Started leading sport first, then followed a couple of long multi-pitch routes with an experienced friend, bought a rack the following winter, red JL's Anchor books cover to cover, started at 5.6 and have been putting in lots of mileage on easy rock . . . led lots of 5.7 last summer and plan on leading lots of 5.8 this summer.
If you are not a AMGA trad climber, you are unsafe.
This from the guy who posted pics of how to 'safely' clip into an anchor by showing himself and his partner clipped in with ONE NON LOCKING BINER EACH?
I followed an extremely experienced (15+ years) mentor and practiced gear placements, anchors, etc. for a year before leading my first route.
i had never been climbing outside and didnt have any climbing friends at the time. so i went to the gunks and hired a guide for 3 days. we spent a day and a half climbing and a day and a half placeing gear and building anchors. read a couple books FOTH and anchors by JL. I went to the NRG about 2 months later with some buddys that had only gym climbed with me and started leading on gear. took my first whipper on my fourth lead a 5.9 called s&m. didnt lead sport till a few months after that. its lucky i didnt die somewhere along the way. good times but iwouldnt recomend this way to anyone