The underhand serve: proper technique for beginners
Every volleyball player starts with the same technique: the underhand serve. It looks simple — and that is exactly its strength. Whoever learns the underhand serve properly can join game forms from the very first practice and lays the foundation for everything that comes after.
Why the underhand serve is the right start
The underhand serve requires little strength, is quick to learn and goes in far more often for beginners than an overhand attempt. That matters more than it seems: in mini volleyball and beginning teams, the serve decides the game. A team that serves reliably plays more rallies — and rallies are how you learn volleyball. In the youngest CMV levels (CMV is the Dutch youth volleyball format), the underhand serve is therefore the standard.
The technique step by step
- Feet: for a right-handed player the left foot is forward, the right foot back. Shoulders point at the target zone.
- Ball position: the ball rests still on the left palm, at hip height in front of your right hip. The left arm is slightly extended.
- Swing: the right arm swings straight back and then forward like a pendulum, brushing past the body.
- Contact: hit the ball with the heel of the hand or a firm fist, below the center of the ball. The ball is struck off the hand — not tossed up first.
- Weight and follow-through: step in with the back leg during the swing and follow the arm through toward the target. The serve ends with your weight on the front foot.
The three most common mistakes
- Tossing the ball up. By far mistake number one. A tossed ball moves, and a moving ball gets hit off-center. The ball stays on the hand until contact — the hitting hand comes to the ball, not the other way around.
- Standing sideways to the net. Whoever stands with the shoulders parallel to the net swings the arm across the body and serves structurally left or right. Shoulders to the target, swing straight ahead.
- Hitting from the arm alone. Without weight transfer the serve does not clear the net and players start "throwing". The power comes from the step-in plus the swing, not from the arm muscles.
Tip for coaches: have beginners serve from the three-meter line (attack line) first and move a step back with each success. Ten serves from seven meters that go in teach more than ten failed attempts from the end line.
Building toward more distance and direction
Is the movement working? Then expand in this order: first distance (two meters back at a time toward the end line), then direction (serving to the left or right half, then at mats in the corners), then pressure (hitting streaks, game forms where a service error has a consequence). Use game forms from the serving drills to keep the repetition fun — a hundred dry serves in a row gets dull, a serving bingo does not.
If it keeps going wrong: how to fix it
Some players keep struggling with the underhand serve even after weeks of practice. Almost always the problem is one of these three things — and each has a simple remedy:
- The ball is hit off-center: the ball hand moves during the swing. Have the player rest the ball on an extended, motionless hand and count out loud "still… hit" — the ball hand may only drop after contact.
- The serve goes too high and too short: the contact is too far under the ball, often because the player wants to "scoop". Have them aim at a spot on the ball just below center and follow through toward the net instead of toward the ceiling.
- The serve is too weak for the distance: power is squeezed from the shoulder instead of coming from the weight transfer. Exaggerate the step-in — a big step forward during the swing — and the ball travels meters farther without extra arm strength.
If it still does not work, look one level deeper: is the player standing stable, looking at the target zone, and is the ball not too heavy for the age group? With the youngest players a lighter ball or shorter distance often does more than a hundred technical cues.
And when to move on to overhand?
The underhand serve is a starting point, not a destination. As soon as a player can hit the ball with power and control — usually somewhere between ten and twelve years old — the switch to the overhand serve begins. Do that in practice first and let the player keep serving underhand in matches until the new technique is reliable. Nothing wrecks confidence as fast as five overhand misses in a row in a real match. If you track serving numbers, for instance in an app like Koach, you see exactly when the overhand version overtakes the underhand one in efficiency.
How to embed that whole learning line in your youth practices is covered in coaching youth volleyball by age group.
Frequently asked questions
Is underhand serving allowed in competition?
Yes, at every level — the rules place no demands on serving technique, as long as the ball is struck with one hand or arm within eight seconds. At higher levels underhand is merely tactically unwise because the serve is easy to pass.
Do you hit an underhand serve with a fist or an open hand?
Both are allowed. The heel of the open hand gives the most control and the largest contact surface; a loose fist also works well. Avoid contact with the fingers — that makes the serve weak and inaccurate.
Why does my underhand serve not clear the net?
Usually the weight transfer is missing: you hit with the arm alone. Step in with the back leg during the swing and contact the ball slightly below center. Holding the ball a little farther in front of the body also helps.
