The ollie is one of the easiest skateboarding tricks, yet one of the most important. Learning how to do an ollie can seem like a challenging task to beginner skateboarders, but if set and follow a two week action plan, you’re guaranteed to learn how to ollie in no time!
I strongly recommend that you practice from half an hour to an hour a day if you want to learn how to ollie as quick as you can. I suggest you practice on weekdays and take a break or just go skate around on the weekends.
Before you start, you must know what the ollie looks like. I suggest you watch some “how to ollie” videos on the internet so you know how they should look and the basic steps.
Days 1-2
For the first two days, you’ll want to practice getting the foot position down. Footing is key in learning how to ollie!
You want to place your front foot a little ahead of the board, and your back foot on the tail of the skateboard, with the ball of your back foot in the center of the tail. For the first two days, just practice this foot position and make sure you’re comfortable.
Days 3-5
For the rest of the week, I recommend you practice the general motion of the ollie. One of the most helpful ways to learn how to ollie is to visualize the trick in your mind first.
Stand over the board, in the ollie position. See yourself:
1. Popping the tail by slamming your back foot down hard on the tail
2. Jumping up
3. Dragging your front foot up towards the front of the board and
4. Leveling the board out and landing on the skateboard bolts
The key in learning how to do an ollie is being able to put those three things together.
After you visualized the ollie, it’s time to stand on the board and try it out. Remember to slam, jump, and drag.
Days 8-14
For the second week, you should continue practicing your ollies. By now, you should know exactly how to do an ollie, but probably have trouble actually getting the skateboard up. If you’re having a little bit of trouble, try out these tips:
– Do not bend too far down, because this can throw off your balance. Just give a slight squat.
– Suck up your legs after you pop to help get the board in the air
– Stay centered over your board as you pop and aim to land over the bolts
The only way to overcome this is practice and persistence. You have to experiment with the timing of the trick until you find something that works for you. It took me more than a month before I learned how to ollie.
Congratulate yourself when you finally learn how to ollie. You can now take them to new places, such as onto curbs, off of ledges and over obstacles!
Good luck learning how to ollie!