We are happy to announce that Brady and Ian have both been named to the Youth National Team (A Class) for the 2025 – 2026 luge season! They are looking forward to traveling internationally during the upcoming season, as well as starting doubles luge (in Brady’s case). Here’s a link to the USA Luge press release: https://www.usaluge.org/news/2025/may/15/usa-luge-announces-junior-national-teams
We are so grateful for your support and couldn’t make it happen without you!
On May 1st, USA Luge announced the teams for the 2024 – 2025 sliding season. We’re happy to share that both Brady and Ian were promoted to the junior candidate team! Congratulations to all of their teammates who were named to a team for the first time, reselected, or promoted to the next level. Looking forward to the season ahead!
November marked the start of luge season with three weeks of training in Lake Placid.
The team spent time preparing our sleds to get them in shape for the season, adjusting the balance and sanding and polishing the steels to ensure optimal performance.
Almost every day includes a workout at the Olympic & Paralympic Training Center, such as weightlifting for strength, stretching for flexibility, and gym games for coordination.
USA Luge’s indoor start training facility is right next door to the OPTC and features two parallel ramps at four different angles, designed to simulate various start angles at tracks around the world. In addition to pulling starts on the ramps, we used the treadmill to practice paddles for the first time.
It’s always an exciting day when we get our new team coats from Karbon! (Mom / Team Chaperone / Photographer got a matching warmup jacket of her own.)
Camp ended with a race off for spots in the North American Continental Cup taking place in Park City, Utah. Brady was recovering from an injury and was not cleared to race, although he did have a chance to forerun on the second day of racing. Ian secured 5th place overall in the competition, with a combined time of 1:35.455 on day one and 1:36.779 on day two. This performance qualified him for a spot in the NACC in December.
Though the ground was bare when we arrived in Lake Placid, we finally saw some snow before heading home for Thanksgiving:
Over the summer, Brady and Ian spent four weeks training with the candidate team at the Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York. Being promoted to the next level means more intensive training, including a greater emphasis on cardio. Every morning started off with a run (usually 2.7 miles around Mirror Lake) and they frequently hit the water afterward for paddleboard training. (Water temperature on this day: 69 degrees. Brrr!)
How do you practice sliding in the middle of summer? On wheels! During summer training, a course is set using cones on a downhill slope (frequently the biathlon course at Mount Van Hoevenberg) for the athletes to navigate on wheeled sleds. While not a substitute for time on an ice track, wheels training helps athletes hone their positioning and steering skills at slower speeds. (Most athletes get their first taste of luge by sliding on wheels at a Slider Search!)
The team took a break from training to take part in Lake Placid’s Independence Day festivities:
Flat ice training is another way luge athletes can practice during the summer months. The team spent some early mornings at the local ice rink (home to the legendary 1980 Winter Olympics “Miracle on Ice” hockey game) working on the paddling technique used in luge starts.
The team practices pulling starts at USA Luge’s headquarters, which features a refrigerated start facility with two 230-foot ice ramps with four different angles. The athletes practice pulling off the handles, paddling down the ramp, and settling on the sled. This building is also home to the workshop where new sleds are fabricated; during the summer, everyone gets fitted for their new ride for the upcoming season.
Summer training also features plenty of workouts and physical fitness testing:
