When Do You Lose Wakeboarding.

I started wakeboarding when I was 9 years old and I am now turning 21. From the age of 9 until now I have gained an extreme love and passion for the sport. My dad bought me a better boat when I started getting better around the age of 14. By the time I reached 18 years old I believe I was at my best. I was entering outlaw in small local competitions and taking 1st in most. At age 19 and 20 I noticed my time for wakeboarding coming to an end as I had a full time job and my friends grew up and left the scene. Last year ( age 20 ) I went wakeboarding 3 times due to my busy schedule and other road blocks. I was looking at pictures the other day of when I was 18, looking young ( in shape ) and at my very max skill level, I started to feel sad inside thinking about how much fun it used to be and how it felt to be out on the lake with friends. I remember last season when i was 20 I didn't have the endurance and strength of when I was 18 and it was much harder for me. The question I'm getting at is when do you all notice your age take over the sport? I live 30ft off the dock with a boat out front all year and I really hate not getting out to ride anymore.

Wait until your in your in your mid 30s with a 13 year old playing 3 sports and a 2-1/2 year old that isn't quite ready for the water yet . Honestly, I wouldn't trade it for the world though. You definitely learn to appreciate your time on the water more though. As far as diminishing skills, I never had any to start with, so can't help there.

Let me get this straight... Your twenty years old and feeling old ? Get back out there and ride ! Your not even close to being done.

PS,
Have fun !

Dude, I hate to say it but I think you'll have a hard time finding someone to feel bad for you here. You're 21... I think you have a while before age alone becomes the limiting factor in your riding.

Not having time to ride, or not having access to a boat is one thing. But I think you'll find a lot of people on here who will agree you can ride at a very high level well into your 30's if not longer.

I just turned 28 last year, and despite blowing a knee am in much better physical shape (conditioning wise) and a much better rider than I was at age 21. Most of that is due to a ton more water time than when I was in college. When you don't ride as much you're obviously not going to be as consistent or have the endurance.

If you're not getting water time I feel for ya, cause I've been there when I was 19 to 22, and again from 24 to 26 (just didn't have consistent access to boats).

Keep your chin up, you got a lot of riding years ahead.

Give me a freaking break. I would kill to be your age. I turned 32 last nov. and I get better every year I ride. Through college I had to take about a 5yr break from riding (couldn't afford a boat). As soon as I could buy my own boat I did. Never looked back. That just goes to show you that if you have to work for something that you don't take it for granted. Got my wife into wakeboarding, taught her how to back a trailer, found as many people to go ride with me as possible and ride every chance I get. Also stay as active as I can to stay in shape.

Brotha you are not even in your prime at 21. You may be losing interest in the sport, but you are nowhere close to losing your skills. Prepare to get ripped left and right on this thread. Your best bet is to send a message to the moderator and have them delete it.

I got into wakeboarding 3 or so years ago, well into my thirties. My skills are very limited, but I have just as much fun as anyone out there. My advice to you, don't take it too seriously. Have fun with it. As for the endurance part there is no better way to get it back than to start working out or just wakeboard more often...just my .02...GL.

So I guess my answer is never....

I ride with a 46yr old who straight rips. Is he throwing mobes and sevens, no. But doing big 180's, 3s, and grabs in every variation and with huge amounts of style, yes.

In my mind he's more fun to watch than all the young kids on the river who show you their tantrum every time you pass their boat.

I didn't start riding until I was 20... I hope you aren't old!

+1
I'm 22 and I can feel it slipping... real life is just starting and since I'm not a pro or have a trust fund wakeboarding (true love and passion) has to take a back seat

it sucks.

Maybe it is because it has been so easily available to you, now that you have other things going on, it has fallen down your list of priorities. I started around 23, worked to get my own boat and setup, often work up to 80 hours a week and still find time to hit the water. Not as much as I like, but I still get out there when I can.

WCW, I suppose I should word that a little better, I dont feel "OlD" but I do feel a difference that I'm obviously not 18 anymore . I was just really into it and now being older and understanding that its not going to be forever bugs me. I'm just going to have to MAKE time to get out and find some kids do ride every so often.

It really depends for me personally. I too have been riding since I was really young. IMHO Once you get to certain skill level (and have a certain type of personality) you NEED to be in shape to enjoy the sport otherwise you just get frustrated with it. I know I am that way. If I am not in "wakeboard shape" which means riding at least 3 days a week (1-2 good sets a day), I get quickly frustrated because I cannot ride the way I want to.

Injuries also lend their ugly head. Waking up hurting can really turn the stoke off.

The only other factor is your crew. Riding with a good crew can make the biggest impact and create the most stoke. Riding with a crappy crew can make you never want to ride again. I dont know what the scene in MI is like but here on the west coast riding with good riders is a pretty easy way to build back up stoke.

Just my personal experiences there.

Flame this thread all you want, everything negative is positive to me since i do not want to be to old to ride
I enjoy hearing about you guys my age in the same situation and still pushing to get that time behind a boat in. I also love hearing you guys 30+ arguing my thread because it lets me know when I'm that age I wont feel out of place trying to keep a sport going that is more so noticed as a young adult sport. I'm glad it was brought to my attention to just enjoy it no matter how good I am or how much i lose. I always have remembered being so good and having a blast every time I would ride and pull new, harder tricks out of the bag but you're right, being able to do it period at any age is still just as fun.

I suppose a Mod could wipe this if come across, unfortunately I didn't think about the importance of this post, I just needed reinsurance

living 30 feet away from your dock and boat with no riding...................no excuses my friend!

I quit riding around your age, one of my biggest regrets now. But as with a lot of people I guess uni life then working life takes over. Started riding again at 27, and now riding better than I ever did when I was teenager, probably because I live 8 min from a cable park now!

Seriously tho, 21 and feeling like your old and past it?? Thats pretty funny dude, especially to the guys who are 30+ and still ripping it. Go out and ride man

Dude... you live on a lake and you cannot find time to ride?

Somethings wrong with this picture! Cut out an hour of bs where ever you need to and go ride!

If you love it, if you miss it, if it's truly a lifestyle... you can find time for it. I'll work 60 hours in a week and still get out and ride as long as it's not frozen! I have to drive a good hour to do it as well.

Actually Justin, I hear you. I grew up in Michigan, where snow skiing is king, and I would ski 6 days a week every week there was snow on the ground from '93-'00. I quit skiing in 2000, skiing only 3 times (total) from '00-'06. In '07, I got back into it, when I got over being whatever a person is from 17-24 (alcoholic, drug addict, partyer, whatever you call it). Now I ski 100 days a year. In fact, I couldn't make it to a hill today, but here's what I did instead:

http://newschoolers.com/web/content/viewvideo/id/330029/

I've been wakeboarding since '94, and starting in '07 as well I've wakeboarding 100 days a year as well. I get sore, but at the same time at 27 I'm the strongest and most athletic I've ever been, regardless of the shape I'm in. The only difference is when I was 18 I could fall out of the sears tower and not get hurt. You've got a decade to throw down based on what I've seen.

Wakeboarding isn't about strapping in and getting pulled behind the boat, it's so much more!! Spending time with friends and family, building relationships, making memories, laughing, enjoying the tunes, learning, teaching, helping........and on....and on....
Perhaps you should reflect on the good times you had in the past and think about what really made them "good". I didn't start wakeboarding until my mid 30's--I'm 43 now and have several inverts/spins but get just as stoked teaching someone to get up for the first time as I do landing a new trick myself. Make time for Wakeboarding. Make time for yourself. Try riding with someone new or at a new lake. Don't worry about getting old, worry about enjoying your youth!! Be safe,have FUN!!!!!!!!!!

man oh man, get your a$$ to the gym, get a new board and some great riding buddy's that have the drive to go out after work.. i went through a slump and im only 24. last summer i made a great friend just after a conversation about riding. he needed a third and i was there. now we push each other and i have the passion for riding that i did when i was 18. get off your butt and find the time again.

Justin here's a few suggestions:

CREW: get together with some riders in your area that you have never met, even if you have to drive to their riding spot (maybe you need to get away from your own lake more often?)
TRAVEL: get down to FLA and try some wake camps, even if it's just for a day or 2. Or grab some friends for a road trip to ride cable (wakenation maybe?) 3 other guys plus myself went down to Florida for 3 days to ride and had an absolute blast!
CLINIC: Host a riding clinic on your home lake. I hosted Keith Lyman here last year with 10 riders and we had so much fun we're doing it again this year!

Oh and by the way I only started riding after I turned 40, age is just a number my friend!

Yer breakn' my heart kid.

43 and going strong... I've never been more into it..

Woah, that might be the first wakeboard sob story I have ever heard.

Here is my take, life is about priorities, Passion, and choices, mainly learning to balance to three of them. I am 30. I have been riding a wakeboard since the launch of the Skurfer. It has been and really always will be a major passion of mine and one of my major priorities in life. I have gone out of my way to keep focused on what brings me true joy in this life, and that is wakeboarding. I have scheduled my life, my career, my family around this passion (that borders on addiction). Prior to meeting my wife I all the ladies I dated thought I would think I would eventually grow out of wakeboarding and eventually it lead to the break-up. With my wife, very early on I set the precident that she was important to me, but wakeboarding keeps me sane and happy. She understands, granted this did not come without some fights and head aches, but now I wake-up on sunny butter days to a wife that says, "why dont your go wakeboard, then will figure out what to do today."

That is only one part of the story, as you know you cannot ride with out at least one other person unless you lucky enough to live near a cable, which I am not. I have used this forum, contests, boatshows, and just stopping on the lake and meeting people to grow my wakeboard network. I will ride with pretty much anyone at any level as long as they are a positive chin up person. If I dont like thier set-up we just ride my boat. You can never know enough wakeboarders. And if all else fails my OG driver my pops will pull me.

On to work, wakeboarding cost money, even if your sponsored you have to pay for gas, insurance, etc. again this comes down to choices here. I do work in corporate america full time but again I have choosen a path that will open up my schedule. I am an Investment Banker/Financial Consultant, for a major Bank. I work on appointment only, so I can schedule my week around riding first thing in the morning prior to starting my work day. If I see that the week looks like butter all week, I lighten my load, do more phone work and less office work.

Finally, I am having my first kid in July, a little Girl. WHOO HOOO! Anyway, once I learned my wife was prego we immediatly started talking about me wakebaording and how I need to still have time to ride. She understands completely and wants me to stay passionate about riding as long as I can.

I guess where I am going with all this is that Man you are only in your 20's your life is FAR from shhut down. At the moment it sounds like you have just accepted the road blocks that Life has tossed at your loosing your riding. It's time to change man, its early your not bogged down with kids and what my buddy Colin Ryan calls, "real life situations."

Choices man, Choices. You can ge your riding back, just remember what makes you feel passion in this life and run for it.

I hope this helps some what.

I would start by trying to post up on here a thread dedicated to deeping your wakeboard network.

(Sorry i didnt spell check or proof read this, I have a client coming in ten mintues!!!)

36 and still charging and learning. 14 years I have been riding.

Sounds like you just need to reach out and find new riders since your teenage bro's all faded. You are not at your peak the best is yet to come. Know go ride you dam squirrel.

Can't answer your question because I didn't start wakeboarding until I was about 40.

dude seriously? 20? old?......no way! Is this an early april fools or somthing?.

If your only 20 and your using age as an excuse you seriously have the wrong mental attitude.

I'm 38 and been riding for 5. I don't have the old teenage friends that dropped it, but I have had some close friends lose interest. I have not, and I have just tried to stay focused and keep meeting people that hunger to ride and progress while having a good time.

Regular workouts help a ton, not to mention the positive effect they have on every other aspect of your life - something you start to care about more in your mid 30's and you start losing muscle mass and getting your cholesterol checked. It has taken me a few years to get something regular in my schedule, but then I joined a crossfit gym and noticed a huge difference.

It takes me 1.5 hours to drive to my boat; I'll still spend a Saturday in February out there! You live on a lake...wanna trade?

I didn't start wakeboarding until I was 35! I am not the greatest boarder out there but I still have lots of fun. Go and have fun before you really know what it feels like to hurt!

Im 24, and when I was looking for a job right out of school last year wakeboarding was a God send. I would ride 5 days a week to keep the stress down. Once I started my job in July I only made it out a couple of times. I hit my peak as far as how big I would go around 18. Thats also when I had all my surgeries. I dont push myself nearly as hard now and pretty much stick with tricks that keep me landing on my feet 90% of the time. This year I have been working out like crazy though to prepare for the upcoming season. Hopefully its a great one!

I have noticed I have become a little more of a pu$$ than I was 10 years ago. Maybe because I have people that depend on me though. Who knows.

Just need to make it fun again. Don't think about comps, don't think about what others are doing, don't think about sponsors or trying to get any. That's what kills it for most, striving and striving, which progresses, but also prepares for a huge let down. I watched as a friend overly frustrated himself with wakeboarding because he wanted a sponsor, didn't care who or what it was, just wanted one. He got one, found it wasn't all it had dreamed to be, and began worrying about losing it because someone else beat him or could do a trick he couldn't. That's not what wakeboarding is all about. Take a bunch of people on the boat that don't know much about wakeboarding, teach them to ride, watch as they're amazed at what you do.... maybe that was your motivation and you need it again.

pretty sure you already lost it. i'm 28, work a professional job, ain't lost •••••

Life at some point does seem to kind of take over but as others have said you have to find what's important to you. For me, I have wakeboarded for almost 16 years and I am 30. Wakeboarding is so much more then wakeboarding...it's about the weather, being on the water, friends on the boat. To me there is no better place then being on a boat. From the day I put my boat away every fall I look forward to the day it can get pulled right back out in Spring. Hell, I am on this site pretty much everyday as it keeps me close to what I love in the off season.

Yes, at some point age and your own body start to take a bit more of a toll then it ever used too but that's all part of it. I look forward to one day being able to raise my kids in the same boating enviroment I was brought up in and teach them all the things I know. The day my kid gets up for the first time.

The one that gets me....I don't have that new of a boat and it can only produce so big of a wake. Even with snowboarding I have always loved to try and go as big as possible. By the time I am able to afford to go out and buy the better boat my body probably won't be able to take the impact anymore.

I'm with Nintzel on this one. It's about making a choice and making a concerted effort to do the things that keep you happy. If it's no longer wakeboarding then move on to other things. If you are busy with other stuff, just know that is the choice you have made. We all have jobs, lives, families some just choose to make the activities they love a priority. I could be further in my career, but I sure have enjoyed my time riding, adventuring and having fun. I sacrificed some $ but would not change it for anything.

I think you need to pay more attention to threads like this!:

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/712884.html

Man! I'm 51, and started wakeboarding about 9 years ago, when I bought my first boat. I am absolutely addicted to wakeboarding and wakesurfing, but also realize I have limits, and will never (or should never) attempt some of the stuff many others do. With that being said, I have absolutely no intentions of slowing up or stopping. Got rid of my boat recently, but have the itch for a new one soon. Way too many good times on the water.

Don't even think about slowing down at your age. You are in your prime. Make everything you can out of it, and just have fun! I really wish I started MANY years ago. I might even have been somewhat good by now.

justin, do you want a little cheese with that wine? Are you a wimp? or are you just lazy?ass, you should be riding three times a week or doing something to keep you in shape three times a week.

^ its not that easy.
I live right on the water too, boat on a lift, last year I was lucky to get out twice a week... a lot of my problem is there isn't a lot of riders to be found during the week, and the weekend is just too damn busy.

If I work 40 hours a week 9-5, +30 min drive home +30 min to get boat ready/ballast/get out there, that leaves only 2 hours a night mon-fri I can wakeboard (our lake bans skiing after 8pm and before 10am)
Then my schedule has to line up with my wakeboard buddies... the weekend is a zoo from chicago/milwaukee/madison people... its a small window even though its righ outside my door


It sucks but bills > fun sometimes

(Message edited by sidekicknicholas on February 19, 2010)

There's a big difference in feeling "old" and just being out of shape. Get up in the mornings or when you get off work and go for a run, do some push ups pull ups, abs, all that stuff or if you have access to a gym even better. I've been there. I play extremely high level soccer all my life, youth national teams, college D 1, and when I stopped I got out of shape quick and my riding went down. But I got back in shape and everything is easier and better. Even if you only get out a couple times a year, you'll remember how to do your tricks, but you have to be in shape so you can last. Granted there are exceptions to the rule but this is for the general public. Just don't get the mindset your too old bc you are not at all. Just get back in shape and keep your head up. And you can find people to go with you. You have a boat so the hard part is out of the way.

Some of you are straight up depressing me.

This thread is almost as worthless as Christmas lights in an engine compartment.

Sorry, I'm just sayin'. Someone needs a dose of optimism in their life.

I'm 26 and have blown out my left knee, torn meniscus in my right knee, torn tendons in my right ankle, AND got married this past year. With that being said, I can't see myself stopping riding ever!!! Maybe slow it down a bit in 10 years or so but I hope to keep riding until I can't stand on a board anymore.

If you really love the sport, you will find time to ride, no matter what your situation is.

Gotta save up that vacation time! Working full time, still put almost 150 hours on the boat last year and year before. Wouldn't trade it for the world.

Been there, got over it.
I've been riding for 10 yrs, started when we bought a new (to us) boat in high school. Typical weekend warrior got to hit the water around 6-10 weekends a year for a couple summers, then week got crazier, I went to college away from my boat (17' sea ray with home-made pylon and NO ballast), cut my riding time down a lot, then after graduation, moved to where I am currently. I never lost the passion for riding, and still got to get out every now and then on the weekends, but good water is at a premium on the weekends, so I never really progressed.

About 3 yrs ago, we were out (only crew I had was my parents) and I saw a wake-boat on the lake. Here in Nebraska, it was pretty rare to see a wakeboat on public water on the weekend, still is somewhat. Anyway, I was up for my last set of the day, threw my regular bag down, and after about half an hour of riding, was approached by the other boat (21' Tige DD) and they offered me a pull. The owner, Jeff, who you'll see on here from time to time with an x-star now, and I are best frie3nds now and have been riding between 1 and 3 days a week, every week the weather allows, plus weekends, since then. I get off work at 4 (sometimes 3 if I'm lucky) drive an hour to meet him, then another half hour or so to the lake, we all take sets, and head back in. After waxing, wiping it all down, loading, driving back, putting everything away/hanging it all up to dry, then driving home, I generally get home between 10 and 11, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

As Nitzel said, it's aobut choices, making them, and making it a priority to you. My ex and I had a lot of problems based on the lake, (and others, but we won't get into that) and while she rode, I'm sure I'll have more time on the water this year than the last couple since I won't be worrying about that. I fully plan on making it very well known in any future relationships about my wakeboarding addiction, just as Andy said above too.

I make a lot of sacrafices to get to the lake, and during the summer, if my board, shorts, towels, vest, and whatever else I need, isn't in the trunk ready to roll, it's waiting for me at Jeff's place. You're 21, I wish I could still bounce back like I could back then, but I'm in better shape now, have a better understanding of the sport, and what goes into it, and have a much better crew than I did back then.

If you can't go ride, take your boat out, pull up and talk to people you see riding, offer them a pull, make some connections, and build a crew. It's easier said than done, but well worth it in the end. Not sure who said it above, but a crew can make or break a set, weekend, or vacation. There's nothing like stomping something new, and a guy who has 3x the bag of tricks than you is in the boat pumping his fist before you can even get yours in the air.

Keep going. and if you're ever in Nebraska - Look me up.

Never.

It's too bad they don't make some sort of aspirin for weenies.

Justin,

Get a hold of Micheal Dowdy on face book, he lives right near you. He is 16 and has enough energy to pump up the whole state of Mi, he would love to ride with some new, he also is a sick rider. He did did pretty well Jr. pro divison last year. Tell him Larry said what's up.

I'm 26 years old
Started riding 3 years ago
In the middle of a divorce
I'm a CPA and a manager in a public accounting firm
I tore my ACL last April
I live an hour away from any water
I don't have a boat

All those things considered..... I wakeboard on average 4 days a week sometimes more... I run a website for our local scene... we run contests and demo days... I film and edit footage and put out a video about every 3 weeks.... Like Darin said, Its all about priorities. I MAKE wakeboarding a priority in my life and wakeboarding gives me back a ton in return.

Amen Luker

The more I read this thread, the more I wish there were more guys like you all in NE

hmm... take a look at some of the best riders in the world!!!... 90 % of them are older than you!!!

maybe when you're 50 you could complain like that. 20's, you're still a kid. You don't need a boat. All you need is Wakeworld, gas money, beer, and help cleaning up. Everybody that I have met on WW have been SUPER cool. The guys I ride with now, are the BEST friends I could ever have.

boat whore

i lost it my second year of medical school. first year, i still rode a lot and my grades reflected it and i had to work my ass off my second year to get my average up. have one year left, then im getting back into it hard.

but honestly my knees could use another year to heal.

At 31...I'm in better physical, mental and financial shape than I was at 21 - I've always found a way to get out on the water-even when I was young, broke, and raising a daughter at 19. Lot easier now that I have a boat. I get out as often as I can and will continue to do so until I can no longer and hope I can make it at least as long as my dad has thus far - 63 and goes out with us EVERY single time and rides just as often as all of us half his age. Going wake to wake no less. When will I feel like I've lost wakeboarding? Hope never, or at least not in the forseeable future.

Like luker said and Darin before - priorities. Ain't nothing like being out on the boat and shreddin some butter, whether your 11...21..31...60+. If the desire is there - you'll find a way.

This thread is funny to me...

Physically I'm as good if not better than I was at 21, mentally I don't take as many chances. That's the only difference. I'll still work on any trick, I just won't push it as hard.

I'll be 45 this year. No excuses, No money for boat gas,(MY boat , Bad economy ) So we hit the cable after a hard days work on Wed nights. Find the time, There is no way in hell that I'm going to let my 10 year old show me up!

i'm 22 and don't see myself doing anything but getting better. I quit riding for a year and a half when i was doing school and work. I was bummed at first when i came back cause i wasn't landing my 7's or mobes, etc. So i started doing spins and different things. I am having more fun now than i've ever had and landing things i never thought i would consider trying. That kid stevo^ started riding not long ago on a small boat wake not made for wakeboarding and recently started riding cable and has gotten fs and bs 360's, 180's, and almost a backroll(if he wouldnt let go of that dang handle!!) and starting to throw some steez into his rail hits. I don't see him doing anything but progressing. My 7's still suck but grabbing and poking out 1's and 3's are more fun anyways. Just find somebody who is always wanting to learn more! or wakeskate, its a nice change

I feel your pain bro...I mean, I have never been that great but I used to ride 2 to 3 times a week from age 18-21....I was single then but now Im 24, engaged, work 20 something hrs a week, and am a full time student and I just dont have the time to ride anymore! I got out like 7 or 8 times last year...and I forsee this year being worst. But Im not complaining, honestly my priorities have changed since then. I used to put wakeboarding above school and work, now Im trying to graduate and be able to pay rent.....not to mention the lady likes to go out on weekends haha...but life is good!

this is a depressing thread, i dont wanna grow up! i wanna stay 17 forEVER

Justin, give me a freaken break dude! Hell I am 43 years old, ride every weekend, board, surf, foil, skate and even barefoot when the dam lake lice isn't ripping up the cove. I start at the lake on the water by 6 am, get in enough sets until the green horns get out there and kill it, head to the cove, after 6, 10, 12 beers later, get back out there for a few more sets till 7:00 pm, go home, take 2 shots of Jack for knee pain, eat an 16 oz steak, get a shot of leg, sleep and get up and do it all over again! Mine you that I spent 12 years Army some as an DI, got out full time because they would not let me shoot anyone anymore in some foreign county, so 3 purple hearts later, join the Air Force as an Flight RN and still kicking @$$!! Also I can out run almost all the 20 something Airmen in my Unit and they ask me what the heck I am taking or doing to run so fast. So I tell them, get shot 3 times and hear a gun go off close to you and you will run like heII also!

Just get your sorry @$$ in the gym and stop sucking your mom's breast and ween yourself onto some real man juice and you will be fine!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....ROFLMAO!!!!!!Dude...You got to be kidding me!!! With that attitude you are done. Andy hit it dead on (no pun) It is about priorities. Certainly your life will change as you grow older. You will have life changes your entire life. And the more you have, the more you have to re-evaluate your priorities. I am a 55 year old woman...started wakeboarding at age 49. I have a 14 year old son and I work full time with lots of overtime. In the winter I work out with a trainer and ride 1 day a week. In the summer I ride 3-5 days a week....training for Nationals and Worlds. I got the Masters Women division started and this year the Womens Vets division for Nats and Worlds. You think it is easy??? I don't do what I do by sitting on my butt thinking about how old I am. Nothing worth doing is easy to prioritize. My life is one big juggle act. And I have all the aches and pains of a 50+ rider and have had back surgery. So sorry dude.....not one ounce of sympathy here...get out and ride!!!! And be thankful for the time you DO have on the water.

Luker....Good for you !!!!!!!

Those last post's are priceless! Way to tell him!

Justin - If you absorb the information you started this thread with, I think you will find that AGE is not what is affecting your riding. It's the not riding that has you singing the blues. I bought my 8th house when we moved to Florida, so I know what it's like not to have a crew to ride with. You just have to develop your own or find one to hang with. At 45 & 3 blown ACLs (getting close to total knee replacement), I accept that I'm not going to learn a huge new bag of tricks. But for me, wakeboarding is more about that passion you described and the stoke of watching others progress. Just get out on a boat with some new peeps & you'll find the passion that seems to have faded simply due to not getting out. Life is too short to live regrettably....Take control - make it happen!

God I hope I dont lose wakeboarding at 21...... Cause i started at 24. Seems like a losing battle.

While school will get in the way, live up college. You should have more free time now at college. You arent in school nearly as much as high school. Just ride to have fun, dont make it a chore.

Justin, I'm on Commerce Lake in Walled Lake and don't know exactly what I'll be doing for work thi summer just yet, but whatever it is, I'll be out whenever I can. Hit me up if you ever want to try and make it over here for a set. Also, I'm gonna be trying to set up trips down to WakeNation as often as possible and could always use more people to cut down on gas money and with enough people, may take a trip down with the RV if you wanna be kept in the loop on any trips down there

I bet the ladies don't seem as interesting anymore either since you're past your prime!

You make time for stuff you love... Thats the way i see it. Im 26... i first touched a boat at 22... i dont have my own boat but still manage to get out there one way or another...

take advantage of the fact that your dad was able to get you a better boat to progress... there is ALWAYS time for your passion.

It's easier than you think to keep riding in your life. Just maximize the opportunity.

Take trips to areas with easy access.

Pick a college that has lakes nearby.

Ride more cable parks. They are popping up EVERYWHERE!

Learn to kiteboard. (then start riding in boots)

Any of these things will double your time on the water and keep you stoked will into your old age of mid 20's...

Well I am 36 and learning new tricks and getting the ones I have with grabs so you don't loose it if you take care of yourself and above still love to ride

Life is all about choices, you are choosing to stop wakeboarding.

NEVER!

If you love it you will do it. Just make the time and huck huge when you get there!

is this a joke...

JUSTIN! Get Off Your A55!
Justin? .......I think we lost him....

I'm 58and I love to ride. i just wish I had done this earlier in life....say when the Roman's filled the Coliseum with water and had battles. The real old days.

Seriously though, I have found boarding has been a great way to hang with my kids who are now in their 20's and their friends. Additionally, I have made great friends in all the ages in between. It doesn't get much better than boatin, grillin and chillin with family and good friends. Life changes your perspective and that can be VERY good.

As for your dilema, I can relate with another sport, tennis. I used to play a lot and was pretty good. My skills diminished somewhat I i got discouraged to play. The epiphany was that I was never going to be a pro and if I enjoyed the sport, then just have fun. During this non-boarding season, I am playing three times a week and my expectations are to play the best I can regardless of winning or losing.

If you are having fun....DO IT

If not, find something else to do.

I really think this comes down to the following answer(s).

When you want to.

When you can no longer do it - however, even if you're physically unable to wakeboard you may still be involved in various aspects of wakeboarding which will still allow you therefore to be part of wakeboarding.

I'm turning 30 next month and I still go crazy when I don't ride. The only difference from my age now compared to my early 20's was I go less crazy in the winter. I used to ride all year long. Now, I wait till the weather gets warm.

"even if you're physically unable to wakeboard"
thats like saying you are physically unable to play tennis

I lost wakeboarding six years ago when I got my first wakeskate.