POTSDAM — A Potsdam Central student will be racing on a team of teenage athletes headed to Europe next month.

Seth Coates, 14, is on the team consisting of athletes from the USA Luge Junior Candidate Team, which leaves in November to compete in the International Luge Federation European Continental Cup races in Sigulda, Latvia, and in Bludenz, Austria.

“I am super excited to be able to travel to Europe with my coaches and teammates to experience more tracks and expand my luge skills,” Coates said. “Nervous? Sure, but this is exactly what I’ve been working so hard for, so I’m really mostly excited.”

Coates, a ninth grader at Potsdam High School, has been training on the USA Luge Junior Candidate Team since May. He began sliding regularly in 2018 with the Adirondack Luge Club in Lake Placid, NY, and has been training and racing with USA Luge’s Junior Development Team since 2020.

Coates and his teammates will gather in Lake Placid for a short training camp and a friendly race before leaving for Europe on Nov. 21.

Coates has trained diligently through the off season, attending two team summer training camps in Lake Placid to focus on wheeled luge, ice starts, and strength and conditioning training. At home in Potsdam, Coates builds strength with coaches Jeremy LaClaire and Ty Hammond. He also benefits from ice time at Clarkson University’s Cheel Arena and Pine Street Arena to practice his start skills on flat ice.

“I’ve worked hard to achieve this, but the trip couldn’t happen without my coaches, trainers, and supporters.” Coates said. “It’s nice to know my community supports my journey and provides me with opportunities to train.”

Coates has bigger goals, too. He hopes this fall trip will be a stepping stone to qualifying to represent the USA in the 2024 Youth Olympic Winter Games in Gangwong, South Korea. Really long term goals? Coates smiles, “The Olympics. Of course. Every young slider dreams of that.”

To support Coates’s training and competition journey to Europe and beyond, donate to his training fund at http://tiny.cc/SethCoates or contact sethcoates.luge@gmail.com for sponsorship information.

For more information on USA Luge, visit www.usaluge.org. To learn more about the Adirondack Luge Club, visit www.adk-luge.com.