Questionhi tom!
i am trying out for my middle school volleyball team. i tryed to serve the ball and i cant quite get it to get over the net. and when i set the ball i either grab the ball or whimpishly attempt to hit it. any advice or tips?
thanks for your time.
AnswerGood morning Alison and welcome to www.allexperts.com!
SERVING: Some girls start serving overhand when they are 7th graders. Some aren't consistent with it until 10th grades. For most girls your age who can't serve overhand, it's a question of arm speed.
Here are some ideas that may help.
Swing Harder: I imagine you've already tried this. But some girls "feel" like they're swinging hard, but they can really swing much harder. Try it and see how that works. I mean swing HARD!
Footwork: Try a bigger left foot step (assuming you're right handed). You may also want to try a "stroll," where you take 2 or 3 steps, the last one being with your left. Adding a stroll into your serve will always make the ball go further, and it usually doesn't create a lot of extra missed serves (like swinging harder often does!).
Height Of Your Toss: Try to toss it lower. If you have a high toss, then that's much harder to hit!
Where Your Toss Lands: Keep on experimenting with where your toss is landing. Do you know what I mean? For example, try tossing a little further in front of you. Try tossing it more over your head. Maybe you'll find a toss that'll give you the most chance of the ball going over.
Your Hitting Hand: Don't drop it. Both before and during your toss, keep it up above your shoulder, never allowing it to drop below shoulder height.
Prepare Your Hitting Hand: Some girls toss, then try to flick at the ball like they're paying ping-pong. If you're having trouble serving the ball, then prepare your arm....maybe even as soon as you toss the ball. Do you know what I mean? In other words, as soon as you toss your ball, prepare your hitting arm. I want your hitting arm behind your body, almost like you're facing one way, then a friend has said, "Come with me!" and is pulling on your arm to get you to go with them. Leave your arm there, don't move it, until you serve the ball.
If these don't help, then it's most likely what I thought: arm speed. Go out and throw footballs as hard as you can. Go out and throw baseballs. Go and serve a vball as hard as you can. If you can increase your arm speed, then you'll be in business.
SETTING: Here's a quick setting lesson! You want to be the BEST setter possible! The letters in BEST will tell you how to set a volleyball!
"B" stands for Ball shaped hands. In other words, your hands are the exact shape of the ball. And if someone tosses you a volleyball, and you caught it over your head, the ball would stick in your hands, and you'd have 10 fingers "smothering" the ball.
"E" for early: Your hands must be up early. My setters use the "Half Way Rule". When the ball is half way to them, their hands are ready for the ball.
"S" is for still: And your hands must be still. When the ball is half way to you, your hands do not move again.....until the ball touches them.
"T" is for trampoline. The ball is absorbed by your hands and wrists like a trampoline absorbs a kid jumping on it. Then, like the trampoline, your hands "boing" the ball back out. It happens so far in volleyball, it's barely able to be seen. If you have video of setters, and can find pictures of girls setting, you'll what I mean. The ball is absorbed, then boing's back out.
Tell me if any of this helps you. If you'd prefer, you or your parents can email me sometime at
[email protected].
Thank you for visiting www.allexperts.com. And can you do me a favor? Please visit me at www.coachhouser.com. I think all the smiling faces will help you have a great day! :)
Have a great weekend.
Coach Houser
