IT'S ALL DOWNHILL FROM HERE SEARCH IS ON FOR LUGE ATHLETES.

Byline: CAROL ROCK Staff Writer

SAUGUS -- ``We need a helmet-cam,'' one parent yelled, watching as a hopeful athlete lying on a narrow sled zoomed past him on Center Pointe Parkway.

The young person headed downhill toward a barricade of hay bales was one of more than 40 local children between the ages of 11 and 14 being coached by members of Verizon-USA Luge Slider Search Team during tryouts Saturday. An additional flight of 30 have reserved spots for today's clinic.

The Slider Search is the primary means of recruitment for a program that, for some, has led to the Olympics. Promising athletes from the Santa Clarita area clinic will be invited to train at facilities in Lake Placid, N.Y., or Park City, Utah, as well as be considered for the 2007-2008 USA Luge development team.

Before their first group of students were ``launched,'' several experienced luge athletes gave them a quick rundown of what to wear, how to sit, where to position themselves on the sled and how important aerodynamics are to their success -- and survival.

``You need to be flat, long and stretched out,'' said trainer Julia Clukey, a current women's singles record holder who set a new record just last Friday in Lake Placid, N.Y.

To test the eager young athletes' memories, a red-shirted USA Luge coach pointed at the group and asked, ``The most important thing is?''

``Stopping,'' a tall, blond girl answered, breaking the tension and releasing a flood of nervous giggles from her adolescent competitors.

Robin Tyner's 14-year-old daughter, Khoe, plays ballet, soccer and tennis but saw the luge training as a great opportunity to expand her sports horizons.

``She's a little nervous,'' Robin explained. ``She's a great snowboarder, though.''

Carol Mazie was there with her son, Josh, 14, who has skied since he was 5 before switching to snowboarding. The tall, slender teen, a freshman at Valencia High School, also plays basketball.

``It's something we're not exposed to here with our warm weather,'' she said. ``He's at the top end of the age group, but when he heard about it from my younger son's principal, he wanted to try it.''

``It was fun,'' Josh said as he pulled the wheeled sled back up the hill. ``I've gone down this hill on my scooter before, but never on my back.''

The principal, John Baker, from North Park Elementary School, spent the day near the line of hay bales at the bottom of the course, watching luge riders and offering encouragement, even if they made their own courses veering around speed dots on the pavement.

``I was in the 1988 Olympic trials in the doubles competition,'' he said, watching a rider carefully. ``That was the year of the Calgary Games. It looked so cool and fun.

``Bonnie Warner from Mount Baldy was on the team that year, and I thought it was interesting that someone from Southern California could be in the luge.''

The first international luge race was held in 1883 in Switzerland; the sport was included in the Olympics in 1964.

According to USA Luge, 10 is the perfect age to be introduced to the luge because it takes approximately 8-10 years to develop the skills necessary to be competitive at the international level.

Clukey said that the tryout team visits several cities throughout the summer; it was in Seattle last week and from Saugus will travel to Phoenix, Dallas and end up in Connecticut.

``We have four levels of teams these kids could qualify for: the developmental team, the candidate team, the junior nationals and the senior nationals. Some of the levels depend on age, but then you get placed on the higher teams depending on your skills.''

The junior development team meets two or three times during the summer for training camps and four to nine weeks in the winter for on-ice training; junior candidate teams, which usually have a race season behind them and show long-term promise, also receive priority on track time, equipment and housing at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

Those reaching the junior national team level will travel through Europe and North America during the winter season from the end of October to the end of February. The team represents the U.S. in Junior World Club and Junior World Championship Competitions.

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com

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IF YOU GO

Verizon-USA Luge Slider Search for ages 11-14 will hold clinics 9 a.m.-noon and 2-5 p.m. today, Centre Pointe Parkway, near Ferry Court. Openings are available in the afternoon session. The cost is $15 and includes a T-shirt. For more information, see www.usaluge.org.

CAPTION(S):

7 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) Gordon Sowell, 11, zooms down the hill during the Verizon-USA Luge Slider Search in Saugus on Saturday morning. Members and coaches from the U.S. National Luge team stopped near Santa Clarita as part of a 20-city national tour to give kids 11-14 the opportunity to be invited to the Olympic training facilities in Lake Placid, N.Y., or Park City, Utah.

(2 -- 3 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) Kids, above, try on helmets during the Verizon-USA Luge Slider Search in Saugus on Saturday morning. At left, hopeful athletes practice proper form before heading down the hill at the Slider Search.

(4 -- 6 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) Far left, Brittany Whitehead, 11, crashes into the finish-line cones during the Slider Search in Saugus on Saturday. Kids, above, start down the hill one at a time. Kayleigh Lu, 11, left, has a little limp in her step heading up the hill with her dad, James Lu, after hitting the sidewalk while trying to stop. According to USA Luge, 10 is the perfect age to start the luge because it takes about 8-10 years to develop the skills necessary to be competitive at the international level.

(7 -- ran in Valley edition only) Fred Zimny of the U.S. National Luge team gives some pointers to Chloe Johnson, 11, before she starts her run Saturday morning during the Slider Search in Saugus.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

Box:

(ran in SAC edition only) IF YOU GO (see text)