What Is An Overhand Serve Find Tips, Tactics And Techniques On ...

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3. What Is An Overhand Serve Find Tips, Tactics and Techniques On Serving

What Is An Overhand Serve Find Tips, Tactics and Techniques On Serving

What is an overhand serve? Discover the basics, tips, terms, tactics, and tutorials on ImproveYourVolley.com on what you need to know on the volleyball serve.

What's an overhand serve in volleyball? There are a few different types of overhand serves in volleyball, but what they have in common is that you contact the ball after its been tossed in front of you with an "above the head" armswing so that it propels the ball over the net and into the the opposing team's court. (Over the hand server photo Dan Morgan)

What's An Overhand Serve in Volleyball? The Floater

There are a few different types of overhand serves in volleyball, but what they have in common is that you contact the ball after its been tossed in front of you with an "above the head" armswing so that it propels the ball over the net and into the the opposing team's court.

Ryanwils, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The floater serve is done when you hit the ball without much spin, so it moves unpredictably in the air.

When you hit the ball with a flat hand and stiffly held "no bent wrist" contact it floats, wobbles, drops and moves unpredictably in the air, with no spin, making it tough for the other team to pass.

To pull off a perfect floater, you want to contact the ball with a flat hand right in the center panels of the ball facing you.

What is An Overhand Serve With Topspin?

A 12-year old with a tough top spin jump serve! 

If you're looking to add some serious speed and power to your overhand serve, the topspin serve is the way to go.

The topspin serve is another overhand serve technique used when you flex or bend your wrist when you contact the ball which puts some topspin on the ball, making it cross the net faster and harder to receive.

To get that topspin, start with your hand high above the ball and really snap your wrist as you make contact.

Follow through with your arm making sure the palm of your hand faces the floor as it finishes with your thumb to your thigh finishing all the way past your leg.

Elevate Your Game with An Overhand Jump Serve

Are you a tough volleyball server? ⁠⁠As a tough volleyball server, your job is to be comfortable serving anywhere and to/at anyone from behind the service line with pace and precision in order to score points.⁠

(Coach April private training client Ariella works on serving precision and aggressiveness. Click for more info on private training)

When you do your volleyball drills for serving practice you want to do tons of reps to every single one of the six positions on the court.⁠⁠You want to be able to hit those targets from anywhere behind the service line. ⁠⁠

(Coach April private training client Ariella works on serving precision and aggressiveness. Click for more private training info)

Targets to aim for⁠ during your volleyball drills for serving:

⁠-serve the seams⁠-serve the sidelines⁠-serve outside hitters deep in the court⁠

(Coach April private training client Ariella works on serving precision and aggressiveness)

Some players think that being a tough volleyball server means you need to really be sneaky and try and fake out the serve receive by not showing where you are going to serve.⁠⁠On the contrary I say...let everybody know where you are going to serve.⁠⁠Face Your Target.⁠

Ready to take your overhand serve to the next level?

The jump serve is a power-driven advanced overhand serve technique that can really make you stand out on the court.

To nail a jump serve, you'll toss the ball higher than usual, then take a three-step or four-step approach steps, and jump up to contact the ball at the peak of your jump.

This allows you to hit the ball with a ton of power and topspin from a higher point similar to how you'd spike a ball.

The jump serve is an aggressive serve technique where you toss the ball high, (higher than you would for a standing float serve) then take a three-step or four-step approach jump which launches you in the air before you contact the ball in the air at a higher point to get more power and speed on the ball when serving.

It takes a lot of practice and coordination, but once you've got it down, you'll be serving up some serious heat!

Practice Your Overhand Serve Until You Make It Perfect

If you want to get really good at the overhand serve, you have to put in alot of serving reps.

Spend time working on your technique, focusing on tossing the ball consistently, getting your arm swing right, and your ball contact smooth.

You can do drills that target specific parts of the serve, like tossing accuracy or serving to different areas on the court.

Add Pressure Drills When You Practice Your Overhand Serves

It also helps to practice under pressure, like in game-like situations, and to set goals for yourself.

It's one thing to nail your overhand serves in practice, but it's another to do it during a game when the pressure is on.

That's why it's important to practice serving in game-like situations. Get your teammates to cheer and make noise while you serve, or practice serving after running a quick sprint to get your heart rate up.

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The more you practice serving under pressure, the more comfortable and confident you'll feel during actual games.

Serving Drills to Improve Your Accuracy

If you want to get better at placing your overhand serves, you should practice hitting specific targets.