The skateboard jump is called an ollie. An ollie is the trick where you jump and the skateboard sticks to your feet. It looks like magic at first but anyone can learn how to do it.
When doing an ollie it looks like the skateboard is glued to your feet. The ollie is the foundation for a lot skateboard tricks. Go to this page learn how to do a skateboard ollie and what other tricks will help you learn them.
Most skaters can ollie about 12" on flat ground. The pros can ollie as high as 44" on flat ground. If you can imagine that. It is almost 4 feet high.
Ollies can also be done backwards, off ramps, drops and stairs to gain more height. Once you learn to ollie you can do what ever you want with it.
The ollie was first done on a skateboard halfpipe by a skater called Alan “Ollie” Gelfand. It was in 1977.
While rolling on a halfpipe he would kickturn turn at the top of the ramp land and roll back down the ramp.
He started to hit the tail on the ramp when he got to the top. This pop allowed the skateboard to leave the ramp while he was turning.
The trick allowed him to get air on a halfpipe without using his hands. It was named the Ollie because that was his nickname.
Rumor has it that a few years later the freestyle skater name Rodney Mullen figured out how to do an ollie on flat ground. He learned how to time it so well that he could go several feet into the air. We know that he did learn this because of the skate videos that he was in.
He also figured out how to many other tricks by flipping and moving the board. These innovations are what made modern street skating possible.
The progression of the ollie made skateboarding a much more interesting activity. Thousands of tricks were being done from this basic jump. The ollie was hugely responsible for making skateboarding as popular as it is today.
To do a skateboard ollie you will need to know a few things first. Learn these basic skateboard tricks first. If you can do them then you will have the balance and coordination needed to learn an ollie very quickly.
Learn these basics and you will save yourself a lot of time. You will get a time savings and you will already know a few tricks too.
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