Your Problem Could Be Mental
The Practice Session
Your eyes are sharp from staring at your boardbut your tricks ain't so sharp
Skate
Mental
Cross Academy
Cruise Power
Waves
Drop Knee
Gear
Surf
History
Non Google Sponsors
Skateboarders fix their eyes on a little board, but cant see the big picture
When you practice, are you thoroughly focused on making your trick, concentrating like mad, seeing only that board and those feet? Do you make an effort to make sure that board is square in the center of your field of vision? This may seem fine to you, and it may give you a sense of security, but did you ever stop and think what that looks like to someone watching? And did you ever think that staring at the board isn't the most productive thing you could be doing with your eyes?
Get your eyes off the board
Skateboarders watch the board beneath their feet way too much, and tend to tilt their heads down no matter what the trick. This goes for surfers too, although not as much. I can hear you scream right now, especially if you are a new schooler, "how do you expect me to catch the board if I'm not looking at the board?" I know, I know, it's a hard concept to grasp, but hear me out.
First off, did you ever stop and think that the human eyeball angles up and down, in a similar movement to the head? In fact, it's possible to look down with the eyes without tilting the head down at all. It's possible to see the board just fine in the edge of the bottom of your field of vision.
I wonder what skateboarder, besides me, in all the history of skating, ever wondered after a missed trick "gee, maybe I was looking too hard at the board?" Think about that one. For instance, on a 180 ollie, or any other 180, 360, 540 etc slide or rotation trick, if your head is up and you look in the direction of the rotation and not down, you'll have a much stronger and smoother spin. If you look down, it may be easier to see the board, but the balance may be so off that you can't make the trick. So looking down actually hurts you, not helps you.
Now get your eyes off the target
What's really strange, and what really makes me laugh, is when I watch a skateboarder ollie or kick flip on flat ground, he's staring at the board like it's a copy of Maxim, and then he goes to ollie up onto a ledge, now he's staring at the ledge! It makes sense that he'd look at his target, but it means he didn't have to look at the board when he was on flat, right? And besides, it may not be that great to stare at the target, either. In the end it's your feet that hit the target and catch the board, not your eyes. You should try to use your head to set your balance and move the trick, as a first priority, and second to get you to see where you are and where the board is.
OK, go ahead and look at the board, but. . .
Having said that, I will now say that you can look at the board but not in the way you've been doing. What you should look at, is where the board will be at the end of the trick not at the beginning. Or look at the part of the board that is going to matter when you land the trick. Or better yet, look in the direction of the flow of the trick and try to catch the board with just the barest use of your eyes. Blind if possible. Look straight ahead or up in the air and see if you can do it, or even sort of do it. Try to get by with just your feet.
My beef with skaters holding their heads a certain way is not just a criticism of technique. It gets down to presentation and getting your mind off your own neurotic thoughts and into what it's all about, drawing, sculpting, cave-painting, whatever, the presentation of skater and board. 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.
