Master The Float Serve in Volleyball: A Guide for High School Coaches

Master the float serve in volleyball with my step-by-step guide tailored for freshman, JV, and varsity coaches. Elevate your coaching game for the preseason!

Want to nail the float serve in volleyball and best ways to coach this skill? Discover my top tips and drills for Freshman, JV, and Varsity coaches to up your game!"

The float serve in volleyball is a powerful strategic weapon that every coach should know how to teach effectively.

This type of serve, which has no spin on the ball and is served in a way that makes the trajectory of the ball, unpredictable and hard to read and track its path as it crosses the court and the net, causes the opposing team's passers a ton of difficulty when they're trying to receive serve.

The jump float serve in volleyball played an important role in the USA women's and men's Olympic teams' success which helped propel them into the medal matches to win silver and bronze medals in the Paris 2024 Olympics which just ended on August 11. 

I often tell high school volleyball coaches that focusing on teaching the float volleyball serve skill should be a a priority since it offers players the first opportunity to score a point by themselves without the help of a teammate but completely and independently on their own.

I often tell coaches that I mentor, that its important to prioritize improving the standing float serve skills during high school volleyball practices.

The first chance that a player has to touch the ball at the beginning of each rally needs to turn into an opportunity to score a point or to put the opposing team in such difficulty that it isn't easy for them to get the ball back over the net. 

In this article, I want to address the unique challenges and while proposing game plans for three types of high school volleyball coaches:

• Freshman or B team coaches
• Junior Varsity (JV) coaches
• Varsity coaches

The floater serve in volleyball, also known as the float serve, is a serving technique where the ball does not spin, causing it to move and float all over the place in the air.

This unpredictability makes it difficult for the receiving team to read the ball’s flight path, which increases the chances of a passer to shank the ball giving their setter a poor pass.

- Tossing Accuracy is Super Important:

Many serve errors come from players who have poor tosses.

The toss should be consistent and accurate, landing slightly above and in front of the player’s serving shoulder.

Another tip I like to talk about when discussing how to be consistent with your toss is that your tossing arm should start ..straight out in front of your body at a 90 degree angle with your palm facing up to the ceiling with the ball cradled in the palm. 

For many players who have inconsistent serves they start with their tossing arm well below their waist level and the longer it takes for a younger player to swing their arm up to toss the more chances they create for themselves to

• deliver a low toss 
• a toss that's too high
• a toss that's too far forward in front of you
• a toss that's too far right of your body so now you have to go from a balanced starting serve position to an unbalanced position which naturally lowers your elbow when you try and turn to your right to correct the miss-tossed ball. Now that you've lowered your elbow you've also increased your chances of serving the ball in the middle of the net. 

- Serving Arm Position

Your serving arm should be fully extended above your head at a 90-degree angle.

Keep your elbow high, because keeping this position is critical to executing an effective serve.

- Shifting Weight From Back Foot To Front

After the toss, shift your weight from your back foot to your front foot.

Step forward onto your opposite foot (left foot for right-handed servers) as you rotate your hips to face the net. This transition should be smooth and fluid.

The Float Serve in Volleyball: As you swing your arm forward, keep your elbow high. This minimizes the risk of shoulder irritation or injury and improves your accuracy. I tell my clients to keep their elbow slightly bent but high enough so its above the level of their ear. (photo by Matt Duboff)

- High-Five The Ball

As you swing your arm forward, keep your elbow high. This minimizes the risk of shoulder irritation or injury and improves your accuracy. I tell my clients to keep their elbow slightly bent but high enough so its above the level of their ear. 

Think of "high-fiving" the ball with the flat upper palm portion of your hand – the area at the base of your fingers and just above the palm  in the center of the hand.

- Watch The Hand To Ball Contact

Focus on watching your hand contact the ball in its center panels.

I tell clients and coaches "the middle of your hand needs to contact the middle of the ball" which is what keeps the spin off the ball when when you keep your wrist flat while contacting the ball which results in a float effect that makes the ball’s trajectory unpredictable.

I tell clients and coaches "the middle of your hand needs to contact the middle of the ball" which is what keeps the spin off the ball when when you keep your wrist flat while contacting the ball which results in a float effect that makes the ball’s trajectory unpredictable.

Mastering this technique requires time and practice, but the outcome is worth it.

A player with a powerful float serve scores points directly, making their presence on the court invaluable to the team.

Now I want to talk about the specific strategies and challenges that I've tailored to three types of high school volleyball coaches–

• Freshman coaches
• Junior Varsity (JV) coaches
• Varsity coaches.

**Challenges

As a freshman coach with 2-3 years of club experience, you must develop practice plans and drills that cater to beginner volleyball athletes with one year or less of volleyball playing and training experience.

These young athletes need to establish a solid foundation and confidence through repetitive skills practice.

The Float Serve in Volleyball: If the toss is too far to the left or right of your front foot then you are much less likely to serve the ball to your intended target. (Ralph Aversen photo)

1. **Basic Standing Float Serve:**

- **Start with the Toss:**

Emphasize consistency and accuracy. Have players practice tossing the ball to the same spot, and to the same height, every time.

- **Body Positioning:**

Teach players to hold their serving arm fully extended above their head at a 90-degree angle.

- **Weight Transfer:**

Guide them to shift their weight smoothly from the back foot to the front foot for better control.

- **Wall Serves:**

Players practice serving against a wall to focus on hand contact and the toss.

- **Target Practice:**

Set targets in different zones of the court, encouraging players to improve their accuracy.

- **Partner Work:**

Use one server vs. one passer with target skinny court drills to help players adapt to various serving conditions.

During your turn its important to keep your elbow high, as your arm comes forward at the same time your hips do...to high five the ball. (photo by Dan Morgan)

**Challenges:**

As a JV coach with 3-5 years of experience, your focus should transition from teaching the beginner skills to fine tuning intermediate skills so players create consistent movements before during after contacting the ball and introducing more advanced techniques players will use more often at "the next level"  like the jump float serve.

1. **Transition to Jump Float Serve:**

- **Footwork:**

Teach proper footwork, focusing on consistent serve approach steps and how to execute an explosive jump for each serve attempt.

- **Hand Contact:**

Emphasize contacting the ball in the center with the flat upper palm of the hand for a minimal spin.

Secrets To A Better Float Serve in Volleyball: After you've tossed and contacted the ball you want to WATCH the middle of your hand, contact the middle of the ball. (Matt Duboff)

2. **Advanced Drills:**

- **Jump Float Serve Progressions:

** Break down the serve -

• the approach
• the jump
• the arm swing 
• the landing 
• the body positioning in each of these phases from lower body to upper body positioning – practicing each part separately before combining them.

- **Pressure Drills:

** Simulate game-like pressure situations where players score points based on their serve’s accuracy and difficulty.

Check out this rhythm serving pressure drill with my high school aged semi-private training group where everybody in the group has to make their serve "in" and to the designated target which in this case is deep cross court to Zone 1 in order for the entire team to make one point.

No points are awarded if one person missed their serve. The goal is for the team to get 50% or more serves in the first round, 65% the second round and 75% IN the third round.

No pressure!

They also have to stay in rhythm with very little pre-serve prep while still focusing on what each body part needs to to do when contacting the ball before during after their jump. 

- **Role Reversal:

** Allow players to switch roles between serving and passing to understand both perspectives.

**Challenges:**

As an experienced varsity coach with over six years of coaching, your goal is perfecting the technical and strategic aspects of the float serve, ensuring players perform under competitive pressure.

1. **Perfecting Technique:**

- Regularly review the mechanics of the float serve and jump float serve, ensuring players maintain their form under different conditions.

- Use video analysis to identify areas for improvement.

2. **Strategic Drills:**

- **Game-Like Situations:**

Design drills where successful serves score points, mimicking match pressure.

- **Zone Serving:**

Teach players to aim for specific zones on the opponent’s court, exploiting weaknesses.

- **Team Challenges:**

Set up competitions where players must serve a certain number of successful float serves, fostering team spirit and accountability.

Private or semiprivate volleyball indoor/sand lessons are an excellent way for young Las Vegas high school volleyball players to quickly improve their individual skills through a private or semi-private coaching experience. These lessons are conducted by former pro volleyball player, former USA Volleyball High Performance instructor and Evaluator and Tstreet Vegas 18s head Coach April Chapple on a weekly basis. Sign up now!

Follow me on Pinterest Volleybragswag to improve your game even faster!

I share alot of individual, partner and easy-to-do volleyball serving drills we do in class with my followers.

Many of these volleyball practice drills you can do at home by yourself or try at your next practice with your teammates.

If you're a B team or JV player trying to make varsity next year...your goal should be to complete 1000 reps a day of at least three of the basic skills on your own...volleyball passing, serving and setting should be at the top of the list. 

Meet Tatoo the Tiger, Serving Specialist on VolleyBragSwag's All Beast Team

Learn these volleyball serving tips that explain how a short overhand serve to the front row positions on the court can create a problem for the opposing team.

Where do you need to go now? Here are three options: 

1. Learn more about How To Play Volleyball. 
2. Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
3. Or visit the pages to learn more about the volleyball serve in the Related Links below.

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