Jake's eye difficulty started very early. Later, Jake lost his depth perception.  Jake's self esteem really went down.  He would not and still will not try to play ball of any sort.  I have tried to help my "future quarter back, baseball pitcher, and basketball star", but he won't even give it a try.  I have always been very athletic and wanted the same thing for my STARS, (I have 2 of them).  Then one day, Mr. Schuback [teacher] introduced SPORT STACKING!!!  Jake LOVES it and he is good, so Mr. Schuback says. 

On Feb. 22nd, 2006, the muscles were cut and reattached correctly on both Jake's eyes.  Jake sees better far away but he will never regain his depth perception. This condition is not unusual and people live with it every day.  However, when you are at the perfect age of developing the BALL skills and you struggle, it is hard to fit in.  It is heartbreaking to hear your child avoids playing games, and at recess, that he knows he will be the LAST PICKED!!  Those dreadful words!!! 

Now we have found something that is fun for him and he is good at.  I have lessened the pressure of the [play] ball attitude and became a more understanding mother.  The funny thing is, he was taken off of PE for 2 weeks post surgery.  Guess what Jake got to do ?  Yep, Mr. Schuback let him sport stack with SPEED STACKS!!!!   He was in heaven.  When he was released back to PE, he was a little saddened.  He said "oh man, now I can't stack."  Jake is NOT aware of this gift that you have provided and I can't wait to see his face... his very own SPEED STACKS.  Thank you for this wonderful SPORT and the gift that will help my son be just like everyone else, well... maybe a little better.  Thank you for the supplies to help make him a STAR!!!! 

"Hello, I would like to report to you about the effect that Speed Stacks have had on our school. I am a parent and also a substitute teacher. I taught PE during 4 days when the lesson plan was sport stacking. At first I thought "How much fun could a stack of cups be?" Well, I soon found out. The children who were introduced to stacking last year could not wait to get into the gym when they saw the stacks set up. The 1st grade was introduced to stacking this year and they became equally excited after their first experience with the stacks.

As a parent with an ADD child I have been researching various methods of assisting my child to overcome inattentiveness. What I have found is several recommendations to stimulate both sides of the brain to "wake it up". Brain Gym is a popular method of Educational Kinesiology that aims to enhance focus and organization among other things. When I realized the benefits of sport stacking with Speed Stacks as the movements required to properly stack go hand in hand with what I have been searching for I was overjoyed. I am now assisting our PE teacher with obtaining a group order for the children and our name will be first on the form.

Unfortunately our school does not own the Speed Stacks that we use. The PE teacher borrows them from another school once a year to include your program in his curriculum. Before he told me that we did not actually have a set of our own, I was rattling off about starting a before school club for the kids which would "wake up" their brains before they head off to class. Setting up a station at our annual Field Day. And even using them with some children that have learning disabilities and special needs.

The effect that stacking has had on the children of Linthicum Elementary during the brief time available to them is truly amazing. It's all they talk about at lunch time. It has created such a buzz that I have parents asking me on the parking lot at the end of the day what is so special about them. I go into the excitement of the kids and also the research I've done, etc. When they ask how to get a set for home, I've told them to look for a flyer coming home soon. We also had a Cultural Arts Gala night this week at our school. Mr. Behegan, our PE teacher, had several students demonstrating sport stacking for the parents and they were amazed. So hopefully, our order forms will be returned next week and we will have a stack or two in our home to have fun with."

Just had to write and tell you about how we believe sport stacking helped our 14 year old son win 2nd place at a Colorado State Classical Piano Contest.

Shane was a Freshman competing against Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors in this Classical Piano Solo Contest. He was scheduled to play for the judges at 9:30 am. As you can imagine... it's really hard to get your fingers and mind warmed up that early in the morning! Shane knew that sport stacking warms up both fingers and brain so he got his cups out and spent 15-20 minutes "stacking". The timer said 10 seconds for the cycle, which is really slow for Shane. So he knew if he could stack until he was close to his record times (around 7-8 seconds) that would indicate that his brain and fingers were warmed up enough. It took about 15-20 minutes to get his time down around 8 seconds. He packed up his Speed Stacks, went to the competition and played flawlessly. Shane told me it was one of the best performances of this piece that he had ever done (he's probably played this piece 100 times in preparing for the competition.)

At the end of the day when all the pianists had played and the judges filled out their critiques, we were all delighted when Shane was announced as the 2nd place winner! The person that took 1st was a Senior in High School! We most DEFINITELY believe that the few minutes he took to warm up his mind and fingers by sport stacking gave him an edge!

And... it doesn't end here... winning at the State level allows the 1st place winner to attend the NATIONAL competition down in Greenville, S.C. If for some reason the 1st place person cannot attend Nationals, the opportunity then falls to the person taking 2nd. Well, the boy that took 1st couldn't attend, so Shane has been given the opportunity to go to NATIONALS to compete! We are so proud of Shane and you can be SURE that his Speed Stacks Backpack with all his supplies will be going along with him!

Thank you Speed Stacks, Inc for developing such a valuable sport!

"A Happy mummy!!: My 6 year old daughter attends a kindy gym where they have introduced Speed Stacking. She LOVES it! We have just bought our own set to practice at home with.

We walked in the door and we all sat down, myself and my other 3 daughters aged 5, 3 and 21 months included, and watched the instruction DVD. They sat mesmerized while trying to copy all the moves, until my youngest grabbed the cups and took off laughing, tears followed when we 'persuaded' her to give them up. Then the fights began with the other three, "they're mine" scolded number 6, "try and share", says mummy "when's my turn?" says number 3 tears welling in her big brown eyes. "In a moment darling",says the ever patient mummy. In runs number 4 grabs a cup and takes off laughing, everyone screams, there are a few tears. "Right," says mummy, a little strain showing while she puts the Wiggles on in another room to guarantee a happy and occupied 21 month old.

I hear the other 3 counting and stacking, the sound of the cups clicking as they are stacked and the tumbling as they are collapsed. "1,2,3 then 4, 5, 6 I hear my oldest explain.

"hold it by the side, not the top, then your hand doesn't get in the way" the other 2 sit and watch. 1,2,3,4,5,6 up and 6,5,4,3,2,1,down. I am listening from the kitchen and all the excitement catches my interest. What are these stacking cups all about anyway. I stand in the door and watch as a 6 year old shows a 5 and 3 year old how to stack the cups up and down in groups of 3 and 6 and 12. I am as intrigued as they are. "so", I ask my daughter, "how do you start the 6 stack", she explains in great detail how to separate and stack the cups. "oh", I say as I put my tea towel down,"my turn", I playfully cry. I sit on the floor with 6 cups, my oldest has the other 6, the other 2 are an impatient audience. She gives me a quick lesson and then it's on. "Ready mum"! she says with a grin on her face. "ok", I reply confidently accepting her challenge."GO!" I am woefully beaten time and time again, my cups fall and I stack up the wrong way and hold them from them top, not the side as I am being instructed. I watch my daughter confidently and smoothly stack up 6 and stack down six in a matter of seconds while I am left fumbling, much to my offspring's delight. Now everyone has a turn, we are stacking threes and sixes and even trying twelves and 2 sets of six, we are having a ball.

"Right! bed time girls" the party pooper calls (that's me!!) "ohhhhh", they all cry! "Now come on", I try to coerce "you can play again tomorrow. So off they trot. An hour later they are all asleep, the washing up is done, the toys are put away, I collapse on the lounge. The Speed Stacks catch my eye, "hmmmmm", I think to myself. I turn on the instruction DVD and sit stacking up and down, two hours pass, I am hooked. It is 11:00pm and I am on the computer looking up the Speed Stacking web site. What a great family sport, for all ages of any ability level!! I can't wait for tomorrow when we can all sit down and practice having fun again, and now I might even win a round!!!"

"Hi, we got the box [Speed Stacks] yesterday. The way the kids came bursting in with it I thought there had been an accident!  They immediately tore it open and watched the video. They could hardly wait until that was finished to try it. I had to leave so I didn't get to see it but when I got back the excitement had not died down and I am sure I got all the information over and over. Their eyes were just sparkling and they said - "This is so cool!"  "This is so much fun!"  "This is addicting!"

But the real test would be with my youngest. The kids are always having competitions amongst themselves and he is never the winner. He often gets discouraged and just wants to watch. As I feared he was not very fast with the cups. But to my suprise and great pleasure he LOVED it!  He did not stop trying!! He would laugh and go again and again. And he really improved! Just in one day - well just in a few hours! He does not always lose now and even if the other person's stack doesn't fall he is just a fraction of a second behind!  His confidence has soared! He is the one I most often have to prod along and insist he keep trying things but those cups never left his hands. He must have asked me 100 times if I would buy some more, if he could buy some more, when would we get some more.  He took the brochures I had to pass out and shoved them at everyone he saw and wanted me to take him door to door handing them out to strangers! 

I have been buying gifts for my kids for 19 years and I can't remember anything that they enjoyed this much!  And this is good for them too - wow!  I have been trying to get parents interested in this and not having any luck.  I think I have been going at it wrong and need to get to the parents through the kids.  Kids love this!

I need to get my own set of cups so I am not always grabbing them from my kids, too. So I think adults would enjoy it if they just tried!  I am nearing 45 years of age and often thinking I am losing brain power. When I was stacking I was thinking this is probably good for me too!  I might be re-engaging lost connections! Thank you so much!!   I am sure it would help so much for people to see how much fun it is.