Backside Air

Forget about early grabs. You'll never go big, and people might laugh. Start by trying some backside kickturns up near the coping and grabbing your board just in front of your front foot. You should be compressed with your knees bent, so it should not require much effort to reach your board. Once you get the feel for grabbing your board, you can start trying airs. Go up the wall at a very slight angle. Don't carve too much at first because your board will tend to fly away from you. As you approach the coping, your front wheels should start coming off of the wall at the same time as your hand reaches down for your board, which is the same as the kickturn. As your back wheels hit the coping, put the slightest pressure on your back foot, almost scooping it upward. This will help bring your board into your hand, as well as sending you in the right direction, which is up. You are in the air now with your body facing the coping. Stay calm, stay compressed. Your back foot should steer your board in a nice arc facing you back into the ramp. As you come back in, suck your legs back under you to land nice and smooth on the vert. Go bigger on the next wall.

P.S. This is definitely a "less is more" type of trick. Don't try to ollie grab into it or go huge at first. Land some small, mellow ones, then work your way up.