Shots & Skills (Advanced)
How to Hit More Airmails (Without Guessing)
A repeatable airmail, the in-the-hole shot over a blocked board.
When the board is blocked and there's no lane to roll or cut, the airmail is your answer: a bag thrown in a high arc that drops straight into the hole without ever touching the board. It looks flashy, but a repeatable airmail is a real weapon.
The trajectory
An airmail needs more loft than a normal throw, you're flying the bag up and over any blockers so it falls into the hole from above. The bag should come down nearly flat so it drops through instead of bouncing off the lip.
How to make it repeatable
The secret is treating it like any other shot: same smooth swing, just a higher release and more arc. Don't guess and heave it, pick a consistent amount of loft and rep it so the distance becomes muscle memory. Most missed airmails come from changing the power every time.
When to throw it
Save the airmail for when the board is genuinely blocked and a roll won't get there, it's higher risk than a flat bag. When you've got the basic airmail down, add the refinements in 3 airmail tips + the And-1.
More in Shots & Skills (Advanced)
- How to Throw a Cut Shot (and Reverse Cut)→
Cut around blockers and get to the hole when the front of the board is clogged.
- How to Cut Around More Blocks (Reverse Cut Explained)→
The reverse cut explained, get around blocks from either side.
- How to Control the Board / Throw Better Blocks→
Own the front of the board with blocks that make your opponent's life miserable.
- 3 Airmail Tips + the And-1 Shot→
Three tweaks to dial in your airmail, plus the And-1 shot.
- How to Hit the Bar of Soap→
The bar-of-soap shot, the slide that ends up exactly where you want it.
- How to Do the Rodeo→
The rodeo, one of the flashiest, most useful trick shots in the game.
Ready to put it to work?
Dial in your throw with ACL-approved bags and Stickside gear.