Too late to start?

[Moana]

I'm a 14 years old (young) girl from germany.
I always wanted to do figure skating, but the doctor told me not to, because i had serious heart problems. Now he told me that i could start doing figure skating. I'm flexible and did ballett for 6 years, but probably i can't start doing figure skating serious, can i?
(excuse my english, i told you i'm from germany)

[sue123]

It's definitly not to late to start. There are plenty of people older than you. I'm 20, and I started a few months ago. Some people even start well into adulthood. There is no reason you shouldn't start if you have your doctor's OK. And don't worry about being a serious competitor at first, just go out there and have fun.

[dooobedooo]

You are too old to become an Olympic free-skating champion. :evil:

However, you are young enough to:

- take your skating to the level where you can skate professionally in ice shows; or
- become a competitive ice dancer at the top level; or
- learn to spin, jump and edge work as an enjoyable hobby, testing and competing at a lower level

The limiting factors are physical build, dedication, time, money and rink location, rather than age.

[flying~camel]

I started skating when I was 13 and by the time I quit at 18, was able to land an axel and could almost land a double loop!

I missed skating so much that I started back up again at 22 and am still having a blast! :)

[Mrs Redboots]

If you live in southern Germany, you could have gone to Oberstdorf last week and watched women and men in their 60s skating wonderful programmes - and winning their classes. It's never too old to learn to skate.

[samba]

One of our British Champions Robin Cousins started at 13.

[Melzorina]

That's inspiration and a half.
There was one skater who was world class or something (Really good, anyway!) and he started at 16 I think, but I have no idea who it could be.

[ferelu]

Johnny Weir started at 12 and he's a 2 time national champion, not bad at all if I may say so.

[*IceDancer1419*]

But didn't JOhnny Weir have a heckuvalot of "natural talent" 8O ;)

Anyways. I'm 14 as well, and started last Sept. I obviously have about 0 chance of being competitive in freeskate... I mean, people are out winning the olympics at my age :roll: It's a bit unfortunate, but that's how it is. However, I'm having a complete blast skating. I'm on a synchro team, as well as doing dance.

My partner and I are hoping to be somewhat competitive in ice dancing... we'll hopefully be going to regionals next year, and we dont' really know where we'll go from there, but I *think* it's a bit easier with ice dancing to start a little older... (thank you to whoever said that a bi tearlier in this thread, as you've given me hope! ;) )

[NCSkater02]

I was more than twice your age when I started skating. While I will never compete in the Olympics, I do have fun.

[Moana]

I'm soooooo glad to hear that! I rather thougt that everbody will be like "you should have start at the age of 5! you are waaaaaaaaaaay to old!"
so, thanks! i will start this winter, i think. But how much training will be in beginnig time? because i'm on a private school, wich means i have a lot of lessons!

[*JennaD*]

But how much training will be in beginnig time? because i'm on a private school, wich means i have a lot of lessons!

Well I would start off by doing a little bit of skating each week because you will probably be busy with school! I go to a private school too...and I was only able to skate twice a week, but I also had a lot of other activities. I would start off with a bit each week and then if you see that you can handle more, you can skate more :P

[Melzorina]

I can only manage to skate once a week, it's always been this way since I started, I'd love to go more often, but I don't think I'll ever get anything more than Saturdays. :(

[flying~camel]

I'm soooooo glad to hear that! I rather thougt that everbody will be like "you should have start at the age of 5! you are waaaaaaaaaaay to old!"
so, thanks! i will start this winter, i think. But how much training will be in beginnig time? because i'm on a private school, wich means i have a lot of lessons!

Well, if you've never skated before, you might want to check whether your rink offers group lessons to start :)

[crayonskater]

I have always found it strange when people say, 'Oh, you're too old to start [typical little girl sport] because all the Olympic champions are fourteen.'

I'm always tempted to respond, 'Well, you're probably not going to make it to the Olympics even if you started at five, so why not just enjoy the sport?'

There's this crazy perception that the only reason to participate in figure skating (and gymnastics) is if you have a shot at Olympic gold. Most people don't have that shot, reasonably, anyway -- only three girls make the Olympic squad. This perception I think is what leads the crazy skating moms to become crazy. They started their child at seven! Their child OWES THEM AN OLYMPIC MEDAL!

Many of the young women I skate with had enjoyable, competitive skating careers; and they weren't landing triples, just clean doubles. They weren't at Senior Nationals, but that doesn't mean they didn't compete. And there are fun USFSA competitive options for a fourteen year old with doubles and spins; and you're young enough to get those!

Seriously. No one would tell someone in their 30s not to start training for a marathon because they haven't a hope of beating Catherine Ndreba. No one would tell a 25 year old that he's wasting his time learning to play golf because Tiger Woods started at age two. No one would tell a retiree that his tennis lesson is a waste because he's not going to beat Marat Safin.

You shouldn't base your skating decision on whether you have a chance of being the next Michelle Kwan. :) So just sign up for some lessons and see if you like the sport!

[Isk8NYC]

There's this crazy perception that the only reason to participate in figure skating (and gymnastics) is if you have a shot at Olympic gold. Most people don't have that shot, reasonably, anyway -- only three girls make the Olympic squad. This perception I think is what leads the crazy skating moms to become crazy. They started their child at seven! Their child OWES THEM AN OLYMPIC MEDAL!


Bravo! Encore! You said it beautifully. :bow:

Skate because you love to skate. Learn, grow, and discover the joys of sportsmanship, determination, and practice! If you want to compete, you can and should. Maybe it won't be olympic track, but who cares? An achievement is an achievement and everyone has to start somewhere or we'll all just sit around watching skating on TV. If they actually air more than the top 3 skaters. (Boring!)

[Casey]

I'm soooooo glad to hear that! I rather thougt that everbody will be like "you should have start at the age of 5! you are waaaaaaaaaaay to old!"
so, thanks! i will start this winter, i think. But how much training will be in beginnig time? because i'm on a private school, wich means i have a lot of lessons!
It's impossible to say how fast you will progress - everyone is different! But more time on the ice helps, getting a coach helps, loving what you are doing helps! It's a very challenging sport, and you'll never reach a point where there's absolutely no room for improvement, so how far you want to take it is entirely up to you. If I were you, I'd find an ice rink, and start going now, even if it's not very often, because you'll start getting balance and some of the basic skills pretty easily, and that will help when/if you hire a coach, plus it will allow you to "test the waters" (not sure if that translates well into German, but I mean to just try it out and see what you actually think once you do it).

Good luck, have fun, and tell us how it goes! You'll find an amazing amount of help and support here! :D

[Raye]

There is no such thing as too old if you really want to do something. I was told at 17 that I was too old to begin, but I began anyway and skated for 5 years and enjoyed every minute of it!!! For reasons I won't go into, I ended up away from skating for 25 years and had to begin again, almost from scratch - excuse the pun - two years ago. I just got back home from both Villard and Oberstdorf, had a fantastic time, made many new friends and I plan on being back to both next year. I am certainly glad I did not let anyone tell me that I was 'too old'. Think of all the fun I would have missed... you go girl!!!

[sk8er1964]

There is no such thing as too old if you really want to do something. I was told at 17 that I was too old to begin, but I began anyway and skated for 5 years and enjoyed every minute of it!!! For reasons I won't go into, I ended up away from skating for 25 years and had to begin again, almost from scratch - excuse the pun - two years ago. I just got back home from both Villard and Oberstdorf, had a fantastic time, made many new friends and I plan on being back to both next year. I am certainly glad I did not let anyone tell me that I was 'too old'. Think of all the fun I would have missed... you go girl!!!

Welcome Raye :D

I'm so glad you went and that you had fun in O'Dorf!

[Andie]

I started at 15 and am 20 now.... I still have fun skating even though I'll never get to Olympic level. I never have skated excessively (at most I've done it 2-3 times per week) and took time off for about a year or two. Besides age, it depends on your talent, practice and dedication, and finances!
As some other people have said, there are other opportunities in figure skating besides the Olympics. You can still have fun skating even if you decide you don't want to compete.

[sk8joyful]

Guten Tag, Moana :) Wie geht es dir heute ? -

'Age, and often Health'-status: matter _not_. Bin eine frohe liebliche Mutti und eislaufe mit meiner lieben Tochter in Vergnügen :P

Like other skaters here have shared, you at any age can learn any wholesome activity you enjoy.

Glaube es ist Spaß und einfach zu lernen, und du wirst es tun in großer Freude ! :D

Wünsch ich dir Fröhlichkeit, Gesundheit und Glück,

Annie

[Mrs Redboots]

There is no such thing as too old if you really want to do something. I was told at 17 that I was too old to begin, but I began anyway and skated for 5 years and enjoyed every minute of it!!! For reasons I won't go into, I ended up away from skating for 25 years and had to begin again, almost from scratch - excuse the pun - two years ago. I just got back home from both Villard and Oberstdorf, had a fantastic time, made many new friends and I plan on being back to both next year. I am certainly glad I did not let anyone tell me that I was 'too old'. Think of all the fun I would have missed... you go girl!!!Hi, Raye - welcome to the board! We did have fun, didn't we.....

[Diana]

I'm a 14 years old (young) girl from germany.
I always wanted to do figure skating, but the doctor told me not to, because i had serious heart problems. Now he told me that i could start doing figure skating. I'm flexible and did ballett for 6 years, but probably i can't start doing figure skating serious, can i?
(excuse my english, i told you i'm from germany)

well, i think it's not too late, i started skating 8 years ago, and i was 11 years old, and if you're flexible and if you have done ballet i think it's a great help ;)

[doubletoe]

I'm a 14 years old (young) girl from germany.
I always wanted to do figure skating, but the doctor told me not to, because i had serious heart problems. Now he told me that i could start doing figure skating. I'm flexible and did ballett for 6 years, but probably i can't start doing figure skating serious, can i?
(excuse my english, i told you i'm from germany)

If you want to compete in the Olympics, it may be late to start, but if you want to skate a beautiful program in 2 or 3 years, with double jumps and beautiful spins, you can do it! If you have been doing ballet, you have a great foundation for figure skating and you will be beautiful on the ice. Life is short. You must do the things you want to do! Skate for yourself and enjoy it! :)

[stardust skies]

What people forget re: age/Olympics is that a) most people who start when they are five still won't get good enough to go to the OLYS, and that some people who start younger may get injuries that sideline them for 6 months to a year at a time which essentially makes all that time they were ahead by nul and void. If a ten year old starts and then gets 3 sidelining injuries, and is a slow learner, and then a 14 year old starts, but gets no injuries and is a fast learner with natural talent, they'll be about equal by the time they both reach 18. For that matter, the 14 year old will probably have outdone the injury prone, slow learning 10 year old. There's a ton of factors in deciding who will progress to the highest of levels. Age really isn't one when you're 14. Now, if the person posting this was 44....maybe. But she is not. I seriously question the stigma that makes a 14 year old as if she is too OLD to start something. That's sad, IMO. And no, you're not too old. The real question is...are you good enough to catch up. Only you will know the answer to that, and the only way to find out is to go for it.

[Casey]

The real question is...are you good enough to catch up. Only you will know the answer to that, and the only way to find out is to go for it.
Stardust, that was the best and most encouraging response I've seen, and just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to post it. Sometimes it's too easy to become caught up with age, and stop trying as hard as a result, which is dumb. So, even though I'm quite a bit older than the person you were addressing, I'll take your words to heart and try to remember them during despairing moments myself. :)

[*IceDancer1419*]

I have always found it strange when people say, 'Oh, you're too old to start [typical little girl sport] because all the Olympic champions are fourteen.'

I'm always tempted to respond, 'Well, you're probably not going to make it to the Olympics even if you started at five, so why not just enjoy the sport?'

There's this crazy perception that the only reason to participate in figure skating (and gymnastics) is if you have a shot at Olympic gold. Most people don't have that shot, reasonably, anyway -- only three girls make the Olympic squad. This perception I think is what leads the crazy skating moms to become crazy. They started their child at seven! Their child OWES THEM AN OLYMPIC MEDAL!

See, I agree with this... I don't think you have to go into a sport wanting to compete at the Olympics or anything. I'm just saying that if she WERE looking to go to the Olympics, it's probably too late, and if it weren't, she didn't have a huge chance of getting there anyways (just because, like you said, not most people get there even when they start really young).
Skating is about the FUN of it. And yes, you can do some USFSA or other competitions and have fun with it... probably not become nationally known or anything, but it's possible. :)

[Mrs Redboots]

Skating is about the FUN of it. And yes, you can do some USFSA or other competitions and have fun with it... probably not become nationally known or anything, but it's possible. :)If you go into skating - or any other sport, for that matter - with the objective of making the Olympics, you are almost certainly doomed to disappointment. If, however, you go into it for fun and fitness, and determined to become the best you can possibly be, you will have fun - and who knows, you just might reach the top of the tree! But why waste a very great deal of enjoyment by taking it too seriously?

Actually, skating is such a small world that you will become known in your area, should you choose to compete, within a very few years.

[stardust skies]

And yes, you can do some USFSA or other competitions and have fun with it... probably not become nationally known or anything, but it's possible. :)

I agree with Mrs. Redboots, it's easy to become Nationally known if you so much as go to Regionals/Sectionals at the Novice and above levels. You don't even have to place well, people will know who you are. And of course.... www.unseenskaters.com will know, too. ;)

And Casey: Thanks for the thanks! Stick through it!!!

[aeislove]

I don't think so. I'm 14 (I'll be 15 in 2 months) and thinking of starting up skating, also. I did loads of sports when I was younger, but I quit them all about 2 years ago due to some personal reasons. I miss doing them, but I want to try a new sport. While you might not be an Olympic Gold Medalist, you can certainly do well. And who's to say that you even have to compete? You could take on ice skating as a hobby.

[fmh]

I think the best time to start is when your five or six, I know you're twice that age, but you've done ballet so you have the artistic and flexibility stuff under your belt :) now put it on ice...it will be verrrry hard at first but don't give up, and you could do great!

[Kevin Callahan]

I refuse to believe that I can't make the olympics. It isn't my goal; my goal is just to go as far as I can. If that means Vancouver in 2010, it means book some tickets to Canada. If it means Adult Nationals 2007, then it means save me a spot on the roster. If it means local competitions only, well at least I'm saving on airfare.

I have only one true competitor: myself. I think someone telling anyone, 14 or 40, that they can't do anything is ridiculous, unless that person is a doctor. Possibly a coach, although time and again we hear of coaches making bad calls too. Even doctors have been known to be wrong.

Look at the Olympics. Already we've had amazing wins. My fellow Texan, Chad Hedrick, taking the gold in speed skating after only entering the sport three years ago. And he is not alone, there are several athletes who have decided what we have decided: to do, instead of wonder, and in amazingly short periods have come to olympic glory.

I do agree, going into any sport for the sake of Olympic Glory is a silly notion. But entering in the sport to see how far you can take it, that may well end in amazing feats, but however it ends, knowing you have done your best will make you see that you have been successful, and no one should be able to argue you have not.

[jazzpants]

Look at the Olympics. Already we've had amazing wins. My fellow Texan, Chad Hedrick, taking the gold in speed skating after only entering the sport three years ago. And he is not alone, there are several athletes who have decided what we have decided: to do, instead of wonder, and in amazingly short periods have come to olympic glory.Not to dash your Olympic dreams, Kevin but... wasn't Chad an accomplished rollerblader prior to taking up ice speed skating? ;)

And dude, I will see you at Adult Nationals...well, someday... depends on whether *I* will ever get out of being a Pre-Bronze lady or not!!! :roll: (See my signature...)

[Kevin Callahan]

Not to dash your Olympic dreams, Kevin but... wasn't Chad an accomplished rollerblader prior to taking up ice speed skating? ;)

And dude, I will see you at Adult Nationals...well, someday... depends on whether *I* will ever get out of being a Pre-Bronze lady or not!!! :roll: (See my signature...)

He certainly was, but that doesn't mean he didn't do amazing in a short period of time. And I don't have olympic dreams, at least not specifically. That was my whole point. I can't recall who said it but there's a very applicable quote for my attitude, "Fate is the hand you are dealt, free will is how you play it." If the olympics is in the cards, then I intend to play that hand. If it isn't, that just means I'm playing for a different goal. Is it likely I'll make the olympics? No. That's why I'm not entertaining it as a specific goal. But, as stated, I am quite unwilling to accept any claim of limitation before I have even tried.

And I look forward to seeing you at Nationals, in a competitive capacity of course. I will be there this year as a spectator.

[VegasGirl]

I'm soooooo glad to hear that! I rather thougt that everbody will be like "you should have start at the age of 5! you are waaaaaaaaaaay to old!"

Ich hab vor 2 Jahren mit figure skating angefangen... at the "ripe old age" of 38. 8-) You're never too old to start!!!

But how much training will be in beginnig time? because i'm on a private school, wich means i have a lot of lessons!

Was willst Du Dir denn als Ziel setzen? Skating als ernsthafteres Hobby mit competitions, nur so als Zeitvertreib oder als Einstieg in eine eventuelle Karriere (was wohl mehr wie nur schwer werden wuerde)?
Ich habe erst mit einer Stunde pro Woche angefangen und bin dann auf 3 mal 1 1/2 Stunden die Woche umgestiegen als ich freestyle 1 erreicht hatte. Allerdings hauptsaechlich weil ich die Zeit dazu habe und es mir so viel Spass macht!