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This Italian volleyball player serves like a sixth grader, but he's beating everyone

Watch Adrian Carambula serve a volleyball up to 100 feet in the air and you’re struck with just one thought.

Is this dude serious?

Answer: Yes, he is serious, as serious as the third-ranked beach volleyball team in the world can be. Even though his serve looks like something your angry uncle would do at a family picnic after losing, Carambula’s “skyball” serve is an advantage to the Italian volleyball player and his partner Alex Ranghieri. It effectively turns each opponent into a disoriented left fielder on every serve.

“It’s part of my game because it’s different and people don’t really train against it,” Carambula recently told the Wall Street Journal.

So far it’s working. Carambula and Ranghieri won their first two matches at the Olympics and will face Brazil on Wednesday morning.

[Related: Why doesn’t beach volleyball sand stick to players?]

What if you want to employ a similar tactic on this weekend’s trip to the beach? Carambula said it’s not a hard serve to imitate.

“The most important thing with the serve is to not tense up your body,” he told the WSJ. “Keep your body loose, keep your hand loose and just detach yourself from the mistake.”

Other than that, Carambula’s advice is pretty much what’d you’d expect after seeing his wild approach to the game.

“Just hit it up.”

Easier said than done.

Adrian Carambula (Getty Images)
Adrian Carambula (Getty Images)