The best sport for a 12 or 13 year old who is starting late is one with a real beginner level, where a new teen trains with other beginners instead of with players who started at 6, and where there is a way to compete later if they want to. Fencing is one of those. Competition is split by age and, for older fencers, by rating, so a beginner fences beginners, and the first class is the same for a 12 year old as for anyone. At our club in Austin, teens aged 12 to 18 train on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings, and the first class is free.
Why starting at 12 feels late
In many popular team sports, children start young, and by middle school the teams are full of players with years of games behind them. A teen who joins then may sit on the bench while they catch up. The answer is to pick a sport where starting at 12 or 13 is normal.
What to look for in a sport for a teen beginner
- A beginner group for their age, so they are not the only one learning the basics.
- Individual progress they can see, week by week.
- A way to compete later, at their own level, and no need to compete at all if they do not want to.
- Something they actually like: speed, strategy, the water, the outdoors. Ask them.
Individual sports often fit these best. Individual sports for kids who do not like team sports goes through the common ones.
Why fencing works for late starters
Beginners train with beginners. At our club, the 12 to 18 group has a beginner group and an Elite group that train side by side, each at its own level.
Competition goes by age and rating. USA Fencing groups youth events by birth year, and in the senior divisions a fencer rated D or lower, or still unrated, fences in Division III, not against the top fencers. Nobody needs a rating to start competing. How fencing ratings work, and your first tournament explains the letters and the age groups.
It rewards thinking. Fencing is one opponent at a time, and timing and reading the partner count as much as speed. In sabre, a rule called right of way decides who, if anyone, scores when both fencers hit at once. A teen who likes strategy games may enjoy that.
It has a college side. In the 2024-25 season, US colleges had 45 NCAA women's fencing teams and 36 men's teams, according to the NCAA's own count. It is a small sport in college, and fencing and college gives the honest numbers.
Is 12 or 13 too late for fencing?
No. Teens can start from zero, and adults start at 19 and older in our Wednesday class. How far a teen gets depends on how often they train and how much they want it, as in any sport. At what age can kids start fencing? covers every age, and is fencing hard to learn? gives an honest timeline.
Our teen groups
- When: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 6:30 to 8:30 PM.
- Ages: 12 to 18. An 18-year-old trains in the teen group.
- Beginners: from $150 a month at once a week, $190 at twice and $240 at three times, plus the $500 annual membership every member pays.
- Elite: for fencers aged 12 to 18 (and 7 to 11) who want to compete, four times a week, $275 a month. It is open to join; there is no invitation needed.
- Kit: we lend the mask, jacket, glove and blade free for the first month, then it is $40 a month to rent, or your own.
The first step is one free class. Your teen can come without knowing anything: we teach sabre from the first stance. Parents are welcome to watch that first class, and after it you decide. There is nothing to pay for it.
Call Coach Pasha at (408) 592-1244. If he is on the strip, leave a voicemail: he calls back within 24 hours. Or leave your number and he calls you.
