If you enjoy snowboarding, you will know all the essential snowboarding skills to master. One of the crucial snowboarding tricks is to learn how to ollie. The perfect way to successfully ollie on your snowboard is by getting your feet off the ground and in the sky.
If you’ve recently started to snowboard, we suggest you learn to ollie on your snowboard right away, as more difficult snowboarding techniques are based on this infamous ollie technique. Ollies let you have the most fun in the snow, so why not understand the science behind this technique.
Luckily for you, we will teach you (step-by-step) the perfect way to ollie on your snowboard.
Step 1: Pick a Hill
First, you’ll have to pick a hill adequate to practice your ollie. You’ll find many types of hills, but you have to ensure to choose one that doesn’t challenge you too much. Even pro snowboarders are careful regarding the hill they surf on. So, you must pick a hill that isn’t too steep and doesn’t intimidate you. Also, your chosen hill shouldn’t be too large where you might lose control of your snowboard and injure yourself.
Step 2: Start With Going Down
After you’ve picked the perfect hill, the next step on the list is slowly starting to snowboard. You can decide whatever direction you want to go in. However, you’ll have to ensure a slow speed, as going too fast can make you lose control in the snow. Another thing you’ll have to do is relax mentally and physically if you want to snowboard safely. You’ll have to leave your body relaxed, more neutral; if you don’t, you might lose balance on your snowboard.
Step 3: Straighten Your Snowboard
You might not know this, but footwork is significantly involved in an ollie jump. So, when you’re going down in the snow, please place your back foot behind your front one. After that, ensure your snowboard is precisely in the direction you’re going in. If your snowboard loses alignment and your feet aren’t placed correctly, you wouldn’t be able to ollie successfully. When your snowboard is straight and snowboarding at a steady pace, prepare for your jump.
Step 4: Bend Your Knees
Balance is everything when it comes to ollieing on your snowboard. If you wish to ollie successfully and not hurt yourself, you’ll have to ensure your body language is in control. The perfect way to look after your body language is by lowering your hand and arms so they’re parallel to the ground. You will also have to bend your knees to control your feet. The best way to acquire control and balance is by lowering your steady and slow motion.
Step 5: Shift Weights
You should know that jumping requires much power from your back foot. So, when you’re about to jump, please remember to shift your weight to your back leg to have a powerful jump. Also, your front foot will be guiding the snowboard, so you have to distribute weights evenly between both legs. The more weight your back foot has, the more powerful your ollie will be. So, if you master shifting weights evenly, you’ll be good to go.
Step 6: Bend the Tail
Your snowboard is pretty flexible, so remember to bend its tail before you jump. It’s vital to turn your snowboard’s tail to get a strong bounce in the snow. Twisting the tail will allow a springlike force that helps you have a powerful jump. Think of it as getting more energy to jump higher off the ground. The sooner you bend the tail, the more powerful your ollie will be. Hence, you must understand the importance of having a flexible snowboard and bending its tail.
Step 7: Jump
If you’ve followed all the steps mentioned above, it’s time to jump off the ground officially. You must jump with all your energy to ensure your jump is powerful. We suggest you lift your front foot first and push your arms high in the sky. This maneuver will provide you with more momentum, allowing you to have an excellent first ollie. Another tip for a substantial jump is lifting your knees and bringing them to your chest to get more force and momentum.
Step 8: Prepare to Land
After you’ve had a significant jump, it’s also vital you come down in the snow safely. The best way to ensure that is by placing your feet equally on the snowboard. Please confirm your front foot is placed squarely in front of your back foot. If it isn’t, you’ll have to adjust your motion carefully, or you might have a pretty bad fall. Since you don’t want that, it’s better to use your feet to even out your snowboard and ensure you have a smooth landing.
Step 9: Shift Weight to the Center
To have a safe landing, you’ll have to place your body weight at the center of your snowboard. If you observe closely, we had you shifting your weight to your back foot more when about to jump. While that significantly helps with jumping, evenly distributing your weight helps you make a smooth landing. Let both of your feet absorb the shock of landing, or you might not land correctly, causing an injury.
Step 10: Land
After pulling your weight to the center of your snowboard, you’re now ready to land. Please bend your knees parallel to the ground to ensure you don’t have a terrible fall. Further, allow yourself to come down naturally by ensuring your body’s relaxed. If your body experiences stiffness, you might wipe out and injure yourself. So, to have a safe landing, let gravity do its work by pulling you safely onto the ground.
Our Final Thoughts
If you wish to ollie successfully on your snowboard, you must carefully follow the steps mentioned above. If you fail to stick to any steps, you might fall badly, causing a significant injury. After your ollie, you may continue to snowboard straight in the snow at whatever speed you desire.
