Without fail, people always ask how a girl from Southern California got involved in a winter sport. It's like Cool Runnings I guess? I grew up surfing and had no experience of living in snow. It started when I was in 5th grade. The fable goes I would ride my skateboard down our street lying on my back. While that did happen with my cousins, the real story is that my dad asked me one day if I wanted to go check out this Luge clinic people were putting on for kids in the area. I’ll never forget it. He bent down and said, “Are you sure, we don’t have to?” and I said, why not, what’s the big deal? Let just go see what it is. 

 

I had no idea that decision held so much weight. 

 

They have to recruit kids to be on the Luge team because no one really dreams of being a professional sledder. USA Luge holds these clinics around the country where they have the same sleds but with wheels on them and they set up a makeshift course with cones. The US coaches get will teach you how to steer and ultimately you are just trying to avoid running into the hay bails on the side. There is a physical test at the end where they will get your push ups, pull ups, ball toss, sit and reach...etc. It does not take an insane athlete to get through the first phase, they are merely looking for kids who don't have fear and are able to listen. There is no body type for luge, they accept all shapes and sizes but they usually only look for kids between 10-13 years old. After this clinic, you receive a letter in the mail if you make it to the next round. If received, you are invited to a fall camp where you stay at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Plcid and learn how to slide on ice. It happens in the middle of school so you can imagine the look on my teacher's faces in the 5th grade when I told them I wouldn't be there for 2 weeks to go learn how to sled. 

 

So you fly out, meet all the other kids that made it to the next round and the fun begins. They hold physical testing the first morning you are there at 8 am to get your numbers and then you are on the ice in the afternoon. Everything is a test. They are gauging everything you do, how you listen, how athletic you are, if you are on time, if you get along with other kids...all at 10 years old. I remember feeling really intimidated because I was pretty small for my age. I also had never really been on my own but I just remember purposely showing up 10 minutes early to everything and just trying to stay out of trouble. After the first camp, there is another round of cuts where the letters go out. If you get one then you are asked to go back to a winter camp a few months later.