Students at St. Benedict School in Elberta were enthralled as they heard advice from an aspiring Olympic athlete that may help them throughout their lives, to set a goal and reach for your dream. The advice came from Greg West, a 26-year-old “slider” who this summer will begin training for the 2014 US Olympic Skeleton Team trials.

West was in Lower Alabama visiting his mother, Tammie Franz and his grandparents Norman and Jeanne Franz of Gulf Shores. In a few weeks he will be on his way to Australia to begin his long road to accomplish his goal, to be a member of the US Olympic team.

Until this visit, most of the children and probably the teachers, too, didn’t know what a Skeleton athlete is. Skeleton is a winter sport where "sliders" run about 98 feet while pushing a sled, before hopping on headfirst and sliding down an ice track at top speeds of roughly 80 mph (and peak forces of 5 G's) for approximately one minute. There are no brakes, and steering is done with subtle movements of the body. The sport was begun in Switzerland in 1882 and in 2002 skeleton became an official Olympic sport, joining its cousin sports luge and bobsled.

In addition to inspiring possible future Olympians, while visiting in Baldwin County, West is hoping to interest backers for his dream. The US only funds the top three ranked athletes in a sport. So far all flights, hotels, meals and costs have been funded from his own wallet. He has used up all his savings, so now he is asking for support here and in his home town, Springfield, MO, to continue his quest.

West says he and his roommate saw a commercial about bobsledding leading up to the 2010 Olympics when they decided to check out the sport on the Internet. There they not only found information about the sport, but also discovered an application to join the Skeleton team. Urged by his friend to sign up, West sent it on, never expecting to hear from the sport association, let alone being asked to try out.

Next thing he knew, he was on his way to Lake Placid, NY for a tryout and training and soon he was on his way to accomplishing a dream. He took to the sport quickly and was invited back to Lake Placid to stay at the Olympic Training Center to hone his skills as a skeleton athlete, a slider.

“I’ve always had a sense of adventure,” he says. “When it comes to making life decisions, I have no qualms in grabbing an opportunity.”

While in New York, he fell in love with the sport and became proficient in jumping on a moving sled, placing his body from armpit to hips on the special saddle and tucking in his arms within seconds and then careening head first on straight-aways and curves at breakneck speeds.

“I’ve competed on two continents and in four countries, head first,” he says with his winning smile.

He won a spot on the America’s Cup Tour after only six weeks of training and posted three top ten finishes in his first four races. He competed in the US National Championships and finished sixth in the US Team Trials and earned a spot on the USA National Skeleton team.

“I know it’s a long shot to make the 2014 team, but I hope to be on the top and travel to South Korea for the 2018 Olympics,” West says.

His home-built sled has gotten him this far, but it is apparent he will need a professional sled to compete with the $100,000 sleds other teams use. He has a goal of raising $15,000 to help pay for a more competitive sled and travel expenses. He will need to go to Sochi, Russia to get experience on the longest track in the world that will be used in the 2014 Olympics. Those two weeks will cost approximately $5,000.

“Mom taught me well to bargain shop, but I need some help to make this work,” he says.

Make a 100% tax deductible donation by sending a check or money order to the Utah Skeleton and Bobsled Association, P.O. Box 581131, Salt Lake City, UT 84158. Include a note that the funds are to be distributed to Greg West, but do not include the name on the form of payment. This fund allows 100% of the funds to go directly to his training while still providing the tax deduction for the donor.