Skater trainers are a trendy new skateboarding accessory that a lot of beginner skaters are curious about.

The main purpose of skater trainers is to stop the board from moving, which makes it easier for beginners to practice doing tricks without the board slipping out from under them.

The question is: do skater trainers work, or are they just a gimmick?

As someone who’s been skateboarding for over 10 years, I can say for sure that yes, skater trainers do work, but that doesn’t mean you should buy them.

Skater trainers work for beginners who are just learning how to step on a board for the first time. They can help beginners feel more comfortable standing on a board by stopping it from moving. With that said, skater trainers will not help you learn tricks faster, and can even slow down your progression.

Although skater trainers work and they do have some benefits, they’re better suited for some people more than others.

Do Skater Trainers Work?

When people are new to skating, it can feel awkward trying to stand on a board at first, and skater trainers eliminate this issue by keeping the board still. This prevents the board from slipping out and gives new skaters a chance to get used to standing on a board.

While it’s true that skater trainers work and they do what they’re supposed to, this isn’t necessarily a good thing.

New skaters sole focus should be getting comfortable riding a board. If someone can’t stand on a board comfortably, they shouldn’t be trying to learn any tricks.

The problem with skate trainers is that you’re essentially trying to learn how to run before you know how to walk.

It makes sense that beginners want to immediately learn tricks, and it’s actually very common.

For example, new skaters often try to learn how to kickflip before they can even ollie.

It’s important to realize though that skateboarding is a set of building blocks, and skipping over the basics will make it much harder to progress.

Rather than trying to immediately learn how to ollie or kickflip, beginner skateboarders should focus on just getting comfortable riding around on a board smoothly.

Imagine learning any other board sport.

Would you try to hit a rail on a snowboard before you know how to ride?

Chances are, you wouldn’t.

When it comes down to it, you’re far better off getting comfortable pushing, turning, and just riding your board before you try learning how to ollie, kickflip, or any other trick for that matter.

If you focus on learning the fundamentals first, you won’t even need skater trainers when it comes time to finally learn tricks on your board.

Also, skater trainers can even make it harder to learn how to do tricks.

It might seem counterintuitive to beginner skaters, but it’s actually much easier to learn tricks moving. Even if you aren’t going very fast, having some forward movement makes it much easier to get the rotation most tricks require.

For someone who isn’t comfortable standing on the board, feeling the board move around might seem like a bad thing. In reality, having the ability to roll makes it much easier to land tricks.

There are some cases where people might prefer learning a few basic tricks stationary (ollies, shuv it, etc) but even then, it’s better to give your wheels some wiggle room.

When you do a trick on a skateboard, the impact of your board landing naturally makes it move slightly forward or backwards. If you have skater trainers on your wheels, it takes away your boards ability to wiggle forward or backwards to absorb the impact. This causes you to have a stiff landing, which can make it harder for you to stay on.

How To Make DIY Skater Trainers

Even though most people would be completely fine without skater trainers, they are good for helping complete beginners get comfortable standing on a skateboard.

With that said, skater trainers can be a waste of money compared to the cheaper alternatives.

The old fashioned way to get comfortable standing on a skateboard was to put it in grass. However, doing so can be bad for your bearings, so it’s not exactly ideal.

Making your own DIY skate trainers will give you most of the benefits of real skater trainers, and it’ll cost virtually nothing. Also, it’s super easy to do in just a few minutes.

The best way to make DIY skater trainers is by cutting a hole in some old tennis balls and sticking them over your wheels.

There’s full videos online on how to make diy skater trainers, but the process is relatively simple.

All you have to do is buy some new tennis balls (or find some old ones) and cut a slit or a cross on them to slide them over your wheels.

Alternatively, you can also buy pre cut tennis balls on Amazon for about $5, which is much cheaper than the $20-$30 it costs for a set of skater trainers.

Putting tennis balls over your wheels will give you almost the same effect as skater trainers, and it’ll also save you some money. To be fair, you will get slightly more wiggle with tennis balls on your wheels than skater trainers, but they work pretty much the same. Some would argue that having a little bit of wiggle is even a good thing, since it absorbs some of the impact when you land.

Aside from tennis balls, some people also try skating on a piece of old carpet, or even on running tracks with a rubber top assuming you can find one.

Although it’s much better to learn how to do tricks moving, there are benefits to getting comfortable standing on a board stationary, but just know that you don’t need skater trainers to do it.

Are Skater Trainers Worth It?

Anyone who’s tried skateboarding before can vouch for how hard it is to learn, so it makes sense for beginner skaters to want every advantage they can get.

There are a lot of great skateboarding accessories out there that can help improve your skating, but it’s important to know that most of it just comes down to practice.

Skater trainers do come with benefits, and they can be worth it for new skaters.

For people who are absolute beginners, building up confidence standing on a board is important, and skater trainers can definitely do that.

With that said, skater trainers won’t make you learn tricks any faster, and in some cases, they can even slow you down.

At the end of the day, everyone’s situation is different, and it’s up to you to figure out what works best for you.

If you think skater trainers are beneficial for your situation, there’s no harm in trying them out.

As long as you’re out skating, that’s all that really matters.