How To Ollie

For most skateboarders, learning the ollie is a good starting point, because it's the foundation for just about every trick on the board. And yes, ollies can be a little tricky, but with a proper understanding of the move, you can drastically reduce your learning curve.

What's the secret? Basically, the ollie is only two steps—the pop and the slide.

Before you try and learn how to ollie, you should first feel comfortable riding, turning, and doing tic tacs. But assuming you've got all of that under control, here are four tips to help you ollie like a pro!

1. Get your body in the right position

The basics start with the right foot placement. Put your back foot on the tail of the board, and make sure your toes are completely on the skateboard. This is essential for a strong pop.

Your front foot should be just behind the front four bolts. Both feet should be perpendicular to the board--neither should be placed at an angle.

Keep your upper body straight, and keep your shoulders level and over each of your feet. Also, try and pay attention to the angle of your shoulder blade throughout the trick--in other words, do your best to not drop your back shoulder.

2. Step one is pop

The first step is pop. Now, this isn't an “air pop.” The reason it’s called “pop” is the back of your board must hit the ground and pop off of it. No sound? No ollie.

After popping, you need to wait for the front of your board to reach maximum height. This means waiting until after you hear your board hit the ground. If you don't wait, you won't have much of an ollie!

If you look at videos of skaters with the highest ollies on record, you'll see their boards go almost vertical just before they move their front feet forward.

3. Step two is slide

Now you're ready to slide. The slide and delay are equally important. The front foot must go firmly into the nose's front pocket.

There is a common statement in the skate instruction community, “equal but opposite pressure.” To make sure your ollie is balanced, make sure the pressure of your slide matches the pressure of your pop.

4. Landing the ollie

Your back truck must lift as high as your front, and the board will level out. If not, this is a “mobbed” ollie and won't have a ton of style. A mobbed ollie will work against you in any trick, because proper grinds, slides, and spins require a level board.

As you level out, keep your shoulders over the bolts, and land your ollie. Congratulations!

This tutorial was written by Goskate.com - an online skateboard school with in-person instructors throughout the United States.