Standing in a swarm of 10- and 11-year-olds, Megan Sweeney saw the possibilities.
She and the other fifth- and sixth-graders were participating in a slider search for the development programs that might offer youngsters the chance to represent their country on the luge track someday.
"That's the first thing they entice you with," said the 22-year-old former karate black belt. "They tell you, 'X number of Olympic sliders started right where you are now.' It's pretty powerful at 11 or 12 years old to think 'I can go to the Olympics.' That seed was planted there."
Sweeney went to two searches — one in Lake Placid, followed by one in Maine.
"I went because it was something different," she said. "It was also something I wasn't automatically good at. So it was a challenge."
Sweeney's casual interest quickly turned into a competitive fire in a sport that could help her realize that childhood dream.
"I'm 22 and it would be my first Olympics," said Sweeney, an athletic woman who has played soccer, hockey, tennis, golf and lacrosse. "After not making the World Cup team last year, this is huge. I wanted to make the World Cup team and I want to make the Olympic team."
Making the U.S. World Cup team and earning points on the tour is the only way luge athletes can qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team, she said.
The one thing would make her trip to Vancouver more exciting is having her younger sister, Emily, as a teammate.
"It's definitely in the back of our minds," said Megan. "Because it's such a long process to even make the World Cup team, we're realistic. But obviously you can dream. It would be unreal. My mom would probably be in the hospital."
It is not complete childhood fantasy, however, to see Emily beside Megan in the Olympics. Last year's Norton Nations Cup bronze medalist, Emily Sweeney, just 16, made the World Cup team after a series of four races set the roster for at least the first two races of the season.
While Megan finished first in those competitions, Emily was fourth. Which means if any of the other women fail to finish in the top nine, they will have to race Emily for the chance to compete in subsequent World Cups.
Emily actually beat Megan in one of the races in Lake Placid. It was the first time the 16-year-old bested her older sister.
"I always said that when she beat me, I'd quit," said Megan. "I am six years older and I've been in the sport a lot longer. I walked over to her and said, 'Thanks for ending my career.' I was elated that she made it."
Emily said she is still in disbelief at the success she's having this season.
"I'm really happy, and I am also surprised," she said. "It should be a lot of fun. It's a pretty big jump (from being a youth slider), but I'm ready for the challenge."
Emily has become a student of the sport.
"I've been watching a lot and the coaches have helped and Megan has been really helping," she said. "I've listened and it's all starting to fall into place."
Emily said she realizes she's a long-shot to make the Olympic squad, but she's just going to try to do her best each race and see what happens.
"The only pressure I have is what I put on myself," she said. "The Olympics would be awesome. Everyone dreams about it. Being here makes it almost graspable. I'm not going in with expectations because I don't want to be disappointed. But there's a chance. If there is anything luge has taught me, it's that anything is possible."
Megan and Emily said the biggest misconception about their sport is that it is easy.
"That we just lay there and go down the hill," said Megan, laughing with her sister. "You can do that, but you won't be fast and you might fall on your face."
In fact, it is the difficulty and unpredictability that she loves about the sport.
"You never know what a run is going to hold for you," said Megan. "You try and create that perfection. But it's very rarely ever attained on a consistent basis. You're always fighting, always working the sled."
Emily said the sport has changed her life.
"Luge just impacts every point of your life," she said. "The experiences you take from it and the lessons you learn from it, you can't just go back to normal, I guess."
Both girls say they've sacrificed aspects of a normal teenage existence for the chance to represent the U.S. in the Winter Olympics.
"It's very difficult on a personal-life level," said Megan. "Not many guys would want to put up with a girl who is gone so long. And really, we don't have time to date. We're training and traveling. That's the big sacrifice is time and a social life. And when we're not training, we're working. We don't make money (competing in luge), so if we want anything like a cell phone or a car, we have to pay for it."
Emily Sweeney has also given up attending school this winter. She is enrolled, instead, at the National Sports Academy in New York, which allows her to take classes by correspondence. Once the luge season ends, she said, she will return to Suffield High School, where she will play for the school's lacrosse team.
"I really love lacrosse," she said.
For now, the Sweeney sisters said they're just enjoying the opportunity to spend time together in a whole new way.
"This is the first year we've traveled together," Megan said. "We've seen a different side of each other. It's nice to have someone you can talk to about family things. We're just enjoying it. It's been really cool."
Megan Sweeney
Birthdate: Feb. 17, 1987
Hometown: Suffield, Conn.
Family: Oldest of three children
Hobbies: Hockey, tennis, golf, lacrosse
Favorite athlete: Andy Roddick.
Interesting tidbit: Megan is a former black belt in karate and competed in the 1998 Junior Olympics, winning gold and silver medals.
Emily Sweeney
Birthdate: March 16, 1993
Hometown: Suffield, Conn.
Family: Youngest of three children
Hobbies: Volleyball, hockey, tennis, lacrosse
Favorite television show: "Grey's Anatomy"
Interesting tidbit: Emily plays lacrosse, soccer and volleyball for Suffield High. She currently attends the National Winter Sports Academy.
e-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com