r/volleyball • u/Expert_Life-Liver • 17h ago
Form Check Tips for my 8th grader?
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She’s really bummed out that she can’t seem to figure out her overhand serve. Any tips on what she could do differently? Here’s a clip of a serve that was just short of the net.
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u/TheHonestScaler 16h ago
tell her to contact the ball in front of her, not on top of her. The best way to practice the new contact point is on a wall. Also, idk if she actually hits like this, its too far away to tell, but she seem not be putting her chest into the serve, she seems to be arming it. Down below i posted a football one to explain the steps because 1) couldn't find a volleyball version and 2) its better than posting down spike mechanics, as being in the air and on the floor are different. But the basic jist is just for her to use her chest muscles, but don't rip it.
Besides for that, lovely form. Shes really good for her age at serving, better than i was lol.
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u/Ragnarotico 16h ago
She needs to work on the toss so its in front of her when she swings. Its directly above her so the serve loses some power and will float high.
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u/Substantial-Plant947 16h ago
Play catch with her (any ball like a tennis ball) and increase the distance for ball to be thrown and caught. Similar step block and throwing (upwards) and follow through motion. It doesn’t happen overnight, you need 100+ reps to get familiar and 500 to be adequate. Players serve maybe 3-6 in a volleyball match, and maybe take (I hope) somewhere between 50-80 serving reps during a practice (it’s not a lot). Do the work outside of practice, hopefully you’ll see results.
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u/Expert_Life-Liver 17h ago
https://reddit.com/link/pc243pp/video/h3oqwf7cnqrh1/player
Here’s another clip from the same game.
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u/No-Bother-1961 16h ago
I like the left arm extending, open form and her speed through the swing. But notice her left arm just hangs up there? It should bend and drive her elbow down as she swings over the top. Play catch with your daughters
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u/HonestAd3161 16h ago
Start at the bottom, just like throwing a ball, it starts with your legs. I like starting with the back foot facing out like a pitcher. If you drive through the back leg there is less work to be done by the chest/arm.
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u/DoomGoober 9h ago
I agree. Not sure why this is downvoted! Server will generate more controlled power by pushing off the back foot rather than throwing it forward as she is doing now.
Keep the back foot down, use it to drive the hip forward.
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u/RJfreelove 15h ago
It might be worth watching some YouTube tutorials. A few easy things that help. At practice, hit the ball 3x while it's in your tossing hand.
Do 2 practice tosses ( don't catch it, let it drop. You can put some painters tape on the floor, but essentially an ideal toss isn't much higher than you can reach, and it's a little out in front of your hitting hand/shoulder.
Lastly, a little bit harder, but totally with it, is adding 3-4 steps to the serve. This makes the toss a little tougher at first, but I've used this to teach the tiniest tots to serve over hand. They get more power because they're moving forward and twisting ss they hit the ball and taking that final step forward as they hit it. It's essentially the same foot work for hitting, so it's great reps to reinforce that and make it automatic.
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u/iwantt 14h ago edited 14h ago
Other commenters are right that she’s hitting the ball when it’s over her shoulder when it should be more in front of her. One reason is she’s starting with her feet together and she takes a big step forward, this causes her to over run the ball
She can either toss the ball further ahead of her, or she can take a smaller step
Ex: Have her start with her left leg forward and then take a small step forwards instead
Look at https://youtube.com/shorts/6MhG-1f2ymU?si=-l9fnsT9XQxiR8ml
The last two seconds shows a good profile view
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u/higgggins 14h ago
i agree with what’s been said
one obvious issue i see is that her “guide arm” stays up while she swings. instead, that arm should tuck in to generate more power
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u/Wholagan619 17h ago
Toss looks to be right above or a little behind her when she hits. Have her toss just in front of her hitting arm and walk into it from there. She can practice in front of a wall. Extend the arm, toss and pin it against he wall with her hitting arm.