White Castle merch, a Malvern business park, and wheeled sleds: How USA Luge recruits the next generation in Pa.

The aspiring lugers maneuvered their way down the mid-sized slope of a Malvern business park, navigating around, through, or into orange traffic cones. They, timidly or tepidly, let gravity do the work — some with grace, others with a grimace.

“Turn your head!” yelled coach Aidan Kelly. “Shoulders all the way back! Point your toes!”

The squeal of sneakers skidding on asphalt accented his commands.

This was the annual Slider Search, USA Luge’s multiday, multicity hunt for the next generation of athletes. On a recent weekend, the lugers, gathered here, were tweens, most of whom had little-to-no exposure to the niche winter sport. The sleds were summer-ized, equipped with wheels; and the track was an offshoot of the parking lot at Saint-Gobain North America headquarters. The weather was sticky and in the low-80s. The swag was sponsored by White Castle — the other home of sliders.

The Slider Search gives kids ages 10 to 13 a mild taste of the sport, while the American luge federation gets up-and-coming talent. And the program has been an effective recruiting pipeline: At least 60% of every U.S. Olympic luge team since 2002 has gotten its start at a Slider Search, according to a news release.

This year, as many as 650 kids were expected to participate in free Slider Search clinics from Massachusetts to Wisconsin, including 45 across two days in Malvern, organizers said. Of those, about 80 will be invited to screening camps at USA Luge’s headquarters in Lake Placid, N.Y., according to Kelly, who handles recruitment and coaches one of the youth national teams. Kelly, a 2014 Olympian, was also discovered through the Slider Search.

“My mom just said, ‘Hey, do you want to go and try luge?’ and I said, ‘Why not, it seems cool,’” he recalled. “I liked going fast — I think anybody who wants to make their parents a little nervous would love to [try luge].”

These wannabe lugers didn’t quite reach the speeds of the pros, who can barrel down icy tracks as fast as baseball pitches, lying face-up on fiberglass boards attached to steel blades.

Rather, they free-fell, first from halfway up the hill, then higher and higher, eventually graduating to a modest ramp. Fear — or maybe excitement — flashed across their faces as they launched. Some squinted, others bit their lips, as they concentrated on steering. Occasionally, one slider veered into a cone or off the course, using their sneaker treads to stop themselves.

“It’s a lot more than just sledding,” Leo Sides, 12, of Wayne, said afterwards. “It’s more like your body helping the sled move rather than just going on the walls on moving.”

“You go fast but … you feel really stable on the sled,” Leo added. “I think it’s really fun.”

Sophia Bajak, 10, of Milford, N.J., first tried roller luge in Lake Placid. When asked why she wanted to try it again, she said, “I like speed.”

Kelly wasn’t necessarily scouting out mastery of the physics or athletic prowess. Instead, he was looking for coachability, control and comfort with adrenaline, and a real interest in the sport.

There are only two Olympic-level luge tracks in the U.S., Lake Placid and Park City, Utah, but the Slider Search casts a wild geographic net, recruiting some kids who live a plane-ride away from the nearest training facility. But, in the luge world, a half-day’s travel radius from one of these sites is considered close, Kelly said.

“To do luge in America is a big commitment,” he said.

Kendall Achen understands that. The 17-year-old from Lancaster County made the Junior National Team’s roster this year, which means more training and travel to Europe for competitions. A high school senior, most of Kendall’s classes are online, slotting schoolwork between practices and races. Her mom has the drive from Manheim to Lake Placid committed to memory.

Kendall, who was also recruited through the Slider Search, has her eyes on Olympic ice.

“I would like to go to the 2030 Olympics,” she said, “but that might be a stretch.”

“So definitely 2034.”