Remember that week in elementary school where we learned all about cup stacking? For most students, that was about the extent of their cup stacking knowledge, but this unique and often overlooked sport remains an essential family activity in the Griffith household.
Trey Griffith, a freshman at Timber Creek, is the fastest cup stacker in the entire state of Texas and has competed in competitions worldwide.
“Trey found his sister’s set of cups in her closet and taught himself how to stack when he was 8 years old by watching YouTube videos,” said his mother Carmen Griffith. Realizing how incredibly fast he was, they participated in a sanctioned tournament in Las Vegas and qualified for the Junior Olympics in Detroit that very year.
Soon after Trey started competing, his father, Jimmy Griffith, decided he wanted to start stacking alongside his son.
“I realized, what a better way to bond with my child, than to learn how to stack myself,” Jimmy said in an interview with Great Big Story. “I get to stand next to my son, who’s one of the fastest in the world, and stack with him, and be a part of something special.”
Trey continues to expand his abilities by practicing all the time and competing in worldwide competitions alongside other talented stackers that challenge him to keep reaching new heights. The Griffith family has travelled all over for these competitions, from North America to Europe to Asia.
“At the world tournament in Taiwan, Trey was fourth overall in the world and was second overall at the Junior Olympics in Des Moines, Iowa this year,” said Carmen Griffith.
Trey will be competing this Saturday, Nov. 3 in the 3rd Annual Cowtown Smackdown. This tournament will be held at Timber Creek starting at 9 a.m. and anyone is welcome to watch the sport stackers compete. A number of record holders will be there, including the two time world champion William Polly.
“It’s just mind-boggling to see these stackers like Trey and his friends,” said Jimmy Griffith. “You can tell they’re not even looking at the cups that they’re stacking. It is all muscle memory. I mean, it’s so fast when they get to this level that the naked eye cannot see it all.”
Currently holding 44th place, Trey hopes to one day be the fastest cup stacker in the world, and is well on his way to achieving that goal. Ever since he first started stacking, his mother knew he had a natural talent for it.
“Kids on the spectrum are always very passionate and very intense on what their fixation is, and he just shined,” Carmen said. “You could see that he was in his element. He was comfortable, he was alive and he was just doing his thing.
Cup stacking has brought this family closer together and they wouldn’t change that for the world. It may not be the typical catch in the yard that many people expect, but the Griffiths love being a part of the cool and quirky cup stacking community that invites anyone to start stacking with them.
“You don’t have to be tall, you don’t have to necessarily be able to run quickly,” Jimmy Griffith explained. “As long as you’ve got the twelve cups, you’ve got a mat, and you’ve got a timer – you can stack.”
