Serving technique and setting/bumping accuracy??

Question

Next year I am doing tryouts 4 my school volleyball team... there will only be one and it will be the "A-team". All my friends are really good and play volleyball league outside of school (btw, it's too late for me 2 sign up right now). I need to get on the team becuz I love volleyball and if I don't get on, I will not be able to play for the whole year. I need help w/my serve (it always goes off to the side, or into the net, or something like that). Does anyone have any tips for overhand or underhand serving techniques? Also, I need to know how to set and bump accurately so if anyone has any drills for that it would be great. I do have a big wall that I can practice against. Thanks so much!

Answer 1

Since you haven't specified overhand vs underhand serve, I'll give you advice for both.

For both:

*PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! Yes, it can be tedious, but if you really love volleyball this is what you should do

*KEEP IT SIMPLE! If you over-complicate serving, it will become much, much harder

*KEEP IT CONSISTANT! If you have a routine for serving (bouncing on the ground, practice tossing once, etc) it will become simpler and easier for you.

*USE A FLAT SURFACE! If you use a fist, the bal will travel anywhere and everywhere but where you want it to go.

Underhand: Try to hit it with an open hand. Yeah, its a lot harder than with a fist, but in the long run it will make your serve a lot more consistant. With an open hand make sure you hit the ball hand part of your hand, the bottom of your palm, and don't slap the ball.

What I do for underhand serving (which I shouldn't do) is make a fist. Many servers do this and it makes them very inconsistant. However, what I do is turn my fist to the side. I make a hard fist and then turn it to the left 90 degrees. My thumb is then facing me. Then I align my thumb with my index finger, and it forms a flat surface that I use.

Overhand: BEFORE YOU TOSS, raise your arm, HIGH. If you make this part of a routine, your arm will always be high for when you serve. Keep your hand stiff and strong. Practice your toss, as most serving mistakes come from your toss. It should land about a foot in front of your front foot (left foot for right handed servers). Toss the ball, take a big step, and hit the ball as hard as you can.

Also, make sure to use your core muscles (butt, abs, shoulders). Your arm muscles enough won't do it.

Again, most important is to practice. Good luck!

EDIT: I just posted this and realized that roxy posted before me. Your adivce is very good (even though I read the same paragraphs before (XD) )

Answer 2

1. If you've ever been told that you drop your elbow and that's why your serve doesn't go over, this is NOT true. I was told the same thing, but this coach told me that dropping your elbow has nothing to do with getting the ball over the net.

2. The toss is the most important part of serving. If you toss too high or too low it can AND WILL mess up your entire serve. Toss the ball out and up in front of you and WITHOUT HITTING IT see where it lands. You want it to land about a foot or so in front of your right foot. Toss the ball and let it land a couple times until you get used to it. This is your toss!

3. Once you have the toss down, next is footwork. If you're right-handed, which I'm assuming you are, once you toss the ball, right before you make contact with your hand, take a BIG step forward with your left foot. This may cause you to drag your right foot a little which is totally fine. (This is why a lot of volleyball players have wear, even holes, on the tip of their right shoe!)

4. Combining the two steps above, you want to toss the ball out in front of you and take a BIG STEP with your left foot to, in a sense, "go out and get that ball." You have to reach for it, but you don't want it too far in front of you that you hit it straight down.

5. ARMS. Toss the ball with your left hand while your right hand is back in the air. Your right hand should be up with your elbow pointing out and your fingers should be by your ear. When you toss the ball up to serve, bring your right arm slightly back and then up to hit the ball.

6. CRUNCH. This is a step that took me a while to get used to, and depending on your age and body type you might not need to use this step yet. When you make contact with the ball, slightly crunch your abs forward. This in turn pushes your shoulders forward and gives you more power. If you play for a middle school team or even JV in high school, you probably don't need to do this, as it's usually used by more experienced players so they don't have to swing as hard.

7.SWING FAST! SWING FAST! SWING FAST! This is perhaps the most important step (and it's also true in hitting). When you make contact with the ball, snap your wrist and swing your arm AS FAST AS YOU CAN! This is what makes the ball go farther. I had a VERY slow arm swing when I first started playing volleyball, and it helped me a lot to video tape myself serving. I realized how slow my arm was going. To help speed up your arm swing, go outside with a friend or family member and throw a baseball or softball back and forth. Focus on swinging your arm FAST all the way through and snapping your wrist.

8. NEVER GIVE UP! No matter how long it takes, if you practice, practice, practice, you WILL get better. It may not be this season but IT WILL COME. I know I was so discouraged when all the girls on my team could jump serve and do all this fancy stuff, when I couldn't even get it over the net. But, and this is another tip I almost forgot, KEEP IT SIMPLE. Don't make serving more complicated than it needs to be. The JO's coach told me that when someone tells you "You have such a simple serve" or "Wow you make it look so easy!" that's the best compliment a server can get.

Your serve goes to the side of the net because that's where your toss it. I used to have that problem. Toss the ball straight out in front of your right foot instead of to the side.

For setting, practice setting while your watching TV. Just set set set!

For passing, pass against a wall. The ball should make contact with the inside of your forearm. Don't swing your arms.