Ideas on strategically choosing tricks to learn for maximum fun, influence, and impact

One of the awesome things about action/lifestyle sports is that there is no set rules. No roadmap. No exams to grade you by. You are truly free to do what you want, how you want, when you want. The beauty of this is that people’s personalities end up coming through in the tricks they do and the way they do them. The downside is sometimes it’s hard to know which trick to learn next or what to focus on, especially when you are specifically trying to make or build a career for yourself.

Why Plan?

“Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.” – Thomas Edison

If you have dreams of being a sponsored rider and building yourself a career in action sports it means you have a specific goal. If you have a specific goal, then you’d be silly to not bother making a plan to get there. Planning tricks to learn is a great way of being more strategic with your use of time and having more impact with what you are working on.

The 6 pillars of Learning Tricks Refresher

Before you get into which trick to learn, let’s quickly look back on how you learn tricks. If you want to read the full article, just click here.

Consider the technical aspects of the trick - how it works
Get your mental approach right - employ the growth mindset
Get your fitness level right for the challenge
Ensure you feel energised
Break down and practice the mechanics of the trick
Find the best place to learn it

The Trick Selection Framework

Now let’s look at a framework of how you can select tricks to focus on and learn. There will be 4 key areas to work from but try not to think of them as 4 seperate concepts but as overlapping opportunities.

Choosing Tricks For Fun

What do you most enjoy skating?
Think about what obstacles, styles, types of trick you enjoy the most.
What have you seen someone do lately that you thought was creative?
Let yourself be inspired by other peoples creativity with tricks. Think outside the box on how to approach an obstacle or section.
What’s feeling good today?
Play within the area of tricks that are feeling good for you today, use that comfort to explore new ideas.
Finding Fun-formance
A trick isn’t either ‘Fun’ or ‘High performance/Good’. They can be both, so let yourself have fun with tricks that are hard.

Choosing Tricks For Contests

What contests do you have coming up over the next year?
Think about the locations you compete at and the key obstacles/factors/condition.
What tricks could help round out your performance?
Are there certain areas your bag of tricks is a bit empty? A particular obstacle it would be helpful for you to have more go-to tricks for?
What tricks are everyone else doing?
Either make sure you can do it so you meet their standard, or find your own tricks to match and out-do what everyone else is doing. Judges get bored seeing the same things and start scoring hard tricks down if everyone is doing them.
What trick do you have an unfair advantage with?
We all ‘click’ with certain tricks, some things just make sense in our head. Use that to your advantage, if you have a trick that is deemed hard by everyone else but you find it easy, run it. Use that and take it further.
Choose a few consistent tricks for each obstacle that is at most events
Be strategic and have a few set tricks you know you could do anywhere.

Choosing Tricks For Video Parts

Have you written a trick list?
It doesn’t have to be set in stone, you don’t have to stick to it, but writing a trick list for a video part can help you push yourself, be more production, and practice tricks so you can film them quicker.
What spots can you visit?
Think about the spots you can go to for the video part and practice tricks FOR that location.
What do you want the video part to convey?
You can use trick selection to give a part a certain feel or impact. Use tricks to reflect aspects of your personality.

Choosing Tricks For Memorability

What trick/style could you be known for?
Do you have 1 trick you could throw at every event and video part and be know for being one of the best in the world at it?
Get that trick on everything.
Have a certain trick or style of trick that you’re the best at and run it. Do it on everything. Make it yours. Become like Jamie Foy and Frontside Krooks.

Top tips:

Stack tricks together to gain progress faster. E.g. Work on backside flips and backside tail slides, then learn kick flip backside tail slides.
Play with a variety of tricks and find something new that works. Try tricks you aren’t close to to see if it’s easier that you might’ve thought, you never know what might work.
Watch videos. Old stuff, new stuff, fringe stuff. Allow yourself to be inspired and look outside your normal sphere of influence.

Quick Summary of selecting tricks to learn

Use a framework to consider options for tricks.
Find tricks to learn for fun.
Learn tricks consistently for contests.
Build up tricks for video parts.
Be the best at a trick for memorability.

Next Steps for You

Listen to the audio episode of this article on the ‘Make It Happen’ Podcast for Athletes from ESM.

Additional Resources

Watch

Jamie Foy has Frontside Krooks on Lock - Be inspired

Watch Pro Skater Jamie Foy front krook his way around the Berrics for a great display of what it means to own a trick.

Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq_MNEYaf4E

Read

Torey Pudwill Flatbar Frenzy - Interview
It’s skating again, but the concept on this video was amazing and so well executed. Watch the video and read the interview with Torey to learn more.

Check it out here: https://skateboarding.transworld.net/photos/torey-pudwill-flatbar-frenzy-interview-and-photos/

Listen

Andrew Reynolds Stop And Chat with The Nine Club

Always worth listening to the Boss talk about his process. This episode of the Nine Club with skateboarding legend Andrew Reynolds Is an awesome insight into his current process. It’s all there in the first 10 minutes of the episode.

Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTFCuenAJK4

How to Select Tricks To Learn