Big Trouble Ollying Little Stairs

I recently received an e-mail that read, "I have a problem in ollying over stairs, i get scared when land it, so i land it with one leg ... can you give me any advice?" This is the kind of question that I imagine a lot of you have, so I'm going to answer this here!

If you're having trouble ollying down stairs, there are a few things you can do. The biggest one is to start small, and ramp up slowly to the trick you WANT to do.

What I mean is, start with your ollie - Make sure that's dialed in nice and tight. Then, try ollying off of something short, like a shallow curb. Maybe skate down your driveway, and ollie off the very end onto your street. Then skate down a sidewalk, and try to ollie off the curb. Practice this until you are very comfortable and confident in it (That's what I mean when I say to make sure something is "dialed in").

Then find something a little higher. This might be a higher curb, or better yet find someplace where there is only one step going down. This could be in a plaza, or on a sidewalk in town. It might be tough to find a "one stair", but they exist! If you just can't find one, then you might need to build your own - some kind of ramp that maybe goes down your driveway and drops off the end. If you try to build something, get someone to help. It's really easy to build something and think it's safe, only to have to fall apart and try and murder you! Remember how the movie Hot Rod started? Just like that!

But that's the best way to get over the fear - ramp up SLOWLY. Get comfortable and confident at one level, then do something a little tougher. Take your time, and make sure you're enjoying yourself - otherwise, your frustration might get in the way.

ANOTHER way to get over landing one footed is to just force yourself to land with both feet. Good luck with this one - for some guys, this works. For others (including me), I could tell myself over and over to LAND WITH BOTH FEET!! ... but then it's like my body just does it's own thing.

The third way that I know of is to land with one foot, and then the next time you do the trick, land with only the OTHER foot. Switch back and forth. Eventually, you should be confident enough to land with both. This method isn't my style either, but again, it works for some people.

I think that the slow and steady work-your-way-up method is the best, but that's because it works for ME. For more details, read How to Ollie Down Stairs. Does one of these methods stand out to you when you read them? Give that one a shot. If it doesn't work, try another way! You'll get it. Take your time, and make sure you're still having fun! If any of you have any more suggestions or questions, or ways to work through this, leave a comment below!