Serving
Serving is a skill that is of a unique nature in the sport of volleyball. It is the only time during any match when you are in total control of the play--you are actually holding the ball and are required to place the ball somewhere on the opponents side of the net. You are the center of the action. You do not rely on someone else's contact to dictate your action. You are the beginning of the point. Wow, that's a lot of responsibility. A responsibility, however, that few recognize and adequately prepare for. Every good server follows these guidelines:
1) A serving motion has minimized motion--the fewer movements involved in the service action, the fewer chances for you to make a mistake.
2) The server looks exactly the same every time he/she serves
3) The server always has a target and is never "just trying to get it over the net."
4) If possible, always serve to one side or the other of a passer--make them move every time they receive serve.
5) If someone shanks a pass, go right back to them--pick on the less skilled passer or the passer that is in a slump.
6) Understand who is under the pressure. When you are up 14-12 and you are serving for game point, your most difficult serve is probably not appropriate. You never want to serve an easy "lollipop" to the other team, however it is in your team's best interest to serve something that is 3/4 your maximum, or a serve that has some risk, but you almost never miss it. 7) Rolly's rule: if you serve less than 80%, you better be getting some aces.
As far as types of serves that are effective, I certainly have my favorites. A good rule of thumb is "if it works for you, it is effective." If you don't really have a serve that you are in love with, I have some suggestions. The most effective serves that cover a range of possibilities are the floater, jump serve, and jump floater. I never serve anything but these serves. Here are some guidlines for these specific serves:
Floater: If you are right handed, hold the ball in your left hand in front of you. Your left foot should be in front of your right with your weight centered over your right foot. Notice in the picture below that my arm is cocked back before I toss the ball (minimizing movement) and my weight is centered over my right foot. Now that you are prepared to make your toss and serve the ball, you must toss the ball in front of you, in front of your hitting (serving) shoulder and shift your weight to your front foot. Contact the ball on the palm of your hand and only follow through to your side. Don't "pop" the ball by pulling your hand back as you contact the ball and don't follow through completely like you would while jump serving or hitting. The momentum created by shifting your weight from your back to front foot in combination with your arm swing creates enough power to carry the ball over 6 volleyball courts--so, this serve can be accomplished by young players at any level. You must help these players coordinate their movements in a way that combines their momentum shift with their arm swing.
Jump serve: The best way to jump serve is to approach it (mentally and physically) just as you would while hitting a set that is 30 feet off the net. The lower your toss the better (less time for errors). My toss is in the middle of my approach (fairly low--only the equivalent of a second tempo set, like a "2-set") allowing me to contact the ball at or near the apex of the toss itself (it's easier to time). When I toss the ball, I spin it forward adding some artificial top-spin (I need all the advantaI've been told by many qualified jump servers (0lympians) that the ball must you up before it goes down, so don't hit it like you would a spike. Unfortunately, this mentality doesn't work for me. I simply try and hit the ball over the net as hard and fast as possible without serving it out. My secret to jump serving (are you ready?) is a key phrase I say to myself right before I start my approach--I say, "It's me and the ball, just me and the ball." When I forget about the match, the players on my side, the opponents on the other side and just concentrate on the ball itself, I can hit (serve) the ball anywhere on the other side of the net I want to.
Jump floater: I approach this the same as I do with my jump serve and contact the ball the same way as I would a float serve only now I'm airborne. Being higher above the net allows you to serve a flatter floater (no tongue twister intended) and gives you a more options. Since the ball never goes up (if you are jumping and contacting the ball above the level of the net) the ball will reach the passers sooner, giving them less time to react to your serve. I mix this serve in with my jump serve to throw the passer's rhythm off.
More advanced serving techniques will be posted in another article. |