Do you ever find yourself at a loose end during your set? Do you wish you could fill in the gaps between tricks? Well this instructional is for you!

Here are three hand-picked tricks that are guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

We’ve chosen a double up re-entry, a frontside 180 nose slide around the whip, and an ollie frontside lip slide ollie out. Why? Because these tricks are easy and impressive, and are tricks you can take anywhere in the world; behind any boat, at the cable, and when the conditions get rough.

#1 Frontside 180 nose slide around the whip

This is an impressive looking move and a great one for that last corner at the cable park.

Have the boat drive you a whip in the same direction as your stance (a left turn for a natural footer, right turn for a goofy footer).

As you start to whip out, drop your front hand and begin to slightly transfer your weight onto your heels. Start to turn your hips into a frontside 180. As you turn your hips, you’ll want to put all your weight onto your front foot and straighten your back foot as if you are pushing your tail away from you.

Look over your back shoulder for the big spray. To get a really big spray, put more weight onto your front foot.

Try and hold this position for as long as you can. Not only does it look the goods, but it will help slow down the boat speed.

#2 Double up re-entry

This one is especially good if you ride on any busy waterway, or if your boat driver just can’t drive a decent double up. The key to this trick is timing. You will need to watch out for native rollers and watch for the double up rollers as the boat passes over them.

The third roller is the pick of the bunch, as it’s usually the steepest and will give you a really solid boot.

As you ride over the first couple of rollers, stay focused on keeping your knees soft. This will allow you to pass over the rollers and help you get the timing right on the third one. If you have stiff knees you will bounce into the third roller and and probably eat it. So stay soft, and ride up and over each one.

As you ride up the face of the third roller, you will want to initiate your ollie. Stamp off your back foot as you bring your front foot up. Make sure you rise up with your hips and shoulders too. The harder you stamp off your back foot and rise up with your body, the higher you will go.

Hold onto the handle with your leading hand only. As you ride up the face of the roller, push your front hand down. This will help you maintain control in the air – much like a wake-to-wake trick. Once you get decent pop, level out your board by bringing your back foot up and get your eyes on your landing. It is important to keep your body and handle solid, so you don’t get pulled out the front. Once you start to drop down, straighten your legs out so you can absorb the landing.

#3 Ollie frontside lip slide ollie out

Lip tricks are always impressive to watch. They require skill, timing and balance. This one requires a few essential ingredients to come together in perfect harmony. The result is a stylish looking trick.

First off, practice your lip slides on the top of the wake before you have a go at an ollie into this position.

To be confident on your lip slides you’ll need to be able to transfer your weight between your feet, while having a little amount of weight on your heels to prevent that nasty toeside edge.

Stand on the face of the wake and initiate an ollie similar to the ollie for the double up re-entry.

As you ollie, start to push your back foot and hip towards the back of the boat so you are land in a 90 degree position.

As you land in the lipslide position, you want the wake to be between your feet. If you land slightly off to one side, put pressure on the other foot – like a see-saw. Mastering this balance will allow you to stay on the wake longer. Most importantly, make sure your knees are soft to prevent having that toeside edge from catching.

Have your handle in line with the middle of your hips to help you stay square to the back of the boat.

Once you have held the lipslide position and are ready for the exit, start to transfer your weight onto your back foot and lift your front foot for the ollie. Remember; the harder you push off your back foot while you’re lifting your front foot, the bigger your ollie will be.

Once you master this, try and ollie as big as you possibly can before landing in the frontside lipslide position. The bigger you go, the better it will look.

So there you have it; some moves to add to your bag of tricks.

Words: Johnny Henson / Photos: prowake.com.au