Im having REAL trouble on doing an Ollie

Question
Dear Scott,

My names Joseph and Im having real trouble on doing an Ollie.i dunno how to put this ....
So Im a real beginner and i have been skating for only 2-3 weeks or so (regular footed). right now im trying to learn the ollie. i have a few problems in this.

1) Every time i Ollie my nose of the board always rotates to the left. I need this question to be answer thoroughly. Can you also tell me what i SHOULD DO and what i SHOULDN'T DO to stop the board from rotating plz.

2)when i Ollie my tail sometimes doesn't come up. can u tell  me what i should and shouln't do.

As i said before, question 1 is the most important for me. I have been searching the answer for about 1-2 weeks so it would be grateful if you answer thoroughly.

Thanks alot in advance and it would be good if you answered as soon as possible.

                                                                                        Joseph  

Answer
Since you've been skating for 2 to 3 weeks, I'm not surprised you can't ollie yet - so don't get disappointed.  

IF ANYONE ASKS ME TO HOW TO OLLIE, I"M GOING TO REFER THEM TO THIS POST!

1. Buy a skate video, any current one will do.

2. Watch it until it dissolves (or your parents throw it away).

3. Watch it some more.

4. Watch the slo-mo parts VERY carefully - especially the ollie part.

5. Get on your board with your front foot centered left-to-right and just behind the front bolts.

6. Put your back foot on the tail so that when you bend down, the ball of your foot is in the center of the tail.

7.  In one smooth motion (and this will take HOURS of practice)  bend down, then slam-the-tail-jump. Jumping forward a little will help too.  While you are in the air, suck your legs up into your chest - this is the key to ollie height!

8. Try and land soft - this is really just for style more than anything.

Okay Joseph Lee, here's the answers to your questions:

1. If the nose goes left, then I'm guessing you are regular footed? Learning to jump sideways in a straight line goes against what our bodies want to do, they like going forward, as in the direction of your feet. So, if your  board is turning, that means you are not jumping straight or your foot placement isn't working.  First make sure you are jumping straight - Find a "Line" on the ground, parking lots have tons of them. Stand on the line like you would on your skateboard. pretend to do an ollie while not looking down - see where your feet land- this will tell you if you are jumping straight or not.  Feet on the line = straight.  Feet not on the line=crooked or in your case the nose goes left. Adjust accordingly.

 If you are jumping straight, then it's foot placement.  Move your front foot around and see if that makes a difference - but only like 1/4" LEft or Right - it makes all the difference. Then try the back foot, and move that around a little too.  You'll soon find the sweet spot, remember that spot and get that wired down good.

DO NOT TRY ANY FLIP TRICKS UNTIL YOU GET A NICE STRAIGHT OLLIE OVER 1 DECK HIGH (standing on it's edge)... promise me that, I hate seeing people trying flip trick after flip trick only to be unable to do a regular ollie.

2. Remember to suck those legs up, once you get the sweet spot figured out and you're jumping up and getting those legs up - the tail just follows.  Practice ollieing over small obstacles, like an empty soda can, when you don't clear it, you know it.

3. I tried to answer as soon as possible, but take your time and have fun skateboarding, only do it if it's still fun.