Dad Builds 12-Foot Luge, Becomes Instant Neighborhood Hit [Video]


A creative and dedicated dad built a 12-foot luge — a la Sochi — and became the instant hit of the neighborhood.

Anybody that has young kids and is living through this unending 2014 winter knows that it is not easy to keep little ones occupied and happy, when they’re cooped up in the house for days and days.

So what better than to build a 12-foot luge, right?

If you’re a fan of the Sochi Olympics and all the winter events, you can have your own performances right in your backyard, as neighborhood kids gather to try out the best homemade luge ever.

The lucky kids were at first hesitant to try this new luge built by one of the dads in the area, but as the video shows, he encourages the little tykes to check it out.

Tim Smith of Crystal, Minnesota will go down as one of the coolest dads in history — for these kids — after creating this masterpiece.

“In Minnesota we have a long winter and I’m teaching the kids to embrace it,” Smith told GoodMorningAmerica.com of his massive neighborhood attraction. “This is exercise in disguise. It’s giving them the right kind of influence instead of just sitting around playing video games.”

Not only this dad’s own kids – ages 12, 10, and 7 – put the gigantic ice luge to good use, but all of their friends, and their friends’ friends have as well.

And with a second arctic blast descending upon the region this week and in the coming days, the attraction will be around for the foreseeable future.

“As the kids have gotten older they’ve been able to help more, and the neighbor kids love it,” he explained, adding that Mother Nature has played an important role this year in the building process.

“Our first snowfall came on December 6 and we were out there playing in the yard, and of course you’ve got to shovel, and as the snow accumulated more and more outside the progression was pretty impressive,” said Smith. “It’s been absolutely frigid.”

The sub-zero temps haven’t prevented the kids from going outside to enjoy the luge their dad built for them.

“Our end goal is to have kiddie winter Olympic games,” he explained. “We’re shooting for Saturday a week from tomorrow where we’re going to get all the neighbor kids over and have official game trials. “It’s totally for fun, and it’s going to be the final event before this thing eventually melts.”

The kids are very involved with the process and have come up with several categories that will be judged during the event such as speed, distance, and overall tricks.

For the creative dad that built the super cool luge, however, it’s more about healthy competition, “It’s about the family time, being outdoors, and getting some fresh air and exercise,” he said. “That’s what it boils down to for us.”

[Image via ABCNews.com Screenshot]

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