How can I make my overhand serve go farther?

Question

I can get my overhand over the net well, but it doesn't go very deep and is easily returned. Any tips?

Answer 1

ok i play v- ball too and i had that problem....when i hit it it wasn't strong enough...ok i learned that first you should always have the ball like never go behind you make it go like a little in front of you then take the bottom of your hand and hit it like you kinda gonna spike it and take a step ahead while you hit it and then follow through....hope that helps

Answer 2

hit harder duh....     okay when you are overhand serving it try jumping up a lil just when you hit it. it'll make all your weight go into the ball, or hit w/ the bottom of the palm of your hand, it hurts but it works and hit harder

Answer 3

hit under the ball and every night lift weights!.....it seame like a bad idea but it works.....truse me.....i did it, and it worked!

Answer 4

do you hit it like a girl? pretend you are a 19 stone bloke and put all your weight behind it

your target is not the ball, it is 5" in front of the ball (the other side from where you are) and you MUST follow through

Answer 5

That last few Answers were very good....

Don't listen to the person that said jump up a bit off the ground.

I am a college volleyball coach and if I can help you any more, please email me!

Biggest advice.  Try and not to have too many variables.  Keep it simple.  

Best form: Left foot slightly in front of right....toss the ball over you right shoulder (if you are right handed that is).  After you toss it, Take a small step forward with your left.  Make sure you DRAG your right foot...do not pick it up off the ground.  

By doing this...you will be more consistent and the power will come.....

The person that suggested lifting weights does have a point also.

Answer 6

Try going hi five.  Basicly aim for the back Corner.  Make sure your elbow is directly over your head.(if you look towards that sholder you should see arm pit) from there Bow/tag/swing and make sure that you smack the ball directly on.  And stop the follow throught to give it a little floater action

Answer 7

Just practice hitting over the net. try harder everytime

Answer 8

Hit it Harder

Answer 9

Work on your stroke so the perfect overhand serves becomes a natural thing to you. You could also try building up your arm strength.

Answer 10

If you can consistenty get the ball over the net, don't worry too much about strength.  Try to get some action on the ball.  Try hitting it hard with a firm open hand, A LITTLE ABOVE THE CENTER OF THE BALL. Try to keep the ball low as it passes over the net. Experiment with hitting a ball with little or no spin that has a knuckleball effect.  Since blocking the serve is not allowed, this can be very hard to return.  A coach always likes to have a few different kinds of serves in the lineup.

Answer 11

Firstly, contrary to popular belief, the key to powerful serves is not inthe arms...it is in you form and upper body strength (i.e., your core).  first, determine your strength by just throwing the ball over.  if you can throw the ball over, you have the upper body strength to serve over the net as well.  now, if you are right handed, stand with your left leg in front of your right leg.  have majority of your weight on your right leg, and have your chest facing almost perpendicular to your left leg.  next, present the ball out in front of you, with your left arm, and hold your right arm up with your elbow near your ear (it should look like the way you would hold a bow and arrow).  next, toss the ball up a moderate height in front of your hitting shoulder (in this case, your right shoulder).  then, leading with your elbow, and contacting the ball in front of your shoulder, swing through.  do not swing hard....you can throw your shoulder out.  it also helps to crunch your stomach muscles as you hit (watch pro players: they are bent over after their hit, meaning they are using their abs for that extra power)  it is just like golf...it is the momentum of the swing, not its strength that determines the force of the ball.  once you get really good, the looser your arm feels (it should feel like a whip), the harder the trajectory of the ball.  watch hitters in games.  notice their arm swing.  hope this was useful.    now, to get a good serve that isn't easily returnable, contact the very middle of the ball with a flat stiff hand to get a good floater (a ball that moves in the air...it's much harder to track).  you can also aim your ball so that it flies just above the net, because then it is extremely low and hard to get to.  and aim aim aim!  hope this helps!

Answer 12

keep ur hand stiff... try to hit the ball where the fingers begin....

Answer 13

Power and trajectory. Either gain some muscle in that arm or you might try swinging your arm faster and aiming a little higher. That's not good for the game. It gives them more time to get under it.

Answer 14

First of all, start working on your upper body strength because that will help everything you do in volleyball--hitting, blocking, passing, setting, serving...something as simple as pushups is going to help you tremendously if you can't hit the gym.

Next, tape yourself and look at your form.  Even toss the ball a few times and let it drop without hitting it to see if it drops into your "pocket" because the toss is essential in a good strong serve.  It's all about your form and the toss.  If you watch the video and your form is all good, then improving your upper body strength will help to solve your problem..

You can also get it to go a little further by hitting it at the top of your swing with the heel of your hand--drive it into the ball and then follow through, which, if done right, should give you a nice floater or top spin.

Good luck!

Answer 15

When I played, I had the opposite problem, I always hit it deep and could not get the shallow serves, so I practiced by putting a basket on the court where I wanted the ball to go and aimed for that, then I would move the basket to a different position, learning to control the amount of force put on the ball.  The same thing applies here, you want to work on the amount of force.  Arm strengthening exercises work for this :).

Eventually, with practice, you will be able to hit pretty much any mark on command. Hope this helps.

Answer 16

Technique!!! Make sure your weight is forward. You dont neccesarily have to be super strong to hit the ball over. Practice practice practice!!!! :) Good luck!

Answer 17

I have the same problem! I'm in a volleyball camp right now and my instructor said to step back with your right foot (but if you're left handed it's vice versa) and then right before you hit it put ALL your weight on your left foot and hit it. It really helps. I really hope I can help you because if it helps you it'll probably help me. I just want to know if it works so if it does can you please choose my answer as best answer? You don't have to give me any points. I just want to know if it works. VOLLEYBALL ROCKS!!!!

Answer 18

it's all about the follow through with over hand serving.  You must make sure you have a nice toss as well.  Not WAY above  your head, but deffinatly not to yoru shoulders.  You should make contact with the ball at a nice angle.  Your swing will also have to do with you power in the serve.

Answer 19

hit the ball with the inner part of ur hand & above ur palm..! make sure u throw it start up in there , not too high and over do it ..u know! while the ball comes down hit it in the center and make sure u get a strong swing w/ ur arm to have enough force to get the ball over the net...keep practicin the way i told u and u can get the ball to hit dead center fast enough so it will nvr get touch by the other team! holla back @ me to tell me when u master it

Answer 20

Arm speed is the key, also develop strength on arm and shoulder. Short term, rotate your serving shoulder with body forward after serving.

Answer 21

hit it harder duhhhhhhhhhhhh

Answer 22

steroids

Answer 23

This is an easy trick to add power to your serve: start with your feet.

Instead of trying to *arm* it over, use the momentuem of your entire body. Even if you are a biddy 90 lbs, if you use not just your arm, but all 90 lbs., you'll send the ball flying.

Here how...

Before you toss the ball to serve, if you are a righty, start with you left front in front of you, and most of your weight on your back foot, which will be, of course, your right foot. (Unless you are a three footed freak, in which case this technique will not work.) If you are a lefty, of course, vice-versa.

After you toss the ball, and you start to strike it, you should simultaneously push-off your back (right) foot, and "step through" your serve. If you step through your serve, you will get the momentum of your entire body behind the serve. After you contact the ball, and follow-through, you should continue with the step and finish with your right foot in front of your left. (If you are a lefty, of course, vice-versa.)

This push off of your back foot, will force your hips to rotate, which will force your shoulders to rotate, which will force your arm to pronate. It is a bio-mechanical chain reaction.

This motion is exactly how a tennis player servers, and how a baseball pitcher pitchers. Baseball players will tell you: good pitchers use their legs. Visualize a pitcher's wind-up. Basically, he is starting with his weight on his right foot, and "stepping through" the pitch. In volleyball, you do not need such an over-emphasized wind-up, but the concept is the same.

Feel free to follow-up if you have any more questions.

Answer 24

Hit it strait on. And through the ball. To get my overhand serves better i've been doing push ups. that has seemed to help.

Answer 25

practice practice practice

Answer 26

try to hit the ball just in front of u

and try to hit  slightly bellow the ball

note ushould not hit the ball too below