Some Simple Exercises to Help With Technique. Jump, pop, slide!
One of the difficulties with learning to ollie is that it contains a combination of different movements which you don't come across in normal everyday life. These have to be executed together with the correct timing and if things go wrong it could lead to a painful encounter with unforgiving concrete so threre is a fear factor too.
The Hippie Jump
The first part of the ollie is jumping. This gets your body in the air and unweights to board to allow you to get that airborne too. The hippie jump is a great way to practise jumping straight up and landing back on the board. One of my problems was crouching down with me weight backwards which made it very hard to ollie properly. The hippie jump is easy to do and makes sure that your weight is centered. Start slowly then build up speed and height, try variations by jumping off your toes, lifting your front foot first and tucking your knees up in front of you.
Pop and Slide
I think of getting the board in the air as a sort of juggling act with your back and front foot. In the ollie this would be done at the same time as you are jumping up and the board is weightless but to help get the timing right I found it useful to sit on the side of a bench or fence so I could concentrate on the getting the foot movements right. Use the back foot to tap the tail sharply on the floor and the front foot to guide it in the air.