Ice dance versus Freestyle-how did you decide which one?

[jjane45]

It all depends on goal setting, really. If an adult skater desires to reach the highest freestyle level possible, it's a race against time. Same for kids aging out of certain competition levels.

For skaters mastering doubles in their 40s, one just cannot stop wondering how much further they would have advanced at a younger age. The famous late bloomer Johnny Weir likely would not become an Olympian had he started at 31 instead of 13.

[mamabear]

Thanks for all the input everyone.  I'm going to keep an eye on what happens and if the dance class materializes but I'm pretty happy doing Adult 4 and just figuring out where we are going as we go along. 

[techskater]

I agree... I am over 30 and it is a goal of mine to pass gold FS at some point, which will involve having either an axel or a double (thought I will say that while I had these jumps as a teen - getting them back has pretty much been like starting from scratch - I took too much time off and my body is just too different to rely on muscle memory).  At the moment I have put working on them on the back burner while I get through some tests, but my coach hasn't discouraged me at all.  No, my body can't take the pounding it could when I was younger, but that doesn't mean at all that it's not something I can achieve safely.

My coach believes that triples (!!!) are possible before 50 if I listen carefully and maintain the technique he is instilling

[sarahspins]

  My coach believes that triples (!!!) are possible before 50 if I listen carefully and maintain the technique he is instilling

Haha, that reminds me of how my coach is always saying "now, when you set up for a triple jump......" and I'm left there staring at her, laughing to myself, like that's ever going to happen   I do like though, that she's always thinking about more, and not putting limits on *anything* simply because I'm an adult. 

To be perfectly honest I will be happy if I get the doubles back I had as a teenager (2sal, 2loop, 2toe)... if I could work on the ones I never had (flip and lutz), that would be icing on the cake.  Triples really aren't a goal of mine, nor do I expect that to change at any point.  I do like to entertain the thought that senior moves is a realistic goal, but senior FS (which only requires I have all my doubles), probably not.

[VAsk8r]

Haha, that reminds me of how my coach is always saying "now, when you set up for a triple jump......" and I'm left there staring at her, laughing to myself, like that's ever going to happen   I do like though, that she's always thinking about more, and not putting limits on *anything* simply because I'm an adult. 

My coach sometimes says things like, "You get this down, and you'll have no problem turning that into a double." I used to laugh at her, and now that I'm beginning to work on axels and she seems pleased with my progress (says I don't have any fear or hesitation), I'm starting to think...wow, maybe doubles aren't that far off.

I never really had to make a choice between ice dancing and freestyle. We don't have group dance classes at my rink. I went to a couple of freestyles with ice dancers, but I'm shy, and we didn't talk to each other, so I didn't have much chance to learn anything about ice dancing. I finally began working on jumps when they put a bunch of hockey players in my class who had to learn waltz jumps for an exhibition. After that six-week session, I was the only person who signed up for the next session, so I had the coach to myself for the whole time and we began salchows and one-foot spins. At the end, I said, "What now?" and she said, "The next step is private lessons. I could coach you." (Cha-ching!)

Since I love jumping and spinning, it's probably good I got pushed in this direction.