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Close-Up Serving

Start serving close to the net and move back one big step after every three in a row.

By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026

Set up

Stand halfway between the net and the end line.

Core: Medium. Beat your own best out of 10.

Ages
7 and up
Time
10 min
Players
Just you
Space
Gym or court
Bring
Volleyball, net or rope
Level · skill
Beginner · Serving

The steps

How it works

  1. Stand halfway between the net and the end line.
  2. Serve underhand over the net.
  3. After 3 good serves in a row, take one big step back.
  4. See how far back you get in 10 minutes.

Coaching point

Step, swing, follow through to the target.

Safety: Warm up your shoulder first, keep serve and hitting sets short, and stop if your shoulder hurts.

Make it fun

Play it, don't drill it

Game version

Target-zone serving: two teams of two take turns serving into zones. Each team counts only its own zones hit.

Challenge

Pick a zone: Less (big), Core (medium), More (small). Beat your own best out of 10.

Story

You are opening the match with a serve that lands exactly where you aim.

My best

Beat your own count

Beat your own best out of 10. Only your own number counts: today against last time.

Practice makes progress

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