Photo: Jeff Menk competes at Lake Placid, N.Y., in 2008. (photo courtesy of Jeff Menk)
Jeff Menk remembers the day when his mother, Debbie, came across a flier at a Grand Rapids ice rink following one of his hockey games. The flier promoted luge tryouts, an Olympic sports that intrigued him since he was a 9-year-old watching the 2002 Winter Olympics.

At that time, he recalled thinking, "What the heck, I might want to try that someday."

With his mom's blessing, the flier gave him his chance.

“She thought it was a cool thing,” Menk said. “She just wanted me to have fun. She was supportive.”

One tryout later, Menk, an Ann Arbor resident who is entering his junior year at Pioneer High School, was one of 50 kids out of 1,000 participants called back for another round. From there, Menk's success in the sport rapidly accelerated.

He was called back for another tryout in New York, and before he knew it an offer to join the Junior USA Luge team was sent his way. Three years later, Menk found himself competing for the USA Luge Junior National team in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Menk traded in his hockey skates for a luge sled and the commutes with his mom - and eventually by himself - to Lake Placid began; something Menk didn’t mind.

“A lot of kids have problems being away from home, training, but I don’t,” Menk said. “I took it pretty well.”

“You make friends with teammates,” he continued. “Now that I’ve done it for four years my teammates are some of my best friends.”

Spending weeks at a time during the school year and a majority of the summer months in New York, Menk had dedicated himself to a sport he hardly knew anything about. But learned fast - in more ways than one.

“When you go 100 feet per second,” Menk noted, “you have to keep a good position to keep the sled under control. The sport is timed to the 1/1000th of a second. Keeping your head back and pointing your toes are keys. It sounds dumb, but it makes a huge difference.”

Before long, Menk began making his mark at national events, such as the 2008 Youth Nationals in Lake Placid, where he claimed fourth place. Menk clocked in at 45.4 seconds on the near-one mile course.

Menk’s best time, however, came in Vancouver on March 9. On the track, he reached speeds up to 80 mph before crossing the finish line at 43.9 seconds.

Before the race, Menk had already decided that it would be his last. For now, at least.

“I kind of want to focus on school and going to college in a few years,” said Menk, who plans to get back into hockey this winter.