How do i do a proper overhand serve in volleyball?

Question

ive got the underhand serve down, but its really hard for me to do an overhand serve.

what i do is have my left foot back and my right in front of me. then i toss the air into the ball, get ready to hit with my right hand while stepping forward with my left foot, then hit it with my palm. but i can never get it over the net! .. is what im doing wrong, or am i just not strong enough?

my friend told me to just trying punching it. i tried and right now thats the only way i can hit it high enough to get it over the net. is that allowed?

[im new to volleyball and want to try out next year]

Answer 1

If you are a lefty, then you are doing it correctly. If you are a righty you wanna put your left foot in front. Bend your elbow so your hand is near your ponytail, toss the ball, step forward, wait for it to be at the right point(the highest you can reach your palm), bring your elbow through the swing first, then contact the ball as high in the air as you can, hit it with your palm, use your stomach muscles also to get good strength, and hit the ball as hard as you can. Good luck and keep practicing!!! What I found is that coaches like is someone who does it the right way instead of their way to get it over the net. This is called being coachable. Try doing what your coach suggests at tryouts and you will make it. Do the best that you can and have fun!!!!

Answer 2

Think of it like shooting a bow and arrow

use that method of pulling your arm back

hit with your WHOLE hand so your fingers wrap all the way around the ball.

You also need a decent toss

about a metre above your head

and always keep your eye on the ball

Answer 3

i have the same problem...i just started vball last year and i had to serve with my fist for a long time bc my arm wasnt strong enough to get it over the net...what i did was just schrunch up ur fingers so that ur palm is still exposed and it provides the perfect spot to hit it off of...after u get good at that then try hitting it all flat handed...but in order to get ur arm strength up i would lift weights to get more muscle.

good luck! hope this helps

Answer 4

Go outside and serve the ball to a wall. When I serve I keep both of my feet together throw up the ball then step forward with my right foot and hit it.

The more you practice the better you'll get. When you hit it with your fist you don't have as much control of the ball as you would hitting it with your palm. Also try watching where the ball is when you hit it and try to adjust it different heights (letting it come down a little more or hitting it when it is higher in the air). You might also want to see if there are any sand v-ball leagues in your area and get your friends together and play this summer, you will get plenty of practice that way also.

Good luck I hope you make the team.

Answer 5

punching it is allowed, i did that beginning of vball but then i got down it with my palm, u just gotta follow through and stuff

i do a little jump then hit it so i get a little power over the net

but i warn u, do not punch and i mean do not punch the ball during a game, cuz it'll only make u and ur team(var/jv/FS) look like sht

jsut get down the right overhand serve in practice then use that in games

Answer 6

your not hitting it strong enough

Answer 7

practice a little weight lifting. we lifted weights 3 1/2 years of the 5 years i played volleyball. we were so strong that even our smallest girl who weighed like 105lbs could hit it overhand and open handed. So try a little weight lifting and flip/flick your wrist down when you make contact with the ball. also continue to step into the serve. keep practicing. i have a lot to say about this and i will be glad to help with any further questions because I LOVE volleyball!!!

Answer 8

its ok! the first few times i tried to do an overhand serve i never got it pass the net cause i wasn't getting enough strength into my serves. the way i do it is to throw the ball slightly right above me, take a step with my opposite foot (left) swing my right arm back just a little bit, and put my hand into a fist and hit the ball over the net with as much power that i have.

im pretty sure punching it is just fine. its the same thing as putting your hand in a fist, because some people do it with a fist, and some people just keep their hand open and that makes noise. personally, i use a fist cause im too weak and little to do the other option D: lol.

hope this answers ur question!

xoxo

Answer 9

ur form seems good. but you should make sure that your hips and upper body are facing to the side that way when you toss the ball up you can step and then snap ur upper body forward and ur serve will be more powerful!

hope this helps!

Answer 10

Everything starts with the toss. Make sure that your toss is in front of your hitting(right) shoulder. A lot of beginners like to toss the ball straight up so that they have to contort their body to make contact with it and some like to toss the ball so that when they make contact it's even with or behind their body.

Punching it is ok for confidence, but it's a starting point, it's not the end. You'll never have good control with a fist and that's why they don't do it at higher levels. Work on the toss. The idea is the ball should be slightly in front of your body when you make contact. This forces your body to keep moving forward on the follow through which allows you to use your body weight as momentum for power....i'm pretty much saying that if you step into the contact on the serve, you're not just swinging with your arm. Which is what you're doing if the ball is behind your body at contact.

Your set up seems correct. Keep your right arm high through out the entire serve, and make sure you're drawing it back after the toss. You can start with your left foot forward or back, as long as your stepping with your left foot (because you're right handed). Stepping with the opposite foot helps you maintain balance.

Keep working and good luck!

Answer 11

ok so. first of all left foot first. step with the right cuz u are a righty.and it's technically not your palm and it kinda is lol. like u don't slap it. but when u do it right idk...it just feels right. i can't describe it lol. its also a lot to do with the toss. so give urself a good toss. when the coaches say like throw it up in the air and let it drop so u know ur toss, don't be like me (teeheee) and be like UGH this is so stupid. cuz it's really not. once u've like masteredddd that, u wont have to think about it as much and u can focus on hitting it. and yeah, whoever said lift weights, kudos =)