I too have been messing with these with minimal luck; this thread has provided more insight than any one video so far for me.
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Keep in mind too that there is NEVER any slack in the sting! The yo-yo never goes off plane. With time you’ll get better. It’s a perfect Eli hop when your hands come all the way together on the hop. 
You could start with shorter string to help.
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An update:
After throwing higher and going back over the YYT video i can now hop reasonably well. Now to progress onto throwing in different directions
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It took me a little while to figure out how people threw it straight out. The hop will always be 90 degrees from the string that spans your TH and NTH.
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I have always had problems with Eli Hops, one thing I noticed after reading this thread is that my NTH finger was not pointing straight out. If your finger doesn’t stay straight at the pivot point, the yoyo will land inside or outside the string, I was pointing up some, and missing to the outside a lot.
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This is key! When I first started doing Hops I’d just kind of launch the yoyo up and try to catch it, and wonder why it felt so sloppy.
Keeping tension on the string the entire time keeps the yoyo on the “leash” and under control and even can help to draw it back on plane during recovery if your hands deviate a bit.
Now I know why experienced people recommend to learn Eli Hops on a responsive before trying it on unresponsive.
Ivan
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