James Moore is a 27 year old teacher from the UK who has been living and teaching in Japan for 5 years. As the Sports Co-ordinator at the Montessori School of Tokyo, James began a sport stacking program at his school in 2005. We sat down with James to find out more about sport stacking and the effects it's having on his students.

   “It is an activity that can be used almost anywhere, in any weather, by people of any ability, and can only be a helpful addition to any school’s sports programme.”

James, please tell us a little about your yourself.

I have always been involved in a number of extra curricular type activities right through my school and university years, playing in various sports teams including football, rugby and cricket. I like to juggle (though I've yet to master 4 balls!) and other similar skillful activities, and I have always been involved in a great deal of performing. I play the piano, guitar and sing in a band and have a great interest in performance arts. When at The University of Leeds I became President of the Stage Musicals Society which was incredibly good fun.

How long have you been sport stacking at your school?

We started sport stacking at MST in the latter part of 2005, and 'officially' started in January of this year. (2006)

Do you stack yourself?

I have only really ever stacked with the kids at school, but I've always enjoyed it and took satisfaction in improving my best times. I recently got my very own Stack Pack so I can now practice anytime I like and believe me, I really need to practice hard if I'm going to keep up with my students because many of them are really flying now!

Is it hard to teach kids to stack?

In a word - No! Even our youngest students (2 or 3 years old) can learn to do at least a 3-stack and practice with that! Most kids I’ve taught have picked it up pretty quickly and there are lots of different ways to use Speed Stacks (relays, individual, various games and activities) which keeps things interesting and fun.

What benefits have you noticed for your students?

Sport Stacking is a great leveler and allows our many students of different ages, shapes and sizes to compete with one another on a level playing field. This has seen many of our students grow in confidence and develop many skills that come through competitive sport, such as concentration and the ability to handle pressure.

What has been the reaction of your students?

The enthusiasm for Sport Stacking at MST has been fantastic and our students like to stack whenever possible. Most of our Elementary students stack both at home and school and the popularity of the sport is something I can see being maintained for many years to come.

Is sport stacking part of your curriculum? How do you use it as part of your total sports program?

As well as being a valuable part of our school's PE programme, Sport Stacking is also one of the many After School Activities (ASA's) that we run at MST. As a school with limited facilities for some sporting activities, Sport Stacking has been an excellent addition to our programme as, unlike some other events, we can accommodate it perfectly well on our own campus. Obviously Sport Stacking can be done in any weather as it's an indoor event, so this has also proven to be very useful on Tokyo’s rainy days!

Do you have to be good at sports to do this?

Like most other things, to be a good stacker requires a certain amount of natural ability and a lot of practice, but it puts emphasis on attributes differently to many other sports. It doesn't matter who is the tallest, fastest or strongest, but requires more refined attributes such as good hand eye co-ordination, fine motor skills, ambidexterity, concentration, quickness of thought, decisiveness, problem solving and the ability to handle pressure. Stacking is mainly an individual event, meaning that anybody of any level of ability can stack, and take pleasure in improving their personal best times.

What kind of feedback have you gotten from the parents of your stackers?

Most parents seem to be enthusiastic about their children Sport Stacking. We have had excellent support from parents for both our trip to the 2006 Japan Sport Stacking Championships last March, and the 2006 MST Sport Stacking Championships held in May of this year. Several parents have commented that it is refreshing to see their kids spending less time in front of the TV and more time stacking while at home, as they feel this can only be beneficial for their child’s development.

Do you see sport stacking being beneficial for traditional sports?

All of the things I mentioned before, hand eye co-ordination, fine motor skills, ambidexterity, concentration, quickness of thought, decisiveness, problem solving and the ability to handle pressure, are all greatly beneficial and incredibly important in any traditional sport not to mention many other areas of life. Sport Stacking can only help improve a child’s ability in other sports and games.

   “I would encourage any school to start a Sport Stacking programme...”

I heard you held your own sport stacking tournament? Can you tell me how that came about?

We had an MST squad of around 24 participants attend the 2006 Japan Sport Stacking Championships in Chiba Prefecture last March and after being a part of that day, it inspired me to put on my own tournament at MST. We have a lot of great stackers here and I thought that an end of year “MST Championships” would be a great way to keep the students excited about stacking right up until the final week of school.

How was it hosting your own stacking tournament?

It was a bit more work than I had anticipated, from advertising to registration and competition schedules to crowd control, but overall things went rather smoothly. The event was a fantastic success and definitely worth all the effort!

What would you tell other teachers who might want to hold their own tournament?

Start planning early, get an idea of how many participants there will be, how many helpers you have and how much equipment you need to use then take it from there. There is lots of helpful information available in the tournament packet from the World Sport Stacking Association and if you get a chance to visit another tournament before you try hosting your own, I think it would be an enormous help. Speed Stacks Japan can help you set up everything you need for your own tournament.

And finally James, what can you recommend to other teachers who are not stacking yet, but are interested in getting their own stacking program started?

I would encourage any school to start a Sport Stacking programme, whether it be big or small, used often or only occasionally. Although the concept of Sport Stacking might be met with a certain reluctance by some, it really doesn’t take long for people to recognise all the great benefits of stacking and for the enthusiasm to grow. It is an activity that can be used almost anywhere, in any weather, by people of any ability, and can only be a helpful addition to any school’s sports programme. To get your own programme going, the first thing you should do is contact Speed Stacks Japan, and they will help you with everything you need to get started!

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