Help with 8th grade volleyball server.?

Question

I play lebraro, and defense. I love it. But, I'm extremely short, and serving is really challenging. Being only 4'6, it can be. My serves usually only hit the net, and it's kind of embarrasing. I was gonna try out for jv but they wudn't let me on because of my SERVES, and thing to improve?

Answer 1

I used to coach Freshman girls volleyball several years ago.  I remember on girl on the team who just couldn't get a serve over.  The team I had was  competitive (we had five freshmen teams broken down into two competitive and three non competitive).  As a rule I would not let the girls serve underhand and many of them wanted to at the start of the season.  They all got their serves down except this one girl.  I worked with all of the girls to get their serves better and a few even started trying jump serves just to get an idea.  I kept working with this one girl and she was really getting frustrated.  Finally during one game she got it on and everything started to click.  I throw this all in as background and to show frustration is part of it but don't let it get to you.  IF you want to get better you are already taking the first step and asking questions and working on the problem instead of giving up and that should be commended.  

To get to you question, I don't think your height matters, especially with eighth grade volleyball.  The girl I worked with did not have a lot of upper body strength and her problem was her in the toss and it not being ANYWHERE near consistent.  It was ALL over the place.  I had her work on just getting her toss the same height and place and when she finally made contact with the ball in the right place things sort of fell into place because she finally felt where a serve toss should be.

My guess is you are having some of the same issues.  I would talk with your coach and see what he says and if he/she can work with you great.  If not try some simple drills.  You don't need a net and if you have a friend great but you could even do it alone in the back yard.

1.  I would start by working on your toss.  Throw the ball up with both hands so it goes a comfortable height above you.  Some people have a toss that is too high some too low.  If it is high there is room for error just because any minor deflections of the ball going up will be exaggerated over the course of the distance of the ball going up and back down.  If it is thrown to low you do not give yourself enough time to pull your arm back and start your swing.  You do want it high enough to strike the ball with your hand open and fingers spread out (something else you have to determine to see what is comfortable. I equate it to hitting a tennis ball with a 2x4 or a tennis racket)

2.  While you are doing this do not swing at the ball.  The ball should land at a point inline with the foot on your hitting arm and slightly ahead of your other foot (about a foot or so).  Point your non hitting foot towards your target along with your hips Basically when you swing your arm you want to be able to contact the ball so your arm is extended, above your head and just in front of an imaginary plane dividing your head (front/back).

3.  Work on you this till you get bored with it and then do it a little more.  Once you get your toss down then find a friend and preferably a net.  IF they can serve great if not that's great too because you have someone to work with.  Start at the 10 foot line and practice a serve back and forth trying to serve directly to your friend.  The nice thing here is you don't have a full court  to try and get it across just ten feet and over the net.  Keep practicing here until it starts to feel natural. Then start to back it up, working your way to 20' back from the net.  It should be a little harder because of the distance but you should start to get a feel fro the amount of force you need to keep getting the ball over the net.  You are also letting you body get some muscle memory which is important in any sport.

4.  Have fun.  Even if you never become a great server you can always strive to become the best player you can.  Maybe it is a bit corny but I have always found a good attitude and positive outlook will take people farther than those who just give up.  Keep talking with your coach and find anyone to play with especially if they are a better player than you.  I used to play pepper with one of my neighbors for hours.  Watch what they do, try some things you wouldn't normally try.  We've all been there at some point in our lives.  Some people pick certain things up faster than others but you should try new things now and then anyway.  You may look a little silly but sometime a good laugh at yourself is what it takes to keep a good perspective on life.

Answer 2

my friend's about your height... and she has extremely powerful serves... but, as you said, they always hit the net. i spent some time with her and we tried different techniques... different angles to hit it, different sides of the court, different heights to toss it, hitting open and closed handed. after a while she fell into a routine with one of the techniques we'd tried and it soon became her over-the-net serve because she kept working with adjusting a little of it at a time.

so i guess what im saying is just try all sorts of different serves until you find one you feel comfortable with... and then change it around a little bit--maybe aim higher/lower or hit the ball sooner/later. these little adjustments effect a lot.

and at home... if you can find some type of thing thats alright to hit a ball against... draw a line where the top of the net would be [get the measurements first] and keep serving at that.

hope this helps. =)