How to Serve - Volleyball Training

To make a tough, accurate standing float serve, your contact with the ball is very important. Here are some tips to produce your best possible result.
When serving, keep your wrist flat and firm and your hand in the shape of the ball. This will allow you to transfer your power into the ball.
Your toss should be consistent and efficient with no wasted movement. You’ll start with the ball in non-dominant hand in front of the dominant hip. Alex is right-handed, so she holds the ball in her left hand in front of her right hip. Toss no more than 1 or 2 balls higher than highest reach. Take one step with non-dominant foot. If you were to let the ball drop, it would land even with that foot. For Alex, as a right-handed player, she’s stepping with her left foot and the ball lands even with her left toes.
Contact the center of the ball with a firm, straight wrist, and an open, ball-shaped hand. Swing through the ball after contact, so your hand goes past your hip. Think of hitting the ball FAST rather than HARD. Go through your sequence a step at a time so you’re not rushing. I recommend developing a routine that you use every time you step behind the service line.
What NOT to do:
Toss too high - we tend to move too much when this happens
Toss/swing across your body - makes it difficult to be accurate
Stop the hand on contact - can be hard on your shoulder and often decreases power
Hit with a floppy wrist - this will prevent float and decrease power
Take multiple steps - simple is more effective
The result of your serve will give you immediate feedback. If the ball travels to the left, you’ve probably contacted it on the right. If it travels into the net, you’ve likely hit too far on top of the ball. Pay attention to where the ball travels to coach yourself to correct your serve. Did not record audio for this - I like telling what TO do rather than what NOT to do.
Jump serve:
The purpose of a jump serve is to gather more momentum and to change the angle that the ball travels. You want to take time away from the passer on the other side of the net. Here are some keys to making your jump float serve tough and consistent.
The approach will have a rhythm to it. Here, we will demonstrate a 3-step jump float serve. The rhythm of the approach is: step-toss-step-step jump. Alex is right-handed, so her footwork goes: left-toss-right-left-jump. You may add more steps to the beginning of your approach, but your toss will always come before your last 2 steps. You will land with your feet pointing in the direction you are serving.
Keep your serving hand above your shoulder throughout your approach in order to keep your hand contact consistent; this will give you more control. Keep your hitting shoulder back, then swing through the ball and past your dominant hip.
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