POTSDAM –A nine-year-old competitive cup stacker from Potsdam recently placed in the World Sport Stacking Championship in Orlando, Fla. and earned a spot on Team USA.

Tyler Hollis, of Potsdam, recently attended the 2013 World Sport Stacking Championship and was invited to be on Team USA for sport stacking. Hollis was among over 250 stackers from 16 countries around the world.

According to his mother Lori Hollis, Tyler competed in five different events including individual, relay and doubles team for his age division of 9 and 10 years old. Hollis said her son won two first places, as well as a second, third and a fourth place.

He also earned a spot in the 2013 AAU Junior Olympics taking place in Detroit, Mich. at the end of July.

According to his mother he has been cup stacking since he was four years old when he got his first set of cups for Christmas.

“The set came with an instructional DVD. Tyler watched the DVD over and over again - teaching himself each routine,” his mother said in an email. “Now, 5 years and over 20 sets of cups later, Tyler has competed in several tournaments in the US and Canada.”

Hollis said her son’s dream came true in February, 2013 when he received a call from the World Sport Stacking Association in Denver, Colorado, telling him he had earned a spot on Team USA.

Hollis said her son has a regimented practice routine that he has to follow everyday, which is a Team USA requirement. He also has a daily log that he has to fill out on a daily basis and at the end of the each month he has to email it in to the Team USA coach.

According to Hollis teachers and parents are focused more than ever on academic achievement and sport stacking not only promotes physical fitness, but also academic learning. Students that sport stack on a regular basis have shown increases in test scores and levels of concentration.

A video of Hollis stacking in his earlier days can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MbXQyApIOM