Perfecting the Ultimate One-Hit Wonder: How to Improve Your Overhand Serve

When used effectively, the overhand serve is one of the most potent weapons in a volleyball player’s arsenal. The player that learns how to serve overhand with speed and accuracy gives themselves an advantage over the players who do not.

How, though, do you master the serve so that you can ensure accurate placement and power almost every time?

Practice

Like everything in life, no matter what you learn from the information below, if you assume you will just automatically be good at it, you likely will not be. Sure, you might be that prodigy that can dominate from the moment you touch the ball, but likely, you are not. What this means is that you must dedicate yourself to spending plenty of time in your backyard, gymnasium or indoor sand volleyball courts practicing your technique – a lot.

Now, for the fine-tuning of your technique…

Feet Placement and Positioning

Your right foot should be placed slightly in front of your left foot (if you serve lefty, you will want to reverse this.) Place your feet about a foot apart and keep your knees bent slightly.

Ball Toss

Toss the ball with your left hand, with your right hand next to your right ear and your palm facing the ground. The ball’s positioning should be slightly towards where your right hand will follow through. The goal should be to get the height of the toss to be roughly the height of your fully-extended arm.

Step, Hit!

Step with your left foot while tossing the ball far enough in front of you to step into it and hit the ball when it is at its highest point. Follow through with your swing and landing to help make sure you hit the ball as squarely and thoroughly as possible and that you land naturally, as well. Your follow-through momentum can also help you position yourself once you have landed on your feet.

More General Tips

• Focus on hitting the ball with the part of your hand between your palm and your fingers. 
• Practice without a ball until you have the flow of the serve; this will make it easier to master ball placement.
• Avoid spinning the ball when you toss it, as this makes it harder to hit cleanly and aim.

The overhand serve is simple to master if you are committed to practicing until your form, position, placement toss and hit are second nature. Of course, if you want to become the best volleyball player you can, you will also need to have the right professional beach volleyball set, and you can find that through Cobra Net Systems. Contact us today to learn more about our selection!