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

Question

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

Answer 1

I had an awesome overhand serve when I played H.S. volleyball. The trick is to not try to too hard. Don't think about it so much. Pick a target, toss the ball up and connect with it when it is in line with your target. Don't dry to demolish the ball, just hit it hard enough to get it where you are aiming, to start with. After you get the hang of overhand you can progress on to hitting harder when you have more control over where your ball is going. Good luck, and I know in time you will have an awesome overhand serve also!!

Answer 2

For one thing keep your hand wide open. Make sure your toss is high. Step oppiside and you should be good.

Answer 3

ehh.. i used to have trouble w/ that.. jus toss high in front of u and dont forget to step with ur left foot! (if ur right handed)..  and if its jus not goin over.. hit it harder.. think of sumthing that gets u mad and use that power to hit the ball =] g/l !

Answer 4

Setting Up the Serve

Stand at about a 45-degree angle to the net, holding the ball in your non-serving hand. Keep your serving hand on it for balance. The foot opposite your serving hand should be slightly forward (the left foot for righthanders). Center your weight on your rear foot.

The Toss

The ideal toss varies in height according to the server's preference. Usually, the ball is just high enough that your hitting arm must extend to contact it. But the location should be the same: directly in front of your hitting shoulder.

Prepare to Launch

As you toss the ball, draw your hitting arm back, keeping your elbow at shoulder level as your hand reaches about your ear. Also, as you toss the ball, step forward with the leading foot (again, if you're a rightie, that's your left foot), shifting your weight to that foot.

Liftoff

While your body weight shifts forward, extend your arm up. Your hip and shoulders should rotate toward the ball, helped on by your step forward. Your arm, now extended, should swing forward to contact the ball. Strike it with the meat of your hand, letting your hand wrap over the ball as you hit it. Don't follow through as far as you do when hitting, but, rather, let your hand freeze in the air after you make contact.

Concept

Your body rotation and momentum help create the power behind the serve. Watch an especially hard server, and you'll notice a sort of hip thrust behind the extreme velocity. It's not all about shoulder power. As in all things, mechanics are most important.

Execution

This serve takes time to master because it involves several small body changes all happening at once. If you're having a lot of trouble, make sure that your toss is both consistent and in the right area. More good serves are killed by bad tosses than by any other mistake in execution.

Building on the Basics

When you feel good about this serve, try varying the height of the toss, how hard you contact the ball and the spot where you strike it. Try to find your power zone where you can most comfortably serve the ball hardest while still retaining control and your finesse zones where you can best drop in trick serves. Practice your accuracy by serving at targets, and vary the look of your serve by starting at different points along the serving line.

OPEN HAND ALWAYS! you never see hs, college, or pro with closed hand right? okay make sure you are facing in the direction you want the ball to go. when you toss the ball, toss with your opposite hand and the toss should make the ball goes in front of your hitting shoulder. don't toss it too high. you should be conntacting the ball at it's highest point in the toss because at it's peak, it stops moving for a split second. so it would be easier to hit a ball when it's not moving which would be when it's at its peak. if you have issues getting it over do push ups every night to get your arms stronger. it helps i promise. right after your serve you will notice that where your hand is facing is the direction the ball went. keep that in mind. now for your feet, start with your tossing arm's foot in front. when you toss, take a step with your foot that's in front as you toss and then when you conntact the ball, you can bring your dominate foot forward a little.