By Tom Schardin, Staff Writer

Speed, precise hand-eye coordination, focus, poise and strong nerves sounds like skills that are needed for an astute tennis player or perhaps to hit a baseball.

Not always. In the world of sport stacking, those skills can separate the elite cup stackers from the rest.

“You have to be right on every time or you’ll miss,” said third-grader Spencer Robinson of Savage. “It takes a lot of concentration. It’s a lot harder than it looks. And if you mess up, you get a penalty.”

Robinson, from Harriet Bishop Elementary School, was one of 25 participants from the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District to compete in the first-ever Minnesota Metropolitan Sport Stacking Championships on May 10 at Burnsville High School (BHS). The all-day event, which had more than 100 participants, was organized by Jake Loesch, a physical education teacher at Harriet Bishop.

Loesch teaches sport stacking as a unit in his classes and in community education programs. He got the idea for a local tournament by working as a relay manager at a World Sport Stacking Association (WSSA) event last April in Denver with more than 1,200 competitors.

“Sport stacking develops motor skills, patterning, sequencing focus and concentration,” said Loesch. “It boosts the whole brain which makes children better students, athletes and musicians.”

Emma Hakanson: stacking cups.At the tournament participants from all around the metro area competed in various individual and relay events that were timed.

Sport stacking’s roots are in southern California and the sport received national recognition in the early 1980s during a segment of the “Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson.

Over the years, the popularity has grown. According to speedstacks.com, there 20,000 schools worldwide that have sport stacking as part of their physical-education curriculum.

“The students love the sport-stacking unit,” Loesch said. “The sport does not take any natural ability unlike many other traditional sports. But hand-eye coordination is greatly enhanced as a result of practicing and participating.”

Third-grader Madison Tyler of Savage, who competed individually and on a relay team, said she was amazed at how talented some of the stackers were at the tournament.

“It’s very hard, but also a lot of fun,” said Tyler. “You have to practice a lot to get really good at it. For me, I just like doing it. I think I’ve gotten better, too.”

Of the 25 participants from the school district, there were five place winners.

First-grader Justyn Bongard of Rahn Elementary School took first in the 3-6-3 stack and was second in both the 3-3-3 and cycle stacks. Second-grader Jared Valois of Harriet Bishop was second in both the 3-3-3 and 3-6-3 stacks and third in the cycle stack. Other place-winners from Harriet Bishop included second-grader Zachary Matthews (second in cycle stack), second-grader Brock Latvala (third in 3-6-3) and first-grader Peyton Johnson (third in 3-3-3).

Loesch said the first tournament was a hit and he’s already started planning for a second event next January.

“A lot of the spectators and participants had never been to a tournament before and were very impressed with the whole organization and flow of it,” said Loesch. “I am very pleased with our first tournament experience. I have never personally competed in any competitions because the sport is still relatively new in the state of Minnesota. I am hoping by conducting after-school programs, summer camps and tournaments that I can help the sport expand across the state.”

To learn more about sport stacking go to www.speedstacks.com or to the WSSA Web site, which is the governing body of the sport, at http:www.worldsportstackingassociation.org.