ARTICLES, TIPS, TRAINING & GENERAL ADVICE

Girls Volleyball 101-Overhand Serve

by Phil, December 30, 2007

I played basketball and football almost every day as a kid. I love sports, so when one of the parents approached me about coaching volleyball for the Boys and Girls Club, I jumped at the chance. This would give me the opportunity to combine my love of sports and spending time with my daughter. I began to research volleyball, trying to breakdown the sport to come up with some effective drills to help the girls improve their game.

Over the weekend I spent 10 hours in a volleyball clinic - a 3 hour session for coaches, and two 3.5 hour sessions for players (I went to the two sessions for 7th grade through High School players). I decided I would do a brain dump of all the things I remember - both for myself and for any other coaches who might benefit. This information is free - take it for what it’s worth.

This article is about Overhand Serving:

The Toss

• The ball should go up about 1 ball width higher than the player can reach

The Step

• The Step and the ball toss are connected
• When the toss goes up, the foot should automatically come forward as if there is a string tied between the arm and the foot.
• If the ball were to drop to the floor after the toss, it should land on the inside next to the foot you stepped with.

The Hit

• The ball should be hit with your hand open.
• The hitting hand should be stiff from the middle finger to the elbow.
• For players who have good form, but the ball isn’t going over the net, there are two things to look at. First, they need to increase the velocity of their hand speed. The faster the hit, the farther the ball goes. Second, they need to hit through the ball. They need to aim for hitting the center of the ball rather than the outside of the ball.

• Western Washington University - Volleyball Clinic
• Winning Volleyball For Girls, by Deborah W. Crisfield and Mark Gola
• Volleyball Steps To Success, by Barbara L. Viera and Bonnie Jill Ferguson

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