HELP WITH MY OLLIE!!

So I’ve recentally started skating again!

I’ve started learning the ollie after studying closely the how to ollie video on this website and I’ve been practicing for a few days now.

I have noticed some problems.

#1: When I land my board turns inwards. So say its facing west after I land the ollie it’s facing northwest .

#2: Most of the time after I land I either fall forwards or backwards off the board. Not like completely decking my self just like loose my footing and slightly slip off.

How can I fix these problems?  P.S I am goofy footed.
Thanks.

Hey mate!

For #1, it sounds like you’re doing half a frontside shove-it, which is a very back-foot oriented trick and makes me think the direction of your front foot after popping could be a little off. It’s usually better to have your heel dangling over the edge of the board after an ollie than have your toes dangling off. Does that make sense? Try to keep your front foot centered as best you can while ollieing. The fact the board isn’t flipping is actually a good sign as far as your front foot is concerned, so don’t be too discouraged…

With that being said, it could be your back foot being a little too much in the “pocket”, or too close to the edge of the board, which causes it to turn. Keep in mind for many tricks the back foot is (counter-intuitively) more important than the front - playing around with your back foot position can be really helpful in figuring out tricks. Nobody positions their feet quite the same and different things work for different people! Another thing you could mess around with is your shoulder position when ollieing; switch it up between side-on and more front-on and see what differences it makes. Being more side-on could help with the board staying straight.

For #2, the first thing I’d always say is make sure you’re going fast enough. It’s easier to land tricks with some speed than going slowly.

If you’ve got the speed, just make sure you’re staying over the board and landing as close to both feet on the bolts as possible. You really have to stay on top and flow with the momentum of the board. This is one of those things you just get used to over time, and one reason a lot of skaters quit or give up is because it takes a lot of time to get this right! Once you get it, though, you’ve got it for good. Breaking through those first barriers is tough.

I guess in summation, my biggest tip is pretty much always: trial and error. Different foot positioning, different shoulder positioning, different speeds. People can get hung up on trick tip videos because they think there’s only one way to do something; they’re great as a guide, but slight modifications are always encouraged!

Let me know if you have any more questions…

Thanks mate.

Great stuff, @walker!

@jardenblack26, let us know how you go!