Mukwonago fourth-grader stacking his successes

Mukwonago kid stacking his successes

Natural curiosity led one fourth grader down a fast path. Lily Zhao goes Beyond the Game as he's stacking his successes.

MUKWONAGO, Wis. - In the Nicloy's family home in Mukwonago, it's hard to miss the sound of nine-year-old Liam Nicloy speed stacking.

"Usually, I wake up and then play a little bit in the morning, and then when I go down, I stack a little bit," said Liam Nicloy. "After school, I go and stack a little bit."

Liam's introduction to cup stacking started in a gym class at Prairie View Elementary School in Mukwonago.

"I was really into it, and then I looked on YouTube [for] stacking and then I kind of self-taught it to myself," said Liam.

His new hobby quickly became his passion, and everyone noticed.

"It started where it was just everywhere and constant," said Angela Nicloy, Liam's mother. "Literally, constant banging of cups, so we decided alright, let’s get you a little table setup and that will be your cup stacking station."

(FOX6 News Milwaukee)

From those countless hours watching cup stacking videos on YouTube, Liam's abilities grew in just a year.

"I feel like I really improved just stacking at lightning speed," said Liam.

"That’s been the coolest part, is watching him take this on," said Angela. "This is completely his own thing. He learned about it, he taught himself how to do it. He’s been internally motivated enough to practice constantly."

Like any competitive kid, Liam wanted to put his skills to the test.

In his very first tournament last December, he won a gold medal in the 3-3-3 and also took home a silver medal in the 3-6-3 and the cycle in his age group.

Liam also finished 12th in the all-around male finals. Those results helped him qualify for the 2024 AAU Junior Olympic Games in late July.

"I was just like wow, am I really this fast?" said Liam. "Practice makes perfect."

The catch is, Liam's 10th birthday will be right before the competition begins, so he'll be competing in an older age group instead.

"It makes me think that I should go way harder," said Liam.

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Once an admirer of speed stacking videos, Liam now makes his own on his YouTube channel "LemonWorld2119".

You can follow along on his Junior Olympics journey there.

Young Liam also has merchandise and a GoFundMe page to help him and his family raise money to make the trip to the Junior Olympics.

With his brand and his cups, this youngster is proof that the odds are never stacked against someone who has their sights set on a goal.

Liam's goal in the AAU Junior Olympics will be to finish in the top 10.