5 Tips To Ollie Higher
An Ollie is the action of using your board to bring yourself off the ground. Simple. They are is one of the most important tricks in snowboarding as you will use them everywhere and in pretty much every trick. They are basically like butter to toast, they're not essential to make toast work but they make it wayyy better.
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(Narrating/Riding: Natalie Sagar. Film/Edit: Adison MacDonald. Filmed at: Whistler Blackcomb)
How To Ollie
- To initiate to Ollie, start by bending your knees and applying a little pressure to your front foot
- Slide your board forwards underneath you to load pressure on the tail
- Release this pressure which will allow the board to bring you into the air
When you do this quickly, the Ollie is almost a wave like motion. It looks like you're lifting your front foot up and leaning backwards on your tail, but really, it's the movement of lifting your board forwards that creates pressure over your back foot and the tail of the board.
It's All In The Back Foot
Your back foot and the tail of your board act as the main spring in the Ollie that will allow you to pop off the ground. Once your weight is shifted slightly backwards, push off the ground with your back foot as if you're trying to jump upwards into the air.
It will feel like you're snapping the board into the air and you will feel the momentum of your body moving upwards.
It will feel like you're snapping the board into the air and you will feel the momentum of your body moving upwards.The Air
Once you're in the air, re-centre your weight over your board so you can land evenly on both feet and ride away. Look forward to where you want to land the Ollie, not down at your board.
Where To Try Them?
Try your first Ollie's on flat ground. It's harder to get a nice high Ollie, but it's a safe place to start practicing the wave like motion technique.
The next best spot ofter the flats, are off rollers and knuckles of jumps. Try to perform your Ollie from the flat section, landing into the downward slope.
This slight drop in terrain will give you more air and make your Ollie's feel amazing.
This slight drop in terrain will give you more air and make your Ollie's feel amazing. Next, it's time to do Ollie's over features. Set up sticks as obstacles or popping over small snowballs. Eventually, you can use the Ollie to pop onto features in the park, like street syle rails and boxes.
Common Mistakes
A common mistake when learning your first Ollie's is to spring off the ground with both feet like a bunny hop rather than using the wave like motion. By doing this, you will not be able to get as much height off the ground as you can springing off the tail of your board.
Use these tips and avoid these common mistake and you'll be Ollie-ing higher than ever before!
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Alex McCann
Snowboard Addiction
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