Thirteen year-old Sam Niemeier is a world champion pizza dough spinner and is the youngest participant on the United States Pizza Team. He attends West Shore as a seventh-grader.

THE ROAR: How long have you been throwing dough?

NIEMEIER: Five years.

THE ROAR: How did you get started?

NIEMEIER: At the world yo-yo contest there was a booth selling fake pizza dough, and I decided to try it [and the] next year I competed.

THE ROAR: What is your favorite part of participating in pizza throwing?

NIEMEIER: My favorite part is the many friends I meet.

THE ROAR: What is your favorite memory from pizza throwing?

NIEMEIER: The first time I won a competition, they made a mistake and said I was in second. I wasn’t upset, but then they said I got first and I was happy.

THE ROAR: Where has pizza throwing taken you?

NIEMEIER: I’ve been to Paris, Italy, Los Angeles and New York.

THE ROAR: What else has pizza spinning given you the opportunity to do?

NIEMEIER: I got to go on the Ellen DeGeneres show, and that was fun because she gave me a TV and an iPod. But it was bad because I flew in that morning and I left that same night. When I went on the Jimmy Kimmel show, I got to see more of Los Angeles, and the show was right in Hollywood. We could do whatever we wanted before filming. I also got to talk to him after it was over.

THE ROAR: What is the next thing you are doing with the U.S. Pizza Team?

NIEMEIER: We are going to be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York. I hope we make it on television.