Tag Archives: Floater

Apr 13

How to serve a top spin

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I ran across this article on Volleyball.com and thought I’d share it.

How to serve a top spin

A top spin refers to the top of the volley ball spinning forward. It can be a difficult hit that has a great pay off. The ball dives suddenly in front of the opposing team and looks impressive and is often mistaken for a ball going past the end line.

There are some tips that apply to almost all serves, and they apply to the top spin as well. Always use follow through when hitting, which means when serving don’t plan to stop the motion of your arm when making contact. Aim beyond the ball, and hit like the ball is a few feet beyond where it is. Keep your eyes on the ball. Focus on the hit.

The actual motion offers a few techniques that can sometimes take people a few years to learn. A good tip is to practice with a small ball, like a baseball, and flick it against a wall repeatedly.

  1. You need to position yourself so that you are under the ball to hit it. Some players throw it behind the back, or use different hands. The thing to remember is to be under the ball as it arcs upwards, so that you can apply the perfect motion to the perfect spot.
  2. Hit the ball with your hand open, the arm firm but the wrist relaxed. Your arm should be fully extended at the point of contact. Aim for the bottom center of the ball.
The rest of this article can be found under How to Serve a Top Spin on Volleyball.com.

But, I’m more a float serving gal myself. Kindred spirits, check out our post on float serves.

Jun 23

Dead fish: not just in the Gulf

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Here’s a youth beginner drill called “Dead Fish.” This is a good one for the first year of volleyball. Once they learned to serve over the net, Donnie’s 12-year-olds really enjoyed this super fun game. (plus they got serving reps with little competitiveness).

The rules are simple.
1. Split the group in half and put a cart of balls on each side.
2. Everyone starts serving.
3. If a girl misses her serve, she runs to the other side of the net and lays on the ground flopping around like a fish out of water.
4. The rest of her team must then save her from being a “dead fish.” What better way to save her than by serving the ball at her?
5. If she gets hit, she’s saved!

The first team to lose all their players to the other side become “dead fish” and lose the game.

Have you tried this one with your youngins’? If not, try it, and tell me what you think.

Aug 29

How to serve a floater in volleyball

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Here is an overhand serve where the ball has no spin. Its path becomes unpredictable. Compare this serve to a knuckleball in baseball.

  1. The toss. Notice the toss is not too far out in front of her. If she lets it drop, it will hit her left foot.
  2. The footwork. As pretty much every skill in volleyball, footwork is the under-appreciated behind the scenes-er. But like any “behind the scenes” skill, one minor slip could affect the entire outcome. One step. Some prefer to do a “toe-on-the-line” serve. This creates a fear of foot fault that will keep two flaws in check: too many steps, stepping too soon – and no one wants to foot fault. It’s embarrassing.
  3. The contact. Notice how stiff her hand is. She maintains that form throughout the entire serve. (check out the slo-mo!) She makes contact with the middle of the ball. Slightly to the left or the right, the top or the bottom, and the serve is ruined (by ruined I mean not as totally wicked as a floater should be) . Must be in the middle. The most important part of this serve is the position of her hand. And… as she hits the ball, she’s thinking, “Ok, I’m gonna try to make this ball do a backspin.” The outcome won’t be a backspin (don’t worry; she won’t be disappointed). If  she hits the volleyball square in the middle and positions her hand as if to create a backspin, the ball will float across the net. The result will be devastating. Well, for the other team, when she aces them!

Beginners!
Start in the middle of the court just behind the 10-foot line with a colored volleyball (easier to see the spin – or lack thereof). Work on that hand. When you start to see no spin, swing harder. Then, step back. Then, swing harder. The harder you swing, the more the ball will float and change direction. Thus, making it unstoppable!

In my opinion, the floater is the trickiest serve surpassed only by the jump float. Look for a video soon on how to do a jump float. But… practice this one first.