Volleyball Tips: Serve a Volleyball

Being able to serve a volleyball is an absolute necessity in volleyball. Anybody is capable of doing it. A player really does not have to be super tall or a powerful freak. But to get good at it, like anything, is to practice (a little exercise doesn’t hurt either).

Volleyball is good in terms of practicing because you can learn a lot of the skills on your own, including serving. What you have to do is go out in your back yard (or go to the local gym), get a bunch of volleyballs and work on your serve all day if you feel the need. If you can become a pro server and always keep your opponents on their toes, you likely will not have too many players making great passes of your serves. When they can’t make a perfect pass, they are going to probably not get a perfect set. If they can’t get a perfect set, they’re going to have problems putting the ball away and your blockers should be able to line up on their hitter earlier because it is going to be apparent where the ball is going to be set. This is why the serve is so important. It can really change the game.

This is why you must master it. The subsequent directions are for a right-handed server. Lefties, like many things in life, you do the opposite.

Feet and Body Position

Start off with the left foot slightly in front of the right foot, and make sure you are comfortable. Maintain the majority of your weight on your back foot. Player will take a step with her left foot and contact ball. Shoulders are slightly open to the sideline.

What should your hand be doing?

You want a solid, wide open hand when hitting the ball.

Toss and Arm Swing

Start with ball resting in left (tossing hand) with hitting hand on top. Arms should be extended from body with arm slightly bent and be level with the players’ chin. The toss should be about 18 inches in the air and should be even with the shoulder of the hitting hand. The toss should be slightly in front of the body (toward the net). Players should draw back their hitting arm with elbow parallel to the floor and wide open hand even with the ear. As the player pulls back, the shoulders ought to open a bit. As the ball reaches the highest point, the player should swing the hitting arm forwards (maintaining an open hand) and contact the ball at the top of their swing with the heel of the open hand. The shoulders and torso should rotate toward the net. One tip if you are really struggling or you feel that you are not strong enough: Work out a little. Perform several push-ups to get your arms more powerful. This should really help you.

Cheers for reading. For additional volleyball rules and drills, check us out here.