From Coach Dave
Coach Dave here…First off, let me thank each one of you for playing with Spike Frog this Fall season. I’ve been able to attend a number of practices and games to see lots of smiling faces and proud moments. As I’ve watched the games and practices, I’ve had a few thoughts come to mind that I wanted to share with you.
Serving. As volleyball players advance in their skills, this might be THE BIGGEST accomplishment in their early development. It’s similar to riding a bike without training wheels. It is a solo skill they can do all on their own. Because of that, we have designed a lot of our rules around serving.
For Junior Frog (grades 2-4), everyone gets to serve 3 times, no matter what. And they can serve from ANYWHERE on the court in ANY style they want. It’s a tremendous accomplishment for volleyball players to get their serve over the net. We have also lowered the net to 6 feet, 6 inches in an effort to hit it over. All of those rules are designed to help the volleyball athlete experience success at a young age, love the game, embrace the challenge and continue playing.
For Spike Frog (grades 5-6), overhand serving is encouraged but we use a lighter ball that weighs about HALF as much as a regulation volleyball. In order to encourage success at this age level, we’ve moved the serving line up to 15 feet behind the net (usual serving line is 30 feet away). The net is regulation height for Spike Frog division and it’s the same exact height for Middle School, High School, College and Olympic athletes. As servers hit the ball over this seemingly high net, the elation that comes from getting their serves over is immediate. It can be a VERY daunting task. We encourage our coaches to continue to push our athletes further and further back as they experience success from 15 feet.
*PERSONAL NOTE – Sometimes I get asked if overhand serving with a fist is legal. The answer is yes. Absolutely it’s legal and safe. And it has ALWAYS been legal. Perhaps some coaches and players discriminate because that’s not how it’s done in High School or college, but it’s just as legal there too. The issue comes with control. While, yes, the ball tends to go a lot further when hit with a fist, it’s very hard to direct a serve to a target or location on the other side of the net. Having an open hand and using your palm to serve the ball over the net has much more control with the direction of serve. When I coach young athletes, I always try to get them to do it with the open hand first. If, after many attempts, they do not experience success, I ask them to try with the fist. I know it’s very important for them to feel like they have accomplished something in practice. So we try the fist. We experience success. I get them to try to open their hand a little bit at a time until the hand is fully open like a regular serve. Confidence plays a HUGE role in serving!
For Boss Frog (grades 6-8), overhand serving should be the norm. Yes we still have occasional athletes wanting to serve underhand and we do allow that behind the serving line. It is a legal serve. The only rules we have for serving are that in weeks 1-3, you can serve from 20 feet away. By Week 4, the player must be serving from behind the regulation (30 feet from the net) serving line. Our Boss Frog games usually take place at the Cedar Park Rec Center and there isn’t a whole lot of room between the blue curtain divider and the serving line. Same goes for serving right in front of the stands where parents sit. Some servers take a couple of steps as part of their serving routine. Again, with success and serving in mind, we’ve modified the rules due to the amount of space available to serve. As such, servers can step ON, BUT NOT OVER the line when serving.
Personally, as an opposing player or spectator, I like serves that go over the net. It encourages a rally and play between teams. There are 12 athletes on the court. If a serve goes into the net, only 1 of 12 people got marginally better—the server. If the serve goes over, the opportunities to get a touch on the ball increase tremendously for both teams! We like serves going over the net. It’s a fundamental skill in our game. It’s a LOT more fun to watch for sure!
The last rule I hear a lot of comments about it the “6 consecutive serves” rule. If a player serves 6 balls and their team wins each point, then we default to a “sideout” and send the ball over to the other team. Why? Well, many reasons. But probably the most important is to encourage more touches from more players. As a coach, I’m not proud to say that my high school and club teams have suffered some really long serving runs by the opposition. 21-0 before we got a point and 18-0 before it was our turn to serve. Those might have been some of the most demoralizing games I’ve ever been a part of. I have actually reffed a club game that was 25-0. It was hard to watch, it was hard to ref. I’m certain the kids didn’t enjoy it much either. Because Spike Frog is not about egos, we’re about fair/equal play and fun by everyone. We do encourage a healthy spirit of competition where everyone gets a chance to shine. That’s why we implemented a 6-serve rule for our leagues.
I hope this insight into the skill of serving has provided you with a bit of feedback for your questions. I’m certainly willing to entertain all sides of thought and ideas to make our leagues better. Every year we try to make THIS year better than LAST.
Creating a culture of play, one contact at a time
