I do NOT think we ever get to old to create or have progress. At least that's what I tell myself, being four-five years younger than you 
No, honestly, I can see progress in my own work now that I've intensified my efforts, and there's nothing really special about me. I like the expression on your owl 
1st of all, welcome Tim! You're going to love it here - everyone is incredibly supportive and helpful of each other.
2nd of all, we're all at different stages of development and we're all here to learn - from the teachers and from each other. Don't ever feel intimidated about posting here - you'll get so much helpful feedback and information, along with a good dose of encouragement from everyone.
3rd, I just started drawing 5 years ago and I'm 44. You're never too old to learn or to follow what you're passionate about! Assuming we're not hit by a bus, you and I probably have a good 40 years left here on earth, so I'd say that we're still young enough to find & enjoy our creativity! And as an aside, I believe Van Gogh was almost 30 when he started teaching himself to paint (and he was self taught).
You said you're looking for a sketch group - there are a couple that I'm a member of that are really helpful. One is Illustration Friday and the other is 52-week Illustration Challenge on Facebook. Each of them has a weekly prompt and then everyone posts their resulting drawings. Nothing is going to help you more than practice and these groups definitely help with that. Here are the links:
52-Week Illustration Challenge group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/illo52weeks/
Illustration Friday: http://illustrationfriday.com/
Have fun here!