How to Get Better at Serving in Volleyball

Serving is one of the most important aspects of volleyball that can help you win a game. After all, you could hit an ace, which would be quite beneficial to your team. If you want to improve, you may be wondering how to get better at serving in volleyball.

How to Get Better at Serving in Volleyball

Serving may be an effective play to score quickly and gain an advantage over your opponent. However, even if you don’t manage to get an ace, there are numerous more advantages to serving. For example, you may send a powerful shot that is very difficult to receive and pass.

This way, you can disrupt your opponent’s defense, making it easier for your team to spike and score a point. As a result, mastering serves is critical to your progress as a volleyball player, though you should keep in mind that it takes a lot of effort to achieve.

Even professional players practice serving every day. This is due to the fact that they must continue to improve their expertise. If they don’t, they risk having poor performance on the court, leading to a bad game and a difficult loss.

Create a Pre-Serve Routine

Many moves and actions in sports are motivated by confidence. If you are insecure about your serving, you will most likely perform poorly. That is why you should develop a routine that makes you feel strong and prepared to deliver an effective serve.

This technique might range from repeating positive words to yourself to bouncing the ball four times and breathing deeply. These actions may assist you in focusing and forgetting about your doubts prior to making the serve.

Some players even practice yoga and other mindful techniques before entering the court. This allows athletes to clear their minds and drain out whatever concerns they may have. You must always keep in mind that if you can control your emotions, you can do well in the most challenging matches.

Find a Balanced Stance

Prior to serving, you need to find a comfortable yet balanced stance that can help you deliver a great serve. If you are unbalanced moments before performing it, you might not be able to send an accurate shot. You could just also send a powerless shot that is easy to receive.

Therefore, you need to find a good stance that gives you balance and makes you feel comfortable. For example, you should maintain a shoulder-width distance between your feet and make sure your body is pointing in the direction you want the ball to go.

Also, slightly bend your knees, keep your chin down, and keep your eyes on the ball at all times, even when serving. This will help you have better accuracy and improved stability during the serve.

Focus On Getting the Ball in the Court

You don’t want to prioritize scoring aces as a beginner. This will only make things more difficult for you since you will make a lot of mistakes. You should first concentrate on getting the ball to the other side of the net, avoiding the top, and then you can progress.

On top of that, you must understand that missing a shot is not always a terrible thing; after all, we are all human and can make mistakes. If you allow your errors to affect your mind, you will get insecure about your abilities. This can have a negative impact on your performance.

If you continue to practice, your footwork, strength, and accuracy willimprove over time, allowing you to miss fewer shots. You will also have a better vision of the game. This will allow you to send shots to weaker areas of your opponent’s court.

Pay Attention to the Small Details

In order to master serving, you need to be fully aware of your body and the subtle movements it does. This can be considered the key to mastering most volleyball moves. However, it is not as easy as it might sound.

This has to do with your proprioception, which is your body’s ability to sense its own location in space without you looking at it. You use this ability when you close your eyes and touch your nose, for example. Even when you walk, you are using proprioception.

Here are some small movements you need to do that involve proprioception. By practicing them, you will be able to develop your serving skills.

• When aiming for a spot, aim your feet and hips towards it.
• Keep your eyes on the spot you are aiming for. Although this could affect your chances of deceiving the opponent, it will help you be as accurate as possible.
• During the serve, move towards the spot you are aiming for. Though, you must be careful not to step the serving line.
• To find more stability, keep your weight on your back foot.
• During the final step of the serve, change your weight from your back foot to your front foot. This will allow you to send a powerful shot.
• Try to always hit the ball at the center. This will prevent it from being misdirected and falling out of bounds.
• During the serve, extend your arms and keep your elbows above your head.
• The volleyball should always be tossed in front of your dominant shoulder, and away from your body. If it was too close to your body, it could be too difficult for you to hit it correctly.

Create Your Own Serve

When it comes to serving, you can create your own consistent actions that allow you to send a good serve. This means that if you feel you perform better when you take two steps of momentum, then do it. You should build a unique process that makes you perform better.

Although looking at professionals and imitating their actions can be helpful, do not overdo it. Sometimes, they do what is most comfortable for them. However, that doesn’t mean it will be what is most comfortable for you. You have to get to know yourself and your game.

Practice and Develop Patience

As we previously mentioned, mastering serves takes a lot of time and effort. Therefore, you need to practice a lot before becoming good at it. This is when you have to develop patience, after all, you can’t master something overnight.

If you don’t have patience, you could get frustrated, which could drastically slow down your development. Becoming good at serving could take months or even years of continuous practice, which is why you should also be constant.

Related Questions

Here are some related questions about serving in volleyball.

Which Serve Is Easiest to Learn Volleyball?

The underhand serve may be the easiest to learn in volleyball. This is due to the fact that players are not required to jump or hit the ball in midair when performing this move. However, this serve is primarily used by beginners rather than professionals.

Although it is simple to understand, it lacks power and is very simple to receive. As a result, elite players will not do it in professional matches.

What Is the Most Effective Serve in Volleyball?

Even though there are other great serves, the float serve is widely regarded as the most effective and difficult to receive. This is because, when done correctly, it can move unexpectedly, deceiving the opponent.

Conclusion

Serving a good ball requires a significant amount of technique and attention to detail. However, once you’ve mastered these elements, you may start improving your serving skills, which will eventually lead to great aces.