Once you can ride a full round cleanly, ollies are the next building block. An ollie is a flat-water pop where you jump off the water using only your board and body - no kicker needed. Shift your weight to the tail, spring off the back of the board, and level it out in the air. This skill opens the door to ollie-based tricks and hitting obstacles from flat water.
Learn more here:
Video by RIDERS App
Key tips
- Press the tail down first, then pop by extending your back leg
- Level the board out by bringing your front knee up
- Keep the handle close - it's easy to lose balance if your arms extend
- Start small and build height gradually
- Practice in both regular and switch stances
- Work on your timing by jumping over buoy before ollieing onto obstacles