Why Your Backside 180 Ollies Suck (Probably, if they're like mine)

Backside 180 Ollie by TET

I've been doing backside 180 ollies on my skateboard for almost as long as I've been skateboarding. It's not really that hard a trick to learn, except it is, if you want to do them well.

Usually, when I'm practicing my backside 180 ollies on flat, my first attempt will be my best, and then my technique will kind of deteriorate from there. Except for that one jaggy attempt where I successfully land the backside 180 ollie then continue to pivot on my back truck another 180 degrees. Which is only a cool trick if you actually meant to do it.

Recently I spent an entire driveway skate session working on my backside 180 ollies. My goal was to get them higher, rotate my body more effectively, and to bend my back leg more (a common problem for most people is not really bending the back leg as you ollie).

You can watch my session and decide if I made any progress in the video below.

The thing is, I know everything I'm doing wrong with my backside 180 ollies, and what I should be doing to fix it. The trouble is putting those fixes into practice.

If your backside 180 ollies look like mine then these are the things you need to work on:

Turning your head and shoulders earlier to guide your ollie, rather than having your head and shoulders follow your feet around.
Dragging your front foot up the board more - just like you do for a regular ollie.
Bending the back leg up considerably more so it doesn't block the board from leveling out as a result from dragging your front foot.

I have noticed, since this session, my backside 180 ollies are often a little higher than they were but I still have quite a way to go before they look great.

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