The Constraints Collective #82 Learning the Volleyball Serve
Feb 11, 2026
Adam Gorman, researcher in skill acquisition and constraints-led coaching, and Brendan Moy, researcher and youth volleyball coach, discuss how changing task rules encourages movement exploration. They explain using a two-serve rule to reduce pressure and spur risk-taking. Short coaching games and representative tasks are offered as ways to promote adaptable serving and learning.
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Practice Skill Not Used In Games
- Brendan Moy describes a school problem where players could perform topspin jump serves in practice but defaulted to float serves in games.
- He and Adam Gorman designed a study comparing one-serve and two-serve games to test whether a second serve encourages exploration.
Use A Second Serve To Reduce Pressure
- Try giving players a second serve in training games to reduce pressure on the first serve and encourage risk-taking.
- Use the tennis-style idea: make the first serve higher-risk and the second serve lower-risk to promote exploration.
Constraint Change Reveals Latent Capability
- The two-serve rule caused players to serve more powerfully on their first serve but with reduced accuracy.
- This shows a constraint change can relieve rate-limiters like anxiety and reveal latent capability.