The serve is the only skill in beach volleyball that you control completely on your own, and for many beginners it is also the most frustrating one. The good news: a stable serve is not about strength. It comes from a few simple habits that you repeat every time. Here are the main things every beginner should remember before the serve becomes consistent.

Everything starts with your position behind the baseline.

Leave some space between your feet and the baseline. If your steps go wrong and you touch the line, it is a foot fault and a direct point for the other team. A small gap keeps you safe.

Put your opposite foot in front. If you are right-handed, keep your left foot in front and your right foot behind. If you are left-handed, do the opposite. This stance lets you open your shoulder and pull your arm back, which adds rotational power to the serve.

Keep your body weight on the back leg. This is very important: as you serve, you transfer this weight forward onto the front foot, and that transfer gives the ball extra power.

The toss is the most important part of the serve. Most unstable serves start with a bad toss.

Keep the toss low, not high. A low toss gives you much more control and stability.

Hold the ball on a straight arm in front of your hitting hand. If you are right-handed, keep your left arm straight at chest level: not too low, so you only need to lift the ball slightly above your head to hit it.

Open your shoulder, pull your elbow back and keep your hand firm and strong from the start of the movement until contact.

This is a crucial moment. Many players forget to keep the hand firm, and then not enough power reaches the ball.

Let's put it all together. Left foot in front, body weight on the right leg, left arm straight in front of your chest, elbow pulled back, hand firm and ready.

Now lift the ball just a little above your head with your left arm and contact it with your hand at the right moment. As your hand moves to the ball, step your left foot forward, so that you finish with both feet parallel.

Not enough power in your shoulder? Start by hitting the ball with your fist. Once your serve becomes stable and you feel confident, switch to the open hand.

Start from half court. Serve from the middle of the court first. When your toss is precise and you have more power, move back step by step until you serve from behind the baseline.

In both videos below, a professional player and a beginner serve at the same time, side by side, so you can compare every detail of the movement. The professional player is the one in the white top, the beginner is in the black top. Watch carefully: the stance, the height of the toss, the firm hand and the step forward. Then compare it with your own serve: what are you already doing well, and what could you improve?

If you have any questions about the serve, leave a comment below and we will be happy to help. And if you want to work on your serve with our coaches on the sand, join one of our upcoming beach volleyball camps.