Champion Sport Stacker Teaches Lessons in Living with Autism

Jesse Horn, 21, lives in Buffalo City, Wisconsin with his aunt Lola Longyhore. Diagnosed at age three with autism, Jesse struggled to reach various milestones of development. When he was 9-years-old, he saw a TV commercial for sport stacking and asked his aunt for a set. Jesse got his first set of Speed Stacks, the official cups of sport stacking, at the age of nine after seeing a TV commercial for the sport and rest is history.

The moment Jesse started stacking, something literally (and figuratively!) clicked with him. He loved the repetitive clicking and clacking sound of the cups and he began practicing nonstop saying, "I really like, you know, the sound of it. I really like that click-clack of the cups.” His aunt encouraged him to practice three P’s: Patience, Practice, and Perseverance which is crucial to stacking but also life in general.

Stacking opened a new world for Jesse. He quickly turned to the YouTube stacking community and began making friends with fellow stackers. They would all post their times and Jesse noticed that his times were faster than most, so he wanted to compete. Jesse’s aunt Lola shares, “Jesse asked to compete in 2009 but I didn’t think he was ready emotionally. He began competing in 2010 and the first tournament was in March. He won first overall placement in his very first tournament. That really proved me wrong!”

Jesse has competed in approximately 30 tournaments all over the US and in Canada and he’s become one of the nation's best sport stackers in his age class ranking #1 male in Wisconsin and #36 male in the nation. Sport stacking has given Jesse purpose, he’s developed socially, emotionally, learned to set and achieve goals and has lots of friends all from this one sport. For many kids and individuals who may not be able to compete in traditional athletic events for whatever reason, sport stacking is a wonderful alternative and it helps develop motor skills and provides a social outlet for many who may never have experienced that before.

The YouTube stacking community played a significant role in Jesse’s development as a stacker and socially too. Before his first stacking tournament, a stacking friend he met on YouTube invited him to a pizza party the night before. This was the first party Jesse had ever been invited to opening a new outlet for socialization for which he was grateful.

Jesse shares, “Sport stacking has helped me be able communicate with people who I do and don’t have things in common with. It’s helped me gain confidence, be less shy and make eye contact. It’s given me a social life and friends.”

When Jesse was initially diagnosed with autism, his future was unsure but his involvement in sport stacking has impacted him so much it gave him the ability to graduate from high school and he recently graduated from Minnesota State College Southeast in Winona, Wisconsin with an Associates Degree in Individualized Studies graduating with a GPA of 3.97 and high honors. For the past two years, he’s been pursuing a career in motivational speaking. Jesse speaks to autism groups and associations, special education teachers and speech therapy groups; any group or organization with specialists, educators, or parents who want to learn about how sport stacking has been a valuable tool in changing his life and path with autism.

Jesse has created a tagline, “Cups are tools to open up doors for kids with autism.” He has completed 10 speaking engagements so far and has three more planned for this summer. Jesse’s aunt Lola couldn’t be happier or more proud. She shares, “Sport stacking has such a family-oriented aspect, it brings everyone of all levels together and it has been a blessing. We could drive around the USA and have a friend almost everywhere it’s our stacking family. Change is hard for those with autism and sport stacking has helped Jesse deal with this. It’s helped with his coordination and strengthened both sides of his brains. It’s not just a game, there is a lot more to it than that."

Jesse will be competing in his seventh Junior Olympics July 27-28 in Des Moines, Iowa competing in all three individual events and a doubles event with his partner, Sara Raptiss, who lives in Texas and has autism too.

Jesse’s sport stacking success makes him hopeful to be an ambassador for kids with autism and show that it can be a valuable tool and resource for kids to succeed. He reminds parents and teachers that, “Even though someone has an obsession it really is a passion” and look what can happen as a result!

For more information, please visit the World Sport Stacking Association and Speed Stacks.