Im 14 and i can land all my singles except my axel. if i try as hard as i can do i have a chance at nationals?

Question

Im 14 and i can land all my singles except my axel. if i try as hard as i can do i have a chance at nationals?

Answer 1

no.

Pssobly it depends on if you keep up the work, and work on   that axel.

Answer 2

you certainly can, you can only do your best.  keep practising and good luck with your axel.  I know you can do it!!!  :)

Answer 3

YES!  Try your heart out!  You can succeed.

Answer 4

You certainly can put your goals toward nationals, it may be a few years, but if you are dedicated and work very hard you may be able to have a chance at some national competitions (this may even mean junior nationals etc.) Good luck!

Answer 5

Your at the same level as me =]

If you pratice hard, and work towards your goals, anything is possible! SO GO FOR IT!

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 6

well i know i will!!!!!!

i am working on doubles and i am only 10 years old!!!!!!

ummmmm........ in 2 years if you have your axel and maybe doubles then you will probably be able to go to nationals. there are like......24 year old skaters!!!!! keep following your dreams!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 7

Oooh, the axel. It only took me 6 months to land it but then again i practice morning and afternoon!! im in Intermediate now and trust before you think about Nationals before you even ask your coach about nationals. Work on those doubles!! You need Consistent Doubles to get you Intermediate but actually now in intermediate most girls have a clean double axel or at least a slightly cheated one, and some girls who competed the year before have some kind of triple, you dont have to do a triple though but its a good weapon. But if you work hard enough i believe you could probably have a good chance at Nationals just work hard practice get flexible if you really want to be a National level skater you have to do what it takes. im only 12 and i sacrificed parties and hangouts with friends for competitions and practices but i did it because i know that it will pay off later in my career. I read in SKATING magazine that kimmie meissner did that

Answer 8

I think at 14 it is a little to late to go to nationals because i am 11 and has almost landed my axel. I say practice every day and work really hard if you want a chance. You should also ask a coach what they think because they would be the ones to send you to the competition.

Answer 9

it really depends on what nationals also to land your axel try doing some off ice axell jumps. It would help if you had some doubles b/c waltzs, toe loops, loops, lutzs, flips at a nationals competition might not impress them. Talk with your coach about this. If you have one I mean.

Answer 10

You need to consistantly land doubles before talking about nationals.

Answer 11

Well, maybe if you skate everyday for a while. Also you need a good coach.

Answer 12

You know what? It depends on how much you want it, and how good you can get in the next...four years or so.

I'm about the same as you, 14, a few doubles landed solid. It only gets harder once you get up to about Intermediate level (Freestyle 6/7 in ISI-I think...), there will be little 9 yearolds doing triples perfectly. I've seen it. It's amazing. It just freaks me out, thinking about how far behind them I am.

But back to chances at nationals. For women, the oldest thatwe really can skate competitively as Senior women is around 20,22 years old. After that, it'll be very difficult to go against 15 year olds who are at the top  of their game. If you can improve stedily over the next four years, yes! You will be able to have a chance at Nationals.

Answer 13

no not really, i have all my doubles and i am the same age and i don't think i will ever make it past sectionals, but i am in an easy region

Answer 14

Dunno about America because I've never competed there, but in Mexico the nationals here cover all of the 8 Federation levels from Básico to Avanzado 2 (Senior).

The Basicos that are competitive are expected to be able to do 5 rev sit spins.

You don't need the Axel until mexican Preliminar level (which I think is America's Juvenile level) but you need to be able to land it cleanly and combine it with a single jump if you ever want to be competitive in that level at mexican nats (especially since the age group with 14 year olds is highly competitive).

I believe even though the USA "Nats" only covers Novice, Junior and Senior, there is a sort of equivalent Nats competition for Juvenile and Intermediate which could be doable for you in 1 year if you do master the Axel and have at least 2 doubles (which is hard to achieve, but as a 14 year old it could happen, kids learn jumps like they are candy bars).

However, I think American skaters overestimate the value of jumps, it's like this idea is really engrained deep into the skaters there. The new system gives equal values to the jumps, spins and program components. You could be a 7 year old that does the double Axel like eating icecream but can't even do the easiest chocktaw and has no backspins whatsoever.

Before getting too edged up about being able to land the single Axel, you need backspins, especially the upright one which has the added advantage that the figure emulates the leg position feel of jumps beyond singles but on the ground. You need to make that spin seem even easier to do than a forward upright spin.

You may not have the best doubles ever, but you can still be competitive if you are the best spinner in town and can do counters and rockers in a step sequence. You're in perfect time to start analyzing the ways to level up spins (though I assure you it's a very boring read) at the ISU website.

If you start now to work on the Biellman (it's better to do it as soon as possible because you're still 14 and thus very flexible) and have a perfect 7 revolution Layback now you will be far more competitive than the little jumping double Axel shrimps with nothing else worthy to mention about their skating.

Don't be too discouraged about the little 8 year olds with Double Axels, most of them lose absolutely everything by the time they turn 16. I've seen it happen tons and tons of times, so I've stopped being impressed at them.

One tip of advice for the doubles is to start off-ice training. Learn how to do first single jumps on the floor landing perfectly on your right leg and start to learn how to pull those arms close to your body and cross your free leg in front of the landing leg. Doubles are like singles, just A LOT faster, the jump is higher and you have to pull those arms in as fast as possible (oh, it's bloody hard to make your body coordinate everything in perfect synchronization, you just have to work hard to make your body memorize the little movements like a machine. Centrifugal force also makes your arms fly loose easily, so let's just say doing doubles isn't eating corn, but once you get good air position and have 1 double, getting the rest comes fast if your single jumps are already good). I reccomend to avoid doing off-ice jumps on hard slippery floors because of both falls and the jumps will destroy your hips and knees (especially since your bones are still very soft as a teenager). I like doing my off-ice jumping in a park near my house. It's quiet, free, the grass doesn't impact the knees nearly as much as cement and there's few curious bystanders annoying me.

Jump-roping will help increase the height of your jumps. Ask your coach around for specialists in off-ice jumping training. Notice though that an off-ice double feels very different when you do it on the real ice, but the ability to turn around in correct air position and landing it clean is a good start. Plus the ice has the added advantage that the speed you do your jump with helps add in extra leverage (especially for toe assisted jumps). Oh, and the Salchow is nearly impossible to do off the ice, so don't get frustrated because you're not able to do it.

You should have clean singles before attacking doubles. You don't want to learn the bad habit of Flutzing your Lutz because you rushed the jump. The habit will be very hard to fix later on. The Salchow and Toe Loop are the easiest doubles. I find it helps to work on the Axel and double Salchow together on the ice. Waltz-Loops are a pretty good warm-up jump for the Axel since they do the same thing as the back upright spin of imitating the Axel airposition, but with the Axelish entry of the Waltz jump.

Answer 15

hmm singles but no axel! thats a toughie but if you believe in yourself you can achieve! I believe in you peter pan!

Answer 16

u certainly can!!!maybe not for like 4 or 5 years but if you keep practicing you can surely reach your goal. Im at the same level as you are workin on my axel and dont plan to reallygo to nationals but just for little competitions at my rink. It also depends on how long it took u to get all of the jumps. It tookme like a 1 and a half years or 2 idk  for sure. Then to get your doubles it would take probablt the same amount maybe more.To get to nationals you at least have to get all your doubles down consistently. Try hard and your dream can com true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD LUCK!!! :D