An ollie is one of the most fundamental skateboarding tricks that many future tricks are built on. With that being said, it can take some time to fully master. It actually took Aaron Kyro 6 months to finally get his ollie high enough to get it over a garden hose!
Don’t be discouraged if you have been working on it a while and can’t seem to get your board off the ground. Let’s see if we can help you with that.
Now, it’s easier than ever to learn how to ollie how to ollie higher. YouTube is filled with countless videos on the above. If there was ever a time to learn how to ollie, it’s now.
Let’s break it down!
The key is breaking the trick down and working on each step over and over until your muscle memory just clicks in.
A quick first step you can take is starting with your back wheels in a crack in the sidewalk. This will help you from slipping and makes it easier to focus on getting the Ollie down and not worry about the balance as much.
Foot Position
As with any skateboarding trick, the foot position is very key. Your back foot is going to need to be at the center of the tail with your foot hanging off the edge just a little bit. You’ll be right on the ball of your foot, so that you can snap it down hard. This action will cause the board to pop off the ground propelling into the air.
Your front foot is going to need to be just down from the front bolts, pretty close to the center at a perpendicular angle. You are going to want enough room to get a nice drag with your front foot. That is why the front foot position is so very important.
When you’re trying to ollie higher, your front foot will be slightly farther back than it normally is. This lets you drag more on the board, helping you get the height you need. So getting proper foot placement for your ollie is vital to being able to perform a good ollie that you can use for later tricks.
Popping the tail

Your next step is going to be popping the tail of the board down onto the ground. When you pop the board you are going to want to push straight down with your back foot.
This is going to need to be a sharp hop with your back foot. The point of this action is to snap the tail of the board against the ground so that it pops back up, starting the motion of the board going into the air.
One of the most common problems with getting higher ollies is with the back foot. If you’re having trouble getting them off the ground, this might be the key to helping you. When you pop the back foot, you have to use your ankle to pop it and be ready to pop the board up. You don’t want your back foot to act as an anvil that prevents the board from elevating into the air.
You are going to want to practice just this step to get use to this motion alone. Put your wheels in a crack to make it easier. Practice pushing the tail into the ground with your feet in the ollie position. You should practice this for at least 15 minutes straight. Yes, 15 minutes. Putting the time in now to practice it will greatly help you in the long run.
The front foot drag
Another common problem is with the front foot drag. When you’re starting out, you may think your toes are dragging with the bottom of your shoe. It’s actually the outside-center of your foot, and with the side of your shoe.
When you pop the board, roll your front foot ninety degrees to the side of your shoe. Then, slide your front foot forward towards the nose of the board.
To practice, this you are going to be standing still with the tail of the board on the ground and your front wheels in the air. You are going to practice sliding your foot up the board using the proper part of your foot. When practicing this, you can slide your front foot from the middle of the board in order to get that height that you’re looking for.
You can actually check this by looking at your shoe and seeing where you shoe is starting to wear. Unfortunately, it is important that you shoe is wearing away. If it isn’t wearing away it means that you are not sliding your foot correctly. That can be a major error effecting your ollie.
If your foot is staying flat on your board as you are sliding it up you are not going to get the lift that is needed to get the board in the air. So make sure that your foot is rolling onto its side. Your shoe will show you.
Practice this step for another 15 minutes.
Positioning the board
Now the next part, after you have done those first two major steps of the ollie is, you want to push the board forward slightly and lift your back foot up off the ground. This motion of pushing your front foot forward will get the board to level out in the air.
When you see pro skaters performing high ollies, you’ll see them bring their knees up to them as close to their upper body as possible. This is important to high ollies. You have to actually jump and allow your board to stay under you and slightly in front of you.
Now, it is very important that this push forward with your front foot occurs at the same time that you lift your back foot off the ground. If your back foot does not come off the ground, your board won’t either.
Landing
Now you are in the air with you board leveled out underneath you. This is the last step, but without this one the trick doesn’t count. This, of course, is the landing.
Extend your legs down till your wheels hit the ground. Once they touch the ground absorb the impact by bending your knees slightly. You are going to want to make sure that you are not leaning back at this time, which can sometimes be hard to do especially when you are learning.
You want your weight evenly distributed so the board doesn’t shoot out from underneath you. So make sure that you are learning forward over your board so that it stays where you want it, under you.
Putting them together
Now you want to practice these steps individually and then practice these steps individually and then practice these steps individually. Then once you feel comfortable with all these separate motions you want to put them all together, going for the full ollie. Practicing it all together will also give you an idea of what you can be better at.
If you can’t land it after awhile, go back to each practice step and go through the motions of each for about 10 minutes. This is all about getting used to the muscle memory that’s necessary for this trick.
Learning How to Ollie Recap
So let’s go over those steps again:
- Place the ball of your back foot right on the end of your board in the center of the tail. Place your front foot behind the bolts with enough room for your foot to slide up.
- Snap the tail of your board down with a quick hop from your back foot. Remember to lift it so the board can actually go up.
- Sliding the side of your front foot up the board with the center of your foot.
- Kick your front foot forward while simultaneously lifting up your back foot. Creating the actual jump of your ollie and leveling out the board under you.
- Extend your legs for landing and absorb with your knees on impact. Make sure you are not leaning back.
Once you learn the ollie, everything else will be a lot more fun. Even jumping up and down curbs when cruising around town makes it a lot more fun. The key is to practice them, and practice getting them higher. Once you do that, you’ll be able to ollie gaps, stairs, cones and whatever else you want.
For the full break down on exactly how to ollie with all the practice steps, get Skateboarding Made Simple Volume 1. This is an incredibly detailed lesson plan that will always keep you progressing and getting better on your skateboard!! Fast.
As always, we want to see your ollies! The ollie is one of the most common tricks that new skaters have trouble with. We want to put out as many tutorials as we can to make it easier to learn. Film a quick video of your ollies and tag @brailleskate, #brailleskate and #brailleskateboarding on Instagram. We love seeing you guys progress! So go out there, keep skating and land those ollies!
good explaining
it helpt me much
This helped me a lot , but it dont talk a bout keeping your shoulders parallel with the board so you dont spin . That was a problem of mine when I fitst started.
I had had the same issue but then someone told me about my shoulders.
This helps alot with my foot movement but my balance is better with a nollie tho and i cant switch my balance back to normal
I can do a ollie but I cant get very far off the ground what do I do? I have watched tons of skateboarding videos, I recently broke my trucks and I am getting a skateboard from a skateshop, maybe this will help if I choose a specific skateboard from the skate shop.
Just keep practicing. The more you practice the better you’ll get.
Can’t really understand the front foot sliding, griptape probably too fine and my foot isn’t flexible
thank you
I’ve watched these videos tons of times. It seems simple but I have gotten to the point where all I can do is pop the board up. My foot goes into the 90 degree angle but then it doesn’t slide. Any advice?
Just try doing it on the geound first and get used ti the drag. helped me getting more confident destroying my shoes XD
think of it as sliding the board and then keep sliiding and it should work automaticly
U also need the right shoes
Your grip tape might be to rough
gotta practice pushing your knee out while sliding
In the first paragraph you wrote hair instead of air but I love your videos and great tutorials
Haha! Well spotted Logan—somehow just came across this. Fixing it now (though I think getting one’s board up into the hair is pretty sweet too) ?
I’ve been watching Braille for over a year, and skate boarding for 2, but through all of this I have never been able to do an Ollie, this really helped, Thanks
yeah the same happens to me
thanks for the help
I can pop but foot won’t slide please help me
still can’t ollie its too hard
I watch your videos and it helped me a lot and I can learn how to skate
I can pop but the skateboard doesn’t go high enough
I can say what helped me get my board higher was working on timing. After smacking the tail wait for the board to get as close to 90° as possible. I know this makes the effort and slide needed way less. I also recommend holding on to a rail or something chest high, this allowed me to understand my timing and what my legs should do to Ollie as high as possible. Once you start to get that timing down, I recommend attempting them rolling. Height and timing will come with continued practice. I am 36 and I really couldn’t skate well as a teen, but learning that completing one Ollie didn’t mean I was ready to move on. I am now working on adding speed to rolling while I Ollie to start clearing stuff in my way. I needed to also tell myself one good Ollie doesn’t mean I am ready to move on, until I can Ollie without needing to think about what my feet are doing. Keep at it and you will get there. Most people cannot get the wheels off the ground so you are doing amazing.
Finally got all 4 wheels off the ground but I keep landing premo.How do I fix that?
that means your back foot isn’t in the middle of the tail, if it’s at either sidr the board will flip.
I think you might not have your lead foot enough on the board. Make sure to have your slide foot straight across the board and when sliding, move straight towards the nose. When I started I slid on the ball of my foot and it was causing a partial kickflip and the primo landing. I worked on ollies with my front foot flat and now I am able to start the Ollie flat and then jumping and sliding with the ball of my foot. This has allowed me to go from about 12 inches of height to now about 80% of them are close to 16-18 inches. The key though is to start with your lead foot perpendicular and flat on the board. Once these are done without much effort or thought, I start with my foot flat on the board and that puts it in position for the jump from the ball and the slide for more height.
The drag does not make my skate go forwards
Hey Braille team my names Daniel and I’m a really big fan. I try to do the Ollie countless times and I can get my board off the ground a little bit but I just can’t get my board to go any higher is there any way that you guys can help me at all? It’s asking a bit much but I live in Pittsburg tx and I was wondering if I could get one of you guys to come down here and help me at all? P.S. I love the videos and keep up the good work
Hi Daniel! I wish we could fly out and help you, but I don’t think that’s possible for us right now.
Have you watched our YouTube video “How to Ollie higher the easiest way tutorial“?
I just would like to say thank you to everyone at Braille. My main goal is to learn flip tricks, but I have learned that without a solid foundation of ollies I will never accomplish this. The only wisdom I can impart to anyone looking at this comment is to practice this base for every single trick to come. I have and it is helping me improve drastically. I had to tell myself that even though I can Ollie while rolling, I cannot do so without putting lots of thought into form and foot placement. I am slowly but surely getting to this point and this is thanks to watching Brailleskateboarding for the last 6 month’s. My only advice is to master this trick because trying to move to fast only causes frustration. Watching Arron and the Braille team be amazing took them years to learn. No person hops on a deck and is able to tre-flip instantly. Time takes time and mastering the Ollie will give you the confidence needed to commit to the more advanced tricks.
the best i landed an ollie in six hours
Nice! Keep it up!
SHOUld a beginner learn to Ollie on a nickel board made by penny Australia, it’s very hard there’s no grip tape and no nose, google said
its way harder pls respond
I can’t ollie. I just can’t get the board to go up more than 2 inches. PLEASE HELP
Helped a lot a lot
Levelling the board is hard please help ma or give some tips on levelling out my board in ollies
Hi there! Feel free to email us at contact@brailleskateboarding.com and we can give you some tips and tricks 🙂