 sec. |
|
|
|
Bret Fehr |
4.23 sec. |
|
|
|
Jordan Ebert |
|
6.24 sec. |
|
|
Jacob Miller |
|
|
24.62 sec. |
|
Kyle Lake |
4.60 sec. |
|
|
|
Josh Jones |
|
6.38 sec. |
|
|
Justin Cox |
|
|
26.97 sec. |
|
3-4 Grades |
3-3-3 stacks |
3-6-3 stacks |
|
Shannon Caffery |
4.20 sec. |
|
|
Mckenzy Umscheid |
4.23 sec. |
|
|
Shilo Schaake |
4.31 sec. |
|
|
Jared Garcia |
4.54 sec. |
6.71 sec. |
|
Jacy Johnston |
4.82 sec. |
6.37 sec. |
|
1-2 Grades |
3-3-3 stacks |
|
Tragan Sutton |
4.73 sec. |
|
Alec Fehr |
5.41 sec. |
|
Cameron Krohn |
5.42 sec. |
|
Kyle Sweet |
5.54 sec. |
|
Walker Suther |
5.57 sec. |
|
Kindergarten |
3-3-3 stacks |
|
Shawn Samuelson |
6.18 sec. |
|
Eva Hinrichsen |
6.35 sec. |
|
Jacob Caffrey |
7.33 sec. |
What does sport
stacking do?
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.
Who would have guessed that something so simple and fun could be so effective?
