Science of Ollie in skateboarding

Why does your board not rise even when you pop as hard as possible?

Have you ever wondered why you can pop the tail with a small energy while you are standing on the ground?

You can't lift your board no matter how hard you pop the tail while your body weight holds down your board.

So you need to remove your body weight on your board BEFORE popping.

If your body weight is not pushing down your board and is "floating" in the air, you can pop the tail with the same amount of energy as you are standing on the ground.

Popping does NOT lift your body. Extending your thighs does.

Extend your thighs to lift your body. In this process, your board stays flat as you push down your board with both feet evenly.

There are two body parts that could lift your body weight; thighs and calves. In skateboarding, thighs lift your body and calf pops the tail. Try to keep this difference in mind.

Common problem of popping

When you jump while standing on the ground, your both feet leave the ground at the same height. Your body floats in the air by pulling up your feet.

In an Ollie, you have to keep the pressure on your back foot after elevating your body.

If you loosen the pressure on your back foot when the pressure on your front foot decreases, you won't be able to transfer enough energy to the tail.

Keep your backfoot low before popping

Practice lifting your body while keeping your backfoot low. Once your body reaches high enough and your back leg starts to extend, use your calf and ankle and pop down the tail. Keep in mind that popping is the work of your calf, and jumping is that of thighs.

How strongly should you pop?

From this angle, you can see that my back foot's toe doesn't touch the ground. It proves a human's calf generates enough energy to pop the tail and lifts the nose high enough.

So a snap of your ankle is all you need. You don't have to stomp down the tail with your whole leg.

Is there a correct foot placement?

Putting the tip of your back toe on the tail allows you to transfer energy to the tail effectively. Place your front foot 1~2 inch behind the front bolts.

Some people put their back foot in the center of the tail, while others put theirs slightly to the side. Place them wherever you feel comfortable. Being able to approach stablly is more important.

Mechanics that elevates your board

Why does sliding up your front foot lift your board?

As you pop the tail, the nose goes up in a form of an arc and pushes your front foot back. If you slide up your front foot parallel to your board, this arc-shaped energy and the force of your slide combine and form a vertical upward momentum. Focus on sliding up your front foot parallel to your board.

Note you don't have to raise your front foot intentionally. The vertical force that lifts your board is a product of your front foot sliding up your board and the board pushing it back.

Should you roll your ankle?

Your front ankle rolls due to the arc-shaped force mentioned above. You don't have to roll it intentionally.

Also, rolling ankle alone doesn't mean anything if your body holds down your board. So practice jumping, popping, and sliding up your front foot. And your front foot will eventually roll. Once again, your goal here is NOT to roll your ankle but to cause friction between your front foot and your board.

Don't be consumed by Ollie

Some people leave skateboarding just because they can't Ollie. There are many different ways to enjoy skateboarding; sliding, skating on transitions, etc. Have fun. That's the key. If practicing Ollie is not fun, do something else and return to Ollies anytime.