New Recruits Slide into the Top-100

Discovering that Naslund Lazenby is named after the former captain of the Vancouver Canucks, Markus Naslund, might lead you to believe that hockey is his thing.

Somewhat true — but chasing pucks happens to be only one of his things, one of his many, many things. And the kid’s list of athletic pursuits is growing.

For instance, Lazenby picked up a lacrosse stick one day. Two years later — and only 15 — he was promoted to a high-level junior outfit. “I can adapt to different sports,” he says. “I’ve played a lot of sports and I think I’m more of an overall athlete.”
Pleased, but hardly satisfied, the Devon, Alta., native wants to further expand his horizons.

That’s why he registered for RBC Training Ground, an identification camp where budding athletes — in front of scouts from National Sport Organizations — complete tests measuring power, speed, strength and endurance. 

“The big driver was just to see what sports I’d be good at,” says Lazenby, “and how this could progress my athletic journey.”
Not surprisingly, at RBC’s regional showcase in Edmonton this past February, the lad scored well, particularly in the strength department. Impressed, Luge Canada representatives singled him out for development. “I’m excited to see where it could take me,” says Lazenby. “A great day overall. It was a fantastic experience.” 

Lazenby ended up as one of seven luge prospects cracking the top 100 nationally, joining Anton Jacobson of Edmonton, Tyce Chappel of Victoria, Finnley Doyle of Victoria, Kosis Linke of Kelowna, B.C., Ava Darbellay of Lumsden, Sask., and Daniel Nielsen of Carstairs, Alta.

All of them earn invitations to the RBC Training Ground Final at Vancouver on Nov. 1.

“That’s a date marked on our calendar,” says Lazenby. “I’m training for it. It’s a good thing to have as a motivator.”

Adds his mother Tanis: “Naslund would play anything. His brain is built to compete. So when we heard about RBC Training Ground, we were like, ‘This is literally made for this child.’ We just felt so lucky that he could actually put his physical ability to the test and find out, ‘Oh, this is what your body’s good at.’”

Like Lazenby, Jacobson is thrilled to have qualified for the RBC Training Ground Final. Being tapped by Luge Canada is also something he’ll never forget — even if the notification prompted a hasty online search.

“I knew luge was an Olympic sport, but that’s all I really knew,” says Jacobson, 15, who already owns an impressive wrestling résumé. “So I watched a few YouTube videos and reels. I was really excited to have the opportunity to try out a new sport.”

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Which he did in Whistler, B.C., in August at an orientation camp. Newcomers first went down a hill, weaving in and out of cones. Then it was time to slide down the icy track, albeit from a corner near the bottom.

“I was pretty excited to see him get that chance,” says Jacobson’s father, Chuck. “He was a bit nervous, but after he took that first run, he was all for it. He couldn’t wait for the second run.”

Asked if he had been a little rattled beforehand, Jacobson laughs. “No, a lot, but I was pretty sold on the sport once I did the first one. I wanted to go from higher and higher each time.”

Half a dozen times he went down. “I loved the speed. The speed was fun. Speed and adrenaline.”

Busy wrestling these days, Jacobson still promises to make time for luge-specific training. “Luge is probably going to be the main sport priority this year.”

“I’ve always thought he was a great athlete,” says Chuck. “To get this call and have this calibre of coaching, we’ve pushed him towards giving it a shot. He’s a little young, so I don’t think he realizes the opportunity he does have with this.”

Lazenby, meanwhile, attended a summer camp at Calgary’s WinSport, where he was introduced to sliding in the Ice House. “I had a great experience, learning what luge is, how it feels to be on a sled,” he says. “It was very much an eye-opener of what’s possible and what resources there are.”

Appreciative of RBC Training Ground’s mission — identifying and developing promising athletes for high-performance streams — Lazenby gives the potentially life-changing program an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

“Definitely something I would recommend,” he says. “It holds so much value, opening kids up to sports they wouldn’t even think of. It’s cool for athletes around Canada to know that there is an opportunity outside of their particular sport.

​​​​​​​“To be able to adapt and go to a sport like track cycling or luge or biathlon, to see Olympic dreams come true, it’s so powerful to be able to preach that to younger athletes.”