Not everyone in the stands at the 2008 powder puff tournament came to watch the flag football games.

While many of his peers sat transfixed on their class team on the field, sophomore Josh Smith spent the afternoon solving a Rubik’s Cube in between the games, Nov. 21.

“My youth pastor, Nick, taught me the ways of solving the cube,” Smith said. “Within two weeks I had solved my first cube. I can currently solve the cube in just under two minutes.”

Although geneticists may deny any claims that the ability to solve a Rubik’s Cube is hereditary, Smith says his dad also mastered the puzzle-solving technique.

“My dad, a former Rubik’s cube master, could solve the cube blindfolded in under a minute,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, he forgot his ways and was unable to teach me.”

With Internet resources such as YouTube and the Rubik’s Cube Web site, solutions to the puzzle can be accessed with ease. Smith’s proficiency attracted several other students eager to learn the gridded cube’s secret.

“Tim DeGroot is my current apprentice,” Smith said. “One day, he too will be a master like myself, Ricky Lopez [’11] and Stephen Prince [’09].”