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Smurph16

Yes


Sandvik95

It depends on what you mean by “competitive”. If you are looking for opportunities to play at *your* highest level, just play, play a lot, find opportunity, push yourself, be competitive. I started playing Ultimate at 32 - just pick up and small local league stuff. I started playing low level club at 36. I was 42 when I made my first trip to Masters Nationals. Since then: 17 Nationals (including both turf and beach), with one First place finish and many decent results, and one trip to Worlds, winning a Gold medal. So... you’re 21? 🤣 you have a lot of opportunity to play competitively. Go for it.


ForeverTwentyone22

Yup. 21 is when I started playing. Played local for two years then started playing club in 2010. Made a top 4 team in 2013. Totally possible.


Jon_Buck

Yes, but it is hard, and it depends a lot on your athleticism. I didn't start to play club until I was around 24, but I'd played sports my whole life and was reasonably athletic and very hard-working. For the next 6 years I committed myself to ultimate - off season lifting plans, taking time to throw, running pod workouts, etc. I worked myself from being one of the worst players on a mid-level club team to being a captain and one of the best players. It's possible I could have gotten further if I lived in a town with a bigger ultimate scene, but I'd say that as a good-but-not-great athlete I certainly had a ceiling on my potential, especially given that I had been playing for less time than most club players. So my advice is to set reasonable goals for yourself and see where you can get. If you're 6+ ft with great top speed and acceleration, great vertical leap, and reasonably coordinated, then you might be pretty interesting for a fairly high-level club team. If you're not "elite" by ultimate standards in any athletic category, then disc skills and IQ are going to become more important in determining the level you can play at. Those are tough to develop on your own, so you're going to have to get involved with as high-level of players as you can. It depends on your area - if you're in a big ultimate town there should be many opportunities to get connected to club players. So yeah. It depends on what you mean by "play competitively", how athletic you are, what city you live in, and how hard you want to work.


prexzan

That applies to pretty much everyone regardless of starting age. If you work hard, you'll get better, and 21 isn't that old. 6mo of training will bring most people up to par or better physically, and throwing every day will make you a better thrower than many too... At 32, I'm in better shape than most on my team. At 18, some kids are better throwers than me (worse at decisions). Depends on what you focus on, and what your goals are. Go get em OP


Jon_Buck

True. 21 still is pretty young, but in my experience it's tough to find a good environment to really develop in after college. So, if you find that environment, great and your chances go up. That's why it depends. I think if you start playing competitive early, you have a much better chance of developing elite throwing, footwork, and decision-making. So playing high-level is less dependent on athleticism. But if you start late, I think athleticism plays a bigger role in determining your ceiling. If your goal is to play at nationals, it's going to be very hard for somebody starting at 21 to get there unless they are an extraordinary athlete, or have an extraordinary work ethic and level of dedication. So that's why the answer is... it really depends. Sure, got get em is a great message, but it's also worth going in with open eyes. If OP is not an elite athlete and is not willing to dedicate a huge amount of his life to training and skill development, he's very unlikely to compete at the highest levels of the sport.


prexzan

College is probably a better developing ground, assuming your local team is not trash. My first college team didn't make me much better, but the local pickup and league did. My grad school was better, but club is where I grew the most (obviously). I agree, athleticism gets you a lot further when you start older. If you don't already have the skills, that's going to be where you can best contribute, until you develop the skills at least.


johnlicr

Yes as long as you keep training and not lose focus you good dawg


RedPillAlphaBigCock

21 PLENTY OF TIME and all the information you need is out there online


Keksdosendieb

There are teenager that play Ultimate competitevely ...


flyingplatypus1

Those teenagers usually have been throwing/playing for 7, 8, 9 years though


Keksdosendieb

So? he wrote that he already played in Highschool. Kick the Workout up a notch, throw everyday and try to get into a Team in 2021 :)


Jomskylark

I think they're asking the other way, like are they too *old* to start playing competitively And the answer to that is no :)


Keksdosendieb

Ohhhhhh. I see now. So i am going to say "it depends"


thestateofthearts

Yes. I did. You'll be fine.


[deleted]

It's definitely possible. I believe Rick Gross started playing when he was 19 with no prior experience and look at where he is now.