Volleyball Serving Made Simple: Drills for Coaches and Athletes

• By Jackson Chlebowy

Serving is one of the most powerful weapons in volleyball. A great serve can shift momentum and start long scoring runs. Building up your own, or your young athletes', serving skills is essential for building a winning volleyball team and developing future volleyball stars.

This guide covers everything from basic technique to advanced serving drills. You’ll learn how to perform an overhand serve, how to progress into a jump serve, and how to build serving accuracy, power, and confidence.

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How to Serve a Volleyball: Fundamentals for Beginners

Before we get into the drills, let’s break down what makes a good volleyball serve according to Olympian Charlene Johnson-Tangaloa:

- Consistent toss in front of your hitting shoulder

- Elbow above the shoulder

- Step with your opposite foot

- Contact with the heel of the hand

- Finish with your palm facing the target

An aggressive mindset is the best to have when it is your turn to serve. “We don’t serve just to get the ball over the net. We serve to score a point." says Johnson-Tangaloa. Serving with a purpose is crucial to scoring more points and winning more matches.

Drill 1: Pre-Serve Routine

- Develop a personal routine (e.g., bounce, spin, breathe)

- Keep the toss consistent every time

- Breathe to relax and focus

- Be aggressive, pick your spot and attack it

Drill 2: Wall Contact Drill

- Stand one arm’s length from a wall

- Do full serve routine (toss, step, swing)

- Contact the wall with the heel of the hand

- Reinforces clean mechanics and follow-through

To learn more from former US Olympian Charlene Johnson-Tangaloa, check out her course ‘Indoor Volleyball Essentials’. 

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Volleyball Overhand Serve Drills

The following drills come from a live session with Santiago Restrepo, a Division I collegiate women’s volleyball coach. These are his go-to methods for teaching serving technique that scale from beginners to advanced players.

Drill 1: Toss–Step–Hit Fundamentals

Keys from Coach Restrepo:

- Start with the elbow higher than the shoulder

- Toss the ball slightly in front of your hitting shoulder

- Step with your left foot (if right-handed)

- Hit with the heel of the hand

- Finish with your palm facing the target

Progress from 10-foot line to the baseline, increasing power with arm speed as you move back.

Drill 2: Short vs. Deep Serve Control

Short serve: Contact slightly lower, lift higher

Deep serve: Contact higher with faster arm swing

Emphasizes control and adjustment

Drill 3: Zone Serving – Positions 1 to 6

- Maintain consistent mechanics

- Serve to all court positions, both short and deep

- Improves directional accuracy and mental focus

Drill 4: Jump Serve Progression

- Toss the ball high and slightly forward

- Use left–right–left approach

- Jump and strike with elbow high and fast arm swing

- Contact with heel of hand, finish with palm to target

These are D1 collegiate women’s volleyball coach Santiago Restrepo’s favorite serving drills. You can find more passing and serve drills in his course ‘Play Better Volleyball Passing and Serving’.

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Beginner Serving Drills for Accuracy

Drill 1: Partner Serve Progression

This warm-up drill builds form and control.

- Players face each other at the 10-foot line

- Serve to each other using full motion: toss, step, hit

- Move two steps back after every few successful serves

- Reinforces posture, contact, and follow-through

Drill 2: Serve and Sprint Conditioning (Coach Allison Lebar)

This drill adds cardio pressure to serving form.

- Player serves a ball with full technique

- Immediately sprints to the net, touches tape, then backpedals to baseline

- Grabs next ball and repeats

- Focuses on serving under fatigue and keeping consistent mechanics

You can find more drills and fundamental volleyball skills videos in Coach Allison Lebar's course ‘Volleyball Tips & Drills Video Library’

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Final Thoughts On Serving 

Learning how to serve a volleyball isn’t just about technique — it’s about mindset, repetition, and variety. Whether you’re focusing on overhand serve fundamentals or developing a powerful jump serve, these drills will help you build confidence and consistency.

Use these progressions to develop:

- A repeatable serve routine

- Clean mechanics (toss, step, hit)

- Directional control

- Power under pressure

Why stop at the serve? Check out CoachTubes' catalog of expert-led volleyball training videos today!