Can anyone give me some tips on how to serve better?

Question

I've recently started playing volleyball, and I can serve well underhand, but not overhand. Do I just need more upper-body strength or is there some skill involved?

Thanks. :)

Answer 1

i have been playing for 3 years and i underhanded for the first year.until i learned how to overhand

it is hard but all you have to rember

is to keep your hand straight flat and tight.like ur flexxing ur hand

and its easier to hit the ball when you throw with two hands.

try serveing with a soft volleyball first.

make sure your feet are towards the net and sraight.

try serveing form the middle of the court so you know where to move according to where the ball hits.

if when u throw the ball it doesnt go up sraight like it goesto  the side. dont hit it! let it drop. trust me im double jointed in my elbows and it hurts very bad!

no matter how strong you are its it how u fast you hit the ball.

im a skinny girl and i hit it hard because i trow the ball up and hit it when it is at the highest point i can reach.

i hope this will help you. it helped me

Answer 2

1.hold the ball with one hand.

2. raise your other hand with the elbow bent and open palm

3. throw the ball straight up and in front of your body.

4. hit the ball using you palm in a forward motion.

IT really takes long hours of practice. It requires skill (especially timing and coordination). Shoulder strength is also a factor. Just remember to practice the "overhead" serve often. Do this more often instead of doing underhand.

Also, don't think too much about a lot of things when you serve. It helps a lot if you just focus on the "target".

Answer 3

okay if you are a right hander you need to start with the  stance u have your feet about a shoulder width apart and you left foot infront then you need to make a choice float serve or top spin. with a float serve it is a low ball toss and you meet the ball on the way up and YOU DON"T snap your wrist with top spin u can have any ball toss and you DO snap your wrist

Answer 4

(for righties) hold the ball in front of you in your left hand making sure that if you were to drop it it would fall in front of your left toe. with your left foot slightly foward throw the ball into the air, bring your right arm foward quickly and make contact, bringing your righ foot foward as you swing for extra power. it sounds confusing, but practice practice practice and you'll find a good system for you!!!!

Answer 5

well its like your throwing a ball.

your throwing it with all your might.

and you HAVE to keep your elbow straight while you do it.

and you have to follow through with the serve.

and when i serve i drag my right foot. it helps me. you can try it cause i cant serve while not drading my foot.!

so i hope i helped.

Answer 6

I'm on a varsity volleyball team and I'm on U-13 Splash (that's club volleyball), so i can give you some great tips.

this is kind of hard to explain, but here it goes.

first, bend your right arm at a right angle, almost touching your ear. when you throw the ball up (left hand) make sure that the ball doesn't go behind your head, so you won't be bending back to hit the ball. you should spread your hand out wide, but not too wide or else when you hit it your hand will hurt really bad. trust me, i know.

a tip to help you throw the ball up in the air is not to throw it at all. you basically lift it/toss it....kind of. hit straight forward and not down, or else it won't go over.

i don't know if that helped at all but good luck. OH! and practice tossing/lifting the ball in the air so it lands right in front of you all the time. my coach made us do it all the time.

Good luck with your volleyball!!!

Answer 7

over-hand serving is one of the more difficult things in volleyball. umm, i'm guessing your problem is you can't get it over the net? well usually if you can get it close to the net, but not over, it's an upper body strength problem. to fix this, i usually throw the volleyball up in the air and a little bit in front of me so this would force me to take a step or two and throw my whole body into the serve. you could try that.

for technique, when you're standing about to serve, if you are right handed,  you should stand with your legs shoulder width apart with your left foot in front. your right foot should be turned so it is perpendicular. your left arm is holding the ball in front and your right hand is slightly bent with your elbow pulled back. (like you're about to attack the ball)

when you're first holding the ball, the weight is on the back right foot, when about to contact the ball shift your weight to the front left foot and throw your body into it. don't forget to swing your right arm and follow through. dont cross your right arm over your body. you'll lose control of the direction of the ball.

when you toss the ball, it should be just about a little in front of you, not behind your head. you won't be able to hit it when it's there.

keep practicing! serving is difficult, but don't give up!

:]]

Answer 8

To serve consistently, you must hit ONE point on the volleyball with as much strength as possible. Therefore, if your toss is too high, then it's too hard to hit one spot. Therefore, you must lower your toss and aim for a particular spot on the ball (i.e. choose the needle hole).

Stand with the ball in your left hand and c-ock your right arm backwards in an archer-like position (with your left foot forward and weight on your back right foot). Hold the ball at head height and as you're starting your swing forward with the right arm, lightly toss the ball in the air above your head (and not too far forward) and aim to hit as hard as your can on the needle hole. The swing must be slightly upwards as well because if the ball is tossed too low or too far in front of you, the ball will be hit downwards and die into the net.

Then, when you're able to do that consistently, increasing strength in the arm is always the best thing to do. But remember:

1. Low toss above head (not forward)

2. hit the needle hole

3. swing as hard and fast as you can (increase arm speed)

One more thing!!!The most common serving problems are the toss, dragging the back foot, and lack of confidence.

Even though you say you have the toss part ready, practice it. Toss 10 without hitting it. See if they are roughly the same height and land on the same spot on the floor. Take 1 minute off. Do 10 and so on. Try to do 100 without hitting the ball.

Plant your back foot. If you are right handed, plant your right foot. Do not pick up your back foot. You can drag it, but do not pick it up. If your serve is short, that is a common problem. Many people pick up their back foot and move it with their arm.

Work on your confidence. Start at the 3 meter line. (10 foot line if you prefer.) Get 10 serves over. Take one step back. Get 10 serves over. Take one step back and so on until you are at the serving line. Since you do not THINK you can get the serve over the net, you can not get the serve over the net.

Answer 9

you need both upper-body strength and skill... if your a righty hold the ball in your left hand and toss above your head. hit the ball in the middle of you right hand and swing through. if the toss isnt that good dont hit it. let the ball hit the floor and wait for the ref to tell you to serve it again. hope this helps it did for me