Your Problem Could Be Mental
The Practice Session
M aking your practice presentableLook ahead or at the crowd, not at the board
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Skateboarders have a tendency toward introversion, being fixated on their boards rather than trying to work tricks and maneuvers together as a form of creative expression and performance sport exhibition, which is what I think it should be. One manifestation of this fixation is the tendency skateboarders have to stare at their boards while skating or doing any trick, no matter how easy or difficult.
Instead of looking down directly at the skateboard, try keeping your head up and just looking at it with your eyeballs angled down. This is important for two reasons. One, if you keep your head up, balance and rotation will be much easier. Two, if you look at the board out of the corner of your eye, or more accurately look for the edge of it in the bottom of your field of vision, you will have a better "feel" for the board with your feet. You will also be able to skate faster because you are looking where you are going more than at the board.
For your tricks that you already have wired, lift your head and relegate the board to just the tiniest part of your field of vision. If you're working on a new and difficult trick, yes, look at the board if that will make you feel more secure. But as soon as you get it, take your eye off the board. Even try it with your eyes closed or looking straight up, that will be a good excercise. You may just make the trick work that way.
Look where the board will be, not where it is
If you have to look at the board, at least look at the spot where the board will end up and not where it is when you are taking off, or starting the trick. I can't see any reason for looking at the board at the start, except as kind of a security thing when you're just starting to get comfortable with a move. It is very helpful, though, to look where the board is about to be. If the board is going to turn, look for the end of the board to come into your field of vision. This works really well when you are going to turn as well, because it always helps your rotation to lead your head into it. So if you're doing a 180, look in the direction you are turning, and look for the other end of the board, the tail end usually, to come into your vision. You'll be way ahead of the landing, instead of dragging the beginning.
Anticipate the middle and end of the trick with your eyes as well as your body. You can look to the piece of sidewalk, or air, or object, where the board will be in a second or so. It makes more sense for your eyes to be ahead rather than falling behind when you're skating, whether you're turning, jumping, or cross stepping.
You can try a two step looking process, where you look at the spot the board is just about to go into right on the takeoff, then move your head or eyes slightly to anticipate where it's going to be on the landing. The whole idea is to make your eyes useful by looking ahead, moments into the future, not to make your eyes a crutch that leaves you staring at the board when you don't need to. That crutch is going to turn into a ball and chain if you keep using it.
Skateboarders want to be in magazines yet wont work a small crowd
Now, your head position isn't the most important thing in skateboarding by any means. But I think it relates to the whole introverted, trick obsessed way that skaters often practice. They are so turned in on themselves and their skateboard, that they don't see the bigger picture, they see their board but not the person doing the trick. They don't imagine what it looks like to anyone else, and that all starts with the head.
This whole business of looking ahead instead of down isn't just about the balance of your head, although that's important. It's about seeing the big picture and not just homing in on what you're doing in your little world. Whether you care or not, people watch skateboarders, skaters, and surfers. These are eyecatching sports and I think it's important to present yourself as if performing for an audience, and not being so concerned about making your trick, or making your wave, whatever. No one who doesn't skate really cares about the complexity of your trick, and even if they do, they may not be able to see what you're doing. It's the whole picture of moving body and board that looks cool, and it's your job to make that vision work, and to not make it boring to someone who likes to watch skateboarding.
One day I was at my usual spot and saw this guy on a longboard riding a wheelie/manual (man-wheelie?), a long ways. Where was he looking? Straight down at his feet on the board. Now, no amount of arguing is gonna convince me that you have to look down to ride a wheelie. He didn't look good, even though it was a great wheelie, and what's more, he couldn't see where he was going and was scaring the old ladies and kids that walk across that square. This is just one example, but you see it every day, everywhere, skaters looking square at their feet like those laces were on fire or something. It's just my humble opinion that that is a bad habit, one that is keeping skaters from more height, more spin, cleaner catches, and more speed. In other words, more watchable skating.
Instead of looking down at the board, try to imagine what you look like to the crowd while doing that maneuver or trick. One way you can do this is to watch your shadow on the sidewalk. Again, try to see it out of the corner of your eye and dont stare at it. Check your arm styling, and check if you're getting a lot of range of motion. Do you look big, with your arms spread out, or do you look cramped? Develop your own standards of what you want to see yourself doing. Get someone to photograph or videotape you, and become more motivated to improve the way your skating looks, and not just how it feels.
Your whole practice session should be structured so that a crowd could appreciate what you're doing, at least most of it. The next section will get more into this idea.
