Syracuse.com - Becoming an Olympic luge, skeleton or bobsled competitor starts with a tryout

[HuntingNY-News]

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Following the tryouts, the top prospects get invited to a four-day camp at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, where they are run through a series of workouts and try their sport on the Olympic Training Center's ice track.

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<p><br />LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- The U.S. Olympic program for slider sports has two approaches to recruiting athletes for its bobsled, skeleton and luge teams.</p>

<p>They're called "combines" and "slider searches." Both are free for participants.</p>

<p>Don Hass, development coach for the bobsled and skeleton programs at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, explained, "a combine is just like an NFL tryout.. a sort of 'Show us what you have.' </p>

<p>"Participants fill out an application go through a series of activities, including sprinting, power lifting, standing long jump, heaving a 16-pound shot put," he said.</p>

<p>He said he looks for athletes right of out of high school or college. He and other coaches conduct tryouts annually at 20 to 25 locations across the country. </p>

<p>"We want raw power, raw speed. Those are the types of athletes we're looking for," he said. "Say, if get a football player from S.U. whose strong, a fast sprinter - he's going to the bobsled. If we come across at kid from Henninger High School who's running the 100 meter dash in 10.8 and he weighs in the 160 to 185, we direct him to the skeleton."</p>

<p>He said a "top-level" push athlete in bobsledding can be trained in a few years. Good drivers, though, take from four to six years to develop.</p>

<p>The luge program's "slider searches" are also conducted at numerous places across the country, said Fred Zimney, coach of the national junior team. The coaches set up a ramp on a city street with downhill slope. Participants climb into a sled with wheels at the top of the ramp, push themselves off and then go down the street, weaving in and out of cones. </p>

<p>Erin Hamlin, of Remsen, who won a bronze medal at the Sochi Olympics this week, was discovered during a slider search held in 1999 in Utica. Zimney said three of the four Central New York youngsters currently in the training program were also discovered during slider searches.</p>

<p>"It's very subjective," he said. "We see if they like the speed; are comfortable in a flat, aerodynamic position and have an intuitive knowledge about how to steer it."</p>

<p>As for physique, Zimny noted teenagers can change dramatically as they grow older. "Often we look at how their parents are build," he said.</p>

<p>The luge coaches also attend the national soapbox derby championships each year, looking for prospects who love speed, stay calm under pressure and feel comfortable steering their vehicles. Sidney Axton, 14, of Port Byron, who twice competed in the soapbox derby nationals, got noticed by Zimney partially on her performances there.</p>

<p>The luge program looks for much younger prospects - starting in the 10- to 12-year range. "It takes 6 to 8 years at least to be competitive at the international level in the sport," Zimny said. "And afterward, it may take another 10 to 12 years to get to the Olympic level."</p>

<p>Following both tryouts, the top prospects get invited to a four-day camp at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, where they run through a series of workouts and try their sport on the Olympic Training Center's ice track.</p>

<p>Those who make the cut are invited back to begin their Olympic quest.</p>

<p><strong>For more, including applications to apply for any of the three U.S. Olympic slider sport programs, see:</p>

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<p><strong>The luge: </strong>See <a href="http://usaluge.org/">usaluge.com.</a></p>

<p><strong>The bobsled/skeleton: <a href="http://usbsf.com">usbsf.com</a></p>

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog