Want a shot at becoming an Olympic luger or bobsledder from New England? Here's how.

Zack DiGregorio was riding a wheeled sled down a Carlisle, Massachusetts hill when he was first scouted as a potential luger. He was 10.

A luger from the Bay State? That was likely a first reaction for many when the Medway native, now 20, was named to Team USA for the 2022 Winter Olympics as a doubles luge competitor.

So how did a New England kid learn the fringe winter sport that most would only ever see on television? It wasn't through a local recreation team, a high school luge club or local training center, that's for sure.

After that summer afternoon in Carlisle – one his mom had viewed as a family fun outing – DiGregorio was invited to try out for the USA Junior National Luge team. They liked his build, speed and strength. The rest is history.

New Englanders are making an impressive appearance in Beijing, China, this year, with more than 30 representing Team USA across a multitude of events. And while the region is known for its powdery winters and tourist ski spots, it certainly doesn't have a reputation for churning out Olympic-level lugers or bobsledders.

33 athletes: Meet the New Englanders competing for Team USA in the 2022 Winter Olympics

And yet, competitors from Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine have made names for themselves in both sports. Here's how, and where you can learn, too. Spoiler: It's not a quick trip.

Zack DiGregorio and Tucker West, New England's Olympic lugers

There aren't any pee-wee luge leagues, so without a pipeline to feed the professional sport, scouts must tour the country each year to recruit young kids.

In luge, competitors race on a one- or two-person sled feet first and use their calf muscles to steer. Lugers can reach speeds of more than 80 mph.

Town of Medway rallies around Olympian Zack DiGregorio as he competes in Beijing Olympics

DiGregorio was first scouted after his family attended the U.S. Luge Slider Search event for fun. He was invited to screening camps at the Olympic training facility in Lake Placid, New York, along with other young athletes who performed well. After trying his hand at a real ice luge run, DiGregorio was named to the U.S. Luge Junior Development Team.

“I’d never heard of luge,” DiGregorio told the MetroWest Daily News in 2020. “I had no knowledge.”

USA Luge will hold a recruitment event on March 12 and 13 at Wachusett Ski Area in Princeton, Massachusetts. Both adults and children can test their skills on plastic sleds, and the kids will be scouted for Olympic potential.

DiGregorio and U.S. teammate Sean Hollander finished 11th out of 17 in the Olympics doubles luge event on Wednesday. Just 17 months into their partnership, the two Olympians recovered nicely in their second run after bumping into the wall in their first race.

On Thursday, DiGregorio and teammates placed 7th in the team relay – including women's singles, men's singles and doubles – the final luge event of the Olympics.

DiGregorio was joined at the Olympics this year by fellow luger and New Englander Tucker West, who hails from Ridgefield, Connecticut. In 2014, West was the youngest male ever to qualify to represent the U.S. in luge at the Olympics, at age 18, in 2014. He is a World Cup gold medalist and Beijing is his third Olympics.

USA Luge's men's program: Looking to the future after Beijing

West's interest in luge was present from a young age. When West was a boy, his father built a wood luge track in the family's Connecticut backyard. A sign at the beginning of the track read, "Olympic dreams start here."

On Feb. 5, West finished 13th in luge for the 2022 Winter Olympics, telling USA Luge it was "disappointing for sure," but that he felt gratitude to be in Beijing.

Frank Del Duca and Kris Horn, New England's Olympic bobsledders

New England has competitors representing in another high-speed sport that you can't simply play in your own backyard, one that involves teams of two or four riding down narrow iced tracks in a nearly 500-pound "gravity-powered sleigh."

Two bobsledders on Team USA are Frank Del Duca, of Bethel, Maine, and Kris Horn, of Pembroke, Massachusetts. Both Del Duca and Horn come from competitive collegiate track backgrounds.

USA Bobsled's12-person team for Beijing Olympics

Del Duca was a top sprinter and jumper at the University of Maine, capturing the America East conference title in long jump. After graduating, he attended a bobsled tryout in 2015.

While competing for the University of Massachusetts, Horn won the 2012 national decathlon title. His coach at UMass suggested he try out for the U.S. bobsled team.

The bobsled events begin in Beijing on Monday, Feb. 14.

Where can I learn luge or bobsled closest to New England?

For any New Englanders looking to try their hand at these distinctive winter sports, it's not going to be a short drive.

The closest luge track is in Lake Placid, New York. The Olympic Sports Complex at Mt. Van Hoevenberg is home to the USA Luge Team and hosted the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games.

Wannabe lugers can get a one-hour lesson on a wheeled luge on paved roller loops.

Based at the complex, Adirondack Luge Club's "TryLuge" program also offers instruction, a helmet and sled for $40 for adults and $25 for youth.

The club boasts its program as a "great way to spend a weekend while participating in the fastest sport on ice for fun, making new friends and possibly uncover a potential winter Olympian."

Breaking down the sport: How to watch luge like an Olympian

There are three other luge tracks in the U.S. – two in Michigan and one in Park City, Utah.

While you're in Lake Placid, why not try bobsledding, too? Mt. Van Hoevenberg's Sliding Center offers a "Lake Placid Bobsled Experience." The Lake Placid Olympic Complex has one of only two bobsled tracks in the country.

"Cruise down the track like the world-renowned athletes do," the website says. "Reach speeds of up to 55 miles per hour."

Want to travel a bit farther? The U.S.' second bobsled track in Park City offers a bobsled experience November through April, for $195 per person.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Where New England residents can learn how to luge or bobsled