Is it too late for me?

[tinytakahiro]

New member here, and most of the reason why I signed up is to find out if I have any type of future in figure skating, and find out everything I need to do to attain that future.

I'm 18 years old, living in southern Florida, and I have absolutely no prior experience in skating. I've pretty much dreamed of skating since I was 13 years old, however my parents would never allow me to do that, and they wouldn't take their time to drive me. The only saving grace I have is that I'm extremely athletic, on my school's Tennis and Water Polo teams, and in martial arts for nearly 5 years. I'm starting college this coming fall term on scholarship, and hopefully i'll be able to live on campus, which will give me the freedom I need to begin classes, etc. I've been thinking about this long and hard, and I'm well aware of the fact that it'd be easier on me to just give up, but figure skating is a true love of mine, it's something i'm not well versed in but very passionate about. And I know it sounds stupid to a lot of people, but I do want to get to the point where I could compete, and I'm willing to do anything and everything to get to my point.

Feedback is well appreciated and much needed <3, also I've done my research on how much classes (Including dance), transportation, etc. will cost and I would most likely be able to afford it.

 

[tulosai]

Hi! It's definitely never too late to start skating, but in terms of what you're asking really it's important to know what you mean by 'future in figure skating'. Absolutely you could get to a point where you can compete in adult competitions, but if what you are asking is whether you will ever be able to do what the Senior Ladies skaters do at their Grand Prix Events or at the World Championships, the honest answer is no, you are never going to be able to do that. With that said, you'll never know how far you can get until you start- I know of people who started at your age or later who did ultimately get some double jumps so that is definitely possible if you have the time, motivation, and aptitude.

 

[Princessroja]

First off, how exciting that you finally get to start taking lessons! I was in that same position a year ago and it was so nice to finally be able to do something I'd always wanted to do (fyi, it's taken me the equivalent of eight or nine months of skating to even get to Adult Basic 4). Realistically, I'm sure you know that you won't be competing internationally, so if by competing you mean competing with Ashley and Gracie for a podium spot at nationals, that's simply not going to happen. However, there are adult nationals, and collegiate competitions and such (aren't there even adult international competitions just for fun?). So if you mean could you get to adult nationals at a lower level (maybe bronze? I'm not super familiar with how adult nationals works) in five or ten years and enjoy skating a ton in the meantime, then yeah, that might be more realistic. That's assuming that you have 1) lots of money, 2) lots of time, 3) ability. Remember how many hours it takes to make a figure skater proficient and how many tens of thousands per year it takes even at, say, an intermediate level. Even if you have the money, I think it's highly unrealistic for you to expect to be putting in a ton of time as a new college student.

Personally, I'd say take lessons and enjoy the heck out of it. But keep your expectations very realistic. Very realistic. And I'm curious to hear what other opportunities there are for adults in the U.S., because I too am a new skater as an adult. I don't harbor any great ambitions, but it'd be nice to know what's out there, maybe find a good goal or something.

(And as an aside, a moderator may need to move this thread into another section of the forum, so don't be surprised if they do.)

 

[Lestari]

Hi

I'm gonna put in my 2 cents worth ... not a figure skater but a skater mum ... too late no! You can still take up ice dancing or sychro and yes compete but most figure skater in single (freestyle) start early.

Tips .... uhmm might want to take up ballet for flexibility and works those legs muscle and core strength.

And this is a good website for freestyle milestone so you know what your up against and the hours you need to put into training

http://www.skatingaheadofthecurve.com/TimingOfSkillAcquisition.html

Hope it's useful for you! And all the best!

 

[Seren]

It's never too late to start skating. I know several adult skaters who started as adults and have some doubles and are really good skaters overall. Realistically you are not going to get to Senior level competitively. The skaters you see on television have been skating 10+ years, have spent countless hours a day skating and training, worked with high level coaches, and have a certain degree of natural talent. That said, there is adult nationals and adult international competitions. Adult Gold is the highest level in the US of the four adult track levels and getting to the championship gold event at Adult Nationals is a pretty big deal, and something that would definitely be possible for you someday.

I am really excited that you get to start skating. Skating is one of my greatest joys in life as a adult skater- it has it's ups and downs but it is definitely worth it. Good luck!

 

[MiraiFan]

It is never too late. I learned to skate forwards and backwards as a kid but skating never appealed. I got inspired two years ago and started lessons from scratch. Doing other sports definitely helps and I progressed pretty quickly. Like with all sports, it is tough to master the basics but it's also a fun process. Be patient and find a good coach (I take from a coach every three weeks and spend the rest of the time practicing on my own). I hope to compete as an adult in a year or so.

 

[somnius96]

It's not too late! i'm 20, a junior in college and started skating two and a half months ago. At first i had the same concerns as you, but i just decided to go for it and it has been fantastic. At my rink i have met people my age and even older who started about a year ago and are competing now at the more basic levels and open competitions. I'm taking my basic 8 test in January and i'm very excited. I would say go for it, it's a beautiful sport, a great way to express yourself, meet new people and get fit. One advise i do have is that anything you do off ice will help you right away in getting better at skating, getting stronger in your core and legs as well as stretching to improve flexibility. We might not be able to get triples perhaps but it doen't mean it isn't worth it. If anything this sport builds character, it has helped me battle some of my issues at school by teaching me how to get up after you fail, and to try one more time no matter how hard it seems. So i encourage you to start figure skating if you can and want, it really is a wonderful sport

(sorry for any spelling mistakes, english is not my first language)

 

[moriel]

It is never too late, specially if you just want to skate.


As some sort of consolation, folks like Gracie and Ashley usually start way before 13 - i think most if not all top skaters started before 10, and many even before 7. I´ve heard some top coach explain that if the person doesnt learn the difficult elements while very young and not able to see how dangerous the things are, its hardly even possible to getting all those triples and things later on, as you already can see how dangerous they are and just cannot go there and do them - top skaters learn those early and it becomes natural for them while they are still reckless.

 

[Pink Ice]

Like some others have said, it is a bit unclear if you are asking if you can start skating with Olympic aspirations or with the aspirations of basically skating as an adult. The Olympic thing is basically out as 18, but in my opinion, that is when the fun begins! I started skating seriously about a year ago at 41. I skated briefly as a child when I was about 5 and 6 years old, but even being that young, I remember the pressure on me to keep passing tests, and I grew tired of it and disinterested. Now, as an adult, I can test if I want, I can make progress if I want, or I can just skate laps and talk to friends. There are several people who come to our adult group to do just that, though most folks there want to make progress on their skating in some shape. I am actually looking forward to passing some of my lower level tests next year, I am polishing up my Beta skills for ISI right now and am extremely happy with where I am.

Skating as a child up through your teens is probably really exciting, you could be that rare gem that ends up very high level, but in all likelihood you will use it as an activity you enjoy, make friends, do synchro, local competitions, and you may even skate as a younger person in ice shows or at college. Getting some parents to understand the reality of skating as a young person can be difficult, many seen to dream of the medals more than their kids and make their kids feel guilty about the money spent if something spectacular does not happen. As an adult you control the money, so that aspect is gone.

Skating starting at 18 you are pretty much starting as an adult, so the same things are open to you in adult form. Adult synchro teams, competitions, ice dancing for fun or competition, the sky is the limit. The other thing is, you can get as into it financially as you want. If you have limited funds you can go to a slow public or coffee club session once or twice a week, skate in rentals or get basic skates for Christmas or your birthday. For a little more money you can do Learn To Skate classes. For even more you can do private lessons and skate more frequently, you can advance as slowly or as quickly as you wish.

The general rule of thumb out there is to not self teach. I agree with that to some degree, you need guidance to make sure you are not learning things incorrectly. I do think everyone is different in the way they learn and their confidence level. Personally, at this point in my skating life, I take an occasional private lesson(once every couple of months), I take group lessons in our Coffee club about once a week that usually focus on body position, power and edge work, and I work independently the rest of the time. I have made good friends who seem to enjoy skating with me and giving me pointers from time to time, and I see my coach all the time. She has encouraged me to talk to her if I am stuck with something but says she feels I am progressing nicely. I watch videos and read constantly, but putting things into practice takes just that, practice.

I hope you decide to give it a shot, skating is hard, harder than it looks, but be patient and persistent and soon you will be making it look easy.

 

[janissesk8]

I'm feeling really happy to see many fellow adult skaters here The first thing I've to say is you're lucky to be in such a country with various resources and rinks around !

I can't say that it is easy (to compete as an amateur adult or to be an adult skater), but it's not that impossible. A good coach, a strong will and an ambitious effort are really needed. As a college student, there will be plenty of things along the way. There were many occasions that I had to read exam textbooks in the warm-up room, stretching while listening to lecture's records or wearing skates while doing the research online by the rink. I had to get up earlier to make up the time for studying and sleep a little later because I join the evening session and my campus is 1-hour away from the rink. This was exhausting, but fun and worth it

I started skating five months ago at the age of 22 as a 5th year medical student who wanna vent out stress and tiredness. It came out that I was one of only few adults in the rink, stumbled around with little girls jumping and spinning all the way. I felt so embarrassed at first because I'm slow , prone to fall all the time and I was really far from being athletic. I'd never done any sports seriously before, to be honest, I'd nothing in my life apart from textbooks and exams.

However, thanks to my coach's patience who guided me to fight with my stupid flatfeet, my wobbly ankle and fatty leg. I had to do self-exercise off ice frequently. I'm not a quick learner and my coach tried to teach me with the kid's standard so I could get everything as perfect and correct, so I'm progressing slowly. I'm happy with what I am now. My coach and me set the goal together to get to ISI freestyle 1 in January and get the program for exam

Hope you find the way as an adult skater's life and enjoy !!! Figureskating is soooo addictive that you can stay on the ice for hours and miss it when you're not there !

 

[annaaliv]

hi, i was looking for motivation on late bloomers, but I didn't expect someone with the exact same situation as me.

I've been in love with figure skating for as long as I could remember, but I live in a country where it doesn't snow at all, so we naturally don't have ice around. In my hometown, there are a couple of rinks here and there and I have been enjoying my few hours everytime I have the chance to hit the ice. But since I live away from my hometown since I was little, I couldn't stay nor study the sport since we have no rinks in the city I am living. Now that I'm older, I'm going back to my hometown, where, even though it will be a bit far from my college, I would love to learn it. I'm 18 and obviously a late bloomer, since what they call late in the industry is "11". But if given the chances I desperately want to give it my all in skating.

I hope you are skating today, too! I'll see you on tv when you make it. I know people see it as impossible, but quite a lot made it successfully after three to four years of intense practice. I'm rooting for you!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

hi, i was looking for motivation on late bloomers, but I didn't expect someone with the exact same situation as me.

I've been in love with figure skating for as long as I could remember, but I live in a country where it doesn't snow at all, so we naturally don't have ice around. In my hometown, there are a couple of rinks here and there and I have been enjoying my few hours everytime I have the chance to hit the ice. But since I live away from my hometown since I was little, I couldn't stay nor study the sport since we have no rinks in the city I am living. Now that I'm older, I'm going back to my hometown, where, even though it will be a bit far from my college, I would love to learn it. I'm 18 and obviously a late bloomer, since what they call late in the industry is "11". But if given the chances I desperately want to give it my all in skating.

I hope you are skating today, too! I'll see you on tv when you make it. I know people see it as impossible, but quite a lot made it successfully after three to four years of intense practice. I'm rooting for you!

I’m glad that you love skating and came here to be positive and motivate a poster on a 2 year old thread. But I’m sorry to say that your idea that 3-4 years of intense training will result in someone being an elite skater that one would “see on tv” is not accurate.

It takes many years of very hard work from when one was a child to get to that point, and still many do not.

There are many threads here of people asking the same thing, especially of late bloomers. And it’s the same story, please explore other threads of this nature in “the lutz corner” of this forum and you will see for yourself.

Now that said, you can enjoy skating at any age, and as an adult compete on the separate adult track of the sport.

Good luck.

 

[enzofv]

Def go for it. The best thing about being 18 or older is that you will know by yourself, after all the lessons, ballet, off-ice training and (hopefully no) injuries, if you can be competitive or not. An adult body learns new things much more slowly than a kid's. I started doing parkour at 21, almost 2 years ago. I'm definitely still a beginner, but I know I have made a lot of progress (and I'm not even dedicated. I take lessons twice a week TOPS, and don't do any work away from the gym).

 

[thesoundofice]

It's never too late to start skating.. I'm glad you decided to follow your dreams. Who knows how far you'll progress? Maybe one day you'll be able to participate in adult competions. I agree with others about the dream to become an elite skater in a few a years . It's probably not going to happen. But don't let this thought discourage you. Just take it easy and skate for the love of it. 10 months ago I started skating againg after a long break. I skated from childhood until 15 yo and now I'm 31.I don't know if I'll compete again but I don't care that much. Plus I only meet my coach once a month and I practise alone most of the time( I also take pilates lessons off ice). I had strong basis but it took a few time to regain (almost) everything.
I wish good luck!