The Ollie
Dateline: 07/02/00
The ollie is the most important trick in our modern day repertoire. Every other air trick that exists is based on it, so a skateboarder really must have it mastered to make any kind of respectable progress.
Named after Alan "Ollie" Gelfand for creating it in the late seventies, the "ollie" is basically a leap into the air during which the board stays flush with the feet. It's actually jumping the skateboard and can come in quite handy if, in your path, you happen across some vast crack in the sidewalk, or maybe a dead raccoon, or perhaps somebody's smelly old shoe or something.
Here are the essentials:
First off, for all you newbies out there, if you can't already balance perfectly on the board, don't be jumping it. Just don't, you're not ready. By the time you get to this stage you should already know how to
- stand on the board
- push the board
- skate in a straight-line
- execute a kickturn
- stop the board
For those to whom this instruction seems trivial, let us continue.
Though it seems backwards, you'll need to learn your landings first. Try practicing these by way of acid drops off of a short curb. To do this, simply roll the board toward the edge of a curb at a moderate speed. When you get to the edge lift the front wheels a bit and keep rolling until you drop off. When you land, bend your knees and make sure you land your feet over the trucks. You can really get hurt if you're not prepared to land so know how to do this before continuing.
Next, do the jump like so. Position the front foot just behind the front truck toward the middle of the board and the back foot a bit over the edge of the kicktail. Now crouch down on the board and compress. In one swift fluid motion, slam down on the kicktail with your back foot, jump high into the air and slide your front foot forward toward the nose of the board. Be sure to keep your shoulders lined up with the board so you go in a straight line. As you rise into the air, the board will come with you under your feet and upon landing you will have executed your first ollie.
You don't want to bust your rear on an unforgiving concrete slab, so for the jump please consider starting from a stationary position on the carpet or the grass as this is a great deal more safe. Once this is perfected, try to take your jump from the concrete to the grass, as in jumping from your backyard patio into your yard, or from a blacktop to the schoolyard. In this intermediate way you'll be able to practice the trick in three successive stages and refrain from any injury.
Note: If you fail to kick hard enough the board won't pop and you won't get any vertical rise. If you don't slide your other foot forward the board won't level out and you won't get any height. Do these things, it's imperative to your success. Let's reiterate. If the board isn't leveling out, you're not sliding your foot, though you might think you are. If this is the case, try it again.
Stay over the board at all costs (save serious impending physical injury.) Teaching yourself incorrectly to land safely beside the board is just not going to get you there. You must be up and over the board so that you can land on top of it. Always land forward with your feet over the trucks. If you land with both feet over the back truck the board is going to slide right out from under you and you're going to land on your rear, or your wrists, or god forbid knock your skull to the ground and give yourself a concussion. Please don't do that. Be careful.
Practice, practice, practice and don't attempt to go any further until you have mastered this vital trick. Once you have, everything else will seem easy by comparison.
Good luck!
