How to do an Ollie on a Skateboard? — 10 Simple Steps

Ayesha Khan
6 min readDec 21, 2023

--

Do you want to improve your skateboarding skill and learn how to do an Ollie?

When newbies try to learn skateboarding, the first trick is Ollie, which they want to learn. In this trick, the feet of the skater is on the board while they jump high in the air.

Through the Ollie skateboard trick, you can impress your friends even if you are at the initial stages of learning and jump over obstacles very well. Almost all park skateboarding and flatland tricks can be learned if you know how to do an Ollie.

In this article, we will discuss how to do an Ollie on a skateboard in ten simple steps.

Summary — How to do Ollie skateboarding?

1. Keep your front foot at the center of the skateboard.

2. Place your back foot at the tail of the board.

3. Slightly bend your knees.

4. Push the rear of the board with your back foot to lift its front.

5. Keep the weight of your body on the back foot quickly.

6. After this, the board’s rear will touch the ground and get ready for the jump.

7. At the time of the jump, your board’s front will lift diagonally by the energy you used in pushing the board’s rear.

8. At the peak of the jump, prepare yourself for the jump. You and the board should be parallel to the ground and your back foot should be on the board’s trucks at the rear.

9. While landing, if you feel, your body is not in balance, straighten out your legs.

10. When you reach the ground, keep your knees bend. This will prevent the board from going out and will lower the impact on your joints.

Things to Know Before Learning Ollie

· The process of learning can be much easier if you practice the tricks on a carpet or grass.

· Pay proper attention to your standing position on the skateboard. Keep your front foot on its center, and the back foot should be on the board’s tail.

· While lifting the board in the air, keep your knees bent, jump in the air, and press on the board’s back tail.

· After you jump, move your front foot to the board’s top end as soon as possible.

10 Simple Steps to do an Ollie

Step1

Place your front foot at the center of the skateboard. It is necessary to do this because when you start riding, your front foot should be the midpoint of balance. The position of this foot should be parallel to the board, behind the front trucks.

The height of the Ollie depends on your position on the board. If it is near the back, your jump height will be long, but landing well will be more difficult. On the other hand, if it is near the front, you will easily do a small jump.

Step2

Keep your back foot at the rear of the board; placing it as far as possible will make your jump easy and you will achieve a better grip. Your back foot will push the rear of the board in a way that the front will lift.

Most people keep only half of their back foot at the rear of the board while they jump in skateboarding. Instead of keeping your weight on the foot’s sole, place it on the ball of the foot. In this way, it will become easy to push the board downward.

Step3

After putting the front foot in the middle of the skateboard and the back foot at its tail, now bend your knees a little to get ready for the jump. Make the level of your shoulders and knees equal roughly.

The purpose of standing in this position is to keep yourself in balance. When you bend, try to stay on the balls of your feet. If you use your toes to push the board, it will go far away from you while you jump.

Step4

Move the front of the board up by pushing its rear with the back foot. Use the balls of your foot for pushing the rear of the board. When you will do this, move your board up with your front feet until its tail hits the ground.

These steps are important in learning an Ollie so practicing them will help you a lot.

Step5

Put the weight on the back foot rapidly; do this as fast as possible to gain momentum (energy). If you didn’t do this step quickly, you will not be able to achieve enough momentum to leave the ground and perform the Ollie successfully.

Step6

Make sure the tail of the board has touched the ground, then get ready to start your jump as soon as possible.

Step7

While you jump, the energy that you have used in pushing the tail of the board should cause its front to lift diagonally. When this will happen, your front foot will also move upward and will slide on the board quickly.

Step8

When you reach the peak of the jump, prepare yourself for landing. Your body and the board should be flying completely parallel to the ground. Your back foot should be on the board’s tail slightly resting on the bolts of the trucks.

It is very important to put your weight in the right spots. Because it helps keep you in balance at the time of landing and protects your board from breaking.

Step9

Before reaching the ground, straighten your legs. If at the time of jumping, you are at risk of falling or you are not in balance, start straightening your legs and put them over the board’s wheels.

In this way, you will achieve balance and some of the shocks will be absorbed by this.

Step10

When you reached the ground, let gravity do the next job. Let your knees bend and make a squatting position of your body. This position will help you so that the board does not go out and while reaching the ground it will lessen the effect on your joints.

People May Ask

What is the procedure of Ollie for beginners?

Beginners should always start practicing Ollie on a mat or grass so that any injury does not hurt them. They should practice all the steps of Ollie many times until they feel comfortable using it.

Why its too hard to learn the skill of Ollie?

Ollie is not easy to learn because it is not like a soccer ball in the mid-flight. To bring the board into the air is not the only thing; you have to direct it while it is in the air.

Which trick is hard to do on skateboarding?

The hardest skateboarding trick is the Gazelle flips which are so hard to learn that even experienced skateboarders take months to master this skill.

When we are moving, is it easy for Ollie?

While moving, doing Ollie is harder than doing it by standing still. But you can learn it by going slow and practicing it.

Is Ollie easy to do on small boards?

Flip tricks are easier on small-sized boards because they can move around faster. So, you get more time to hold the board and land the trick.

Final Thoughts

You can have an enjoyable ride on a skateboard by learning how to do an Ollie. It comes very convenient when you have to take jumps over obstacles. You will learn this trick by practicing a lot; your fear will be removed if you practice more.

Beginners should practice on surfaces like mats or grass so that any injury does not harm them. Starting this trick on concrete is very dangerous and will result in serious injuries.

--

--