1. sports
2. swimming

Teaching The Strokes to
Developmental Swimmers
Very basic skills and progressions for coaches of
novice swimmers.
Guy Edson
American Swimming Coaches Association.
Freestyle Essential Skills
Kicking – from lots of quality kicking
Body position and alignment – from side glide
 Steady head – from side glide, snorkel, no breath
swimming
 Rolling to breathe – from side glide, one arm free
 High elbows on recovery – zipper drill
 No splash entry – partner coaching
 Anchoring the hands in water – fingers down
Freestyle
What to look for
Establish Alignment And Balance And A Stabilizing Kick At
The Beginning Of Every Swim/Drill
 Head in line with spine
 Head steady
 Recovery not affecting alignment
 No splash entry
 Length of stroke
 acceleration
 Rolling to breathe
 Steady kick, good alignment
Freestyle Keywords




Styles of Freestyle









Brooke Bennett – Distance Swimmer,
Oppositional Arms
On the next four slides are examples of two basic
styles of freestyle



Splash equals slow;
Reach Roll Breathe;
Fingers down,
Elbow up,
S-l-o-w quick,
Thumb your thigh,
Touch turn breathe,
Elbow high,
Fingertips first
Oppositional arms
Front quadrant
Which is best?
Which do you teach?
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
1
Scott Tucker – Sprinter
Oppositional Arms
Scott Tucker
Thanks to
Glenn
Mills at
Go Swim
From Glenn Mills at Go Swim
Erik Vendt – Distance Swimmer,
Front Quadrant
47
“Good” Age Group Freestyle
From Glenn Mills at Go Swim
Building Freestyle
Progressions?
49

Build freestyle on a foundation of:
Kicking
Streamlining
 Alignment







Reducing resistance is more important than
increasing propulsion.
The kick, while it is propulsive, serves primarily to
stabilize and align the body
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers


Is there a best progression for any of the strokes? NO.
Is there a straight line progression for any of the strokes? NO.
Sometimes we build the strokes from several directions at once.
Free and back must have great kicking – start there. Breast
and fly need correct timing – start there.
In some cases there are clearly some things that need to be
done before others. DON’T RUSH. Do the basic fundamentals
better than basically well. .
2
50
In general we build the strokes from body
position (alignment and stabilization) to whole
stroke.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
For Free and Back
Body Position – posture, line and balance
Kick – with correct body position
Arm Action – proper extension, catch or anchoring,
exit, recovery, and entry
Timing – rhythm and coordination
Breathing – when to breathe, how to breath
For Breast order is: 1/2, 4/5, 2, 3.
For Fly order is: 4, 3, 1, 5, 2
Types of Kicking
Freestyle “Progression”
Practice the posture and movements on the deck before each
drill. Repeat key words.
Kicking strength, with board
Streamlining
 Streamlining with kicking, no board
 Streamlining, one arm pull to sideglide
 Sideglide
 Sideglide with switching
 Three strokes to sideglide, repeat
 Perfect Full stroke without breathing, then add
breathing


Basic Fundamental Kicking w/Board
52

Kicking with a board

With hands holding board near the top and head up
 Changes
body position but this is about the legs more than
alignment. Plus you get to talk to them.

With hands holding board at the bottom and with head
in the water
 Closer

to proper body position
Kicking without a board is best for working on body
position, alignment, streamlining
Finis “Streamline Board”
Key words:
Toes pointed
Fast feet
Boil the water
3 by 3’s
To the cone
Catch-up
Chase backs
All very fast
Learning to Streamline
Novice Streamlining




School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
Shape shifting
on deck with
help
Shape shifting
on deck oyo
Shape shifting
standing in the
water
Holding the
shape into a
streamline kick
3
Novice Streamlining After Expert
Coaching
Unacceptable Streamlining
57
Hands
not
stacked
one on
top of
other;
arms not
straight;
space
between
arms and
head;
head too
high.
Streamlining
 Poor steamlining
Streamlining Key Words
Head below the arms
Arms straight
Arms locked
No space between the ears and arms.
Hide the head.
Look Down
Chin on your chest
Better Steamlining
Shape Shifting
Looking for Head
below the arms
After “Learning” Streamlining…
Streamlining
61



(not that the swimmer has truly mastered it…)
Learn to sideglide
The sequence off the wall is:
Streamline
Kick
 Pull one stroke to side
 “touch, roll, breathe.




Why Streamlining is so difficult
Why streamlining is so important
Why the ability to swim/kick underwater is important
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers

Ear is attached to leading arm on the breath
Cheek is attached to leading arm on the streamlined
sideglide
“no space between head and arm”
4
Sideglide Kick
Basic Side-glide
But notice
separation
between
head and
arm.
Key Point: Establish streamlining and kicking first – stabilize
the body. THEN begin the drill.
This is a pretty
good example
for a
developmental
swimmer. The
body stays on
the side and
just the head
is rolling.
Sideglide Kick
Sideglide Kick
Key words: Touch-roll-breath, thumb your thigh, head is glued to your arm
Shoulder is not
very steady
here. Notice
bending the
knees too much
on the kick
which leads to
the movement in
the shoulders.
Nice
steady
shoulder
– but
lifted
head on
first
stroke
Sideglide Kick
Head out of Position
We want to
take ONE
breath then
roll head
back down.
Try to
establish
streamlining
first.
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
67
Sideglide with a Tennis Ball –
Rolling too far here.
This is a deliberate
“over correction” to
help this swimmer
with two
difficulties: 1) not
rolling enough, and
2) tends to lift
head. Tennis ball
helps keep head in
line with the spine.
5
Sideglide after Using Tennis Ball
68
Multi-Use Drill?
69
For Swimmers
having difficulty
kicking
backstroke and
maintaining
body position,
this “freestyle”
drill is a nice
transition to
backstroke
kicking.
More Tennis Ball Kicking
70
71
Clearly, We Have Not Worked on
Recovery Yet.
Note on drills:
with many drills,
some things are
temporarily
given up, in
order to teach
something else.
In time, we will
add a recovery
drill to this
exercise.
Arms
Short List of Drills for Arms
73


Common mistakes
 Rushing into arm recovery before stabilizing kicking
 Thumb first recovery
 non alternating arms
 Straight arm recovery (not always a problem)
Tips
 Out of water practice
 Kinesthetic teaching
 Shadow swimming
 Key words: “pinkie, elbow,” “reach for the sky,” “thumb up
your side”
 Using FINIS Tempo Trainer
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers


Before arms: streamlining, alignment, kicking,
stabilization
Arms “progression”
Single stroke to sideglide
Three stroke switch to sideglide
 Full stroke breathing every 3



Also of value:

Catch up stroke with and without board
Pro: work on recovery
Pro: introduce front quadrant swimming
Con: swimmers often stay flat
 Con: front quadrant swimming is NOT for everyone





One Arm Freestyle, opposite side breathing
One Arm Freestyle, same side breathing
6
More Drills for Arm Stroke?
Shadow Swimming
74



Hundreds…
Nice to have a bunch in your toolbag so you can
pull one out for a special need
However, for developing swimmers it may be better
to have fewer drills done properly and every drill is
aimed at getting them to swim basically well. Basics
first, hold the exceptionals for a bit later.
Shadow Sideglide Drill
Ask
swimmers
to watch
themselves
– watch the
head for
alignment
and
stillness.
Learning Sideglide Switch
Practicing
the drill on
the deck
increases
the
likelihood
that the
drill will be
done
“nearly”
correct in
the water.
Well, maybe not learned…
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
Sideglide with Single Arm Switch
7
Sideglide with Single Arm Switch
Sideglide with Single Arm Switch
Sideglide to Switch
Three Stroke Switch
83
Sideglide with Three Stroke Switch
84
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
Sideglide with Three Stroke Switch
85
8
Sideglide with Three Stroke Switch
86
Sideglide with Three Stroke Switch
87
Catch-Up Freestyle
88
Learning Catch-Up
89
This is a
good drill for
thinking
about one
stroke at a
time; for
working on
recovery; for
working on
length and
alignment.
Well, maybe not learned…
90
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
Learning Catch-Up
91
9
Learning Catch-Up With KickBoard
92
Catch Up Free with Tennis Ball
93
Purpose is to learn
to keep head down.
The kick board
offers a temporary
“crutch” to allow the
swimmer to focus on
the head position.
Catch-Up Free with Tennis Ball
94
More Catch-Up With Tennis Ball
95
You only need
to use the
tennis ball one
or two times.
After that you
can say,
“Pretend you
are holding a
tennis ball
under your
chin.”
Freestyle One Arm Catch-Up
96
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
Freestyle One Arm Catch-Up
97
10
One Arm Free
- Opposite Side Breathing
One Arm Free
- Same Side Breathing
Key words are: reach, roll, breathe
Key words are: touch, roll, breathe.
The swimmer rolls to breathe after
the thumb of the stroking hand
99
touches the thigh.
98
Hose Drill
Hose Drill
101
The purpose of
pulling on the
hose is to work
on alignment
during hand
entry and the
ability to keep
alignment when
breathing.
Take out a lane
line and place a
hose there
instead.
First created by
Jack Nelson.
100
“Hose Drill” Hose Hardware
102
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
Freestyle Sailboat Drill
103
This is an
“advanced”
drill in that it
requires a
very good
kick.
Purpose of
drill: work on
recovery and
entry; and
work on
proper timing
sequence of
switching
from side to
side.
11
Scooters
104
Evolution Stroke
The purpose of
scooters is for
the swimmer to
watch their
entry.
Yes, it takes
them out of
proper body
position. No, it
doesn’t
permanently
ruin them. With
some drills you
temporarily give
up something in
order to gain
something else.
Swimming with Hydro-Fins
FINIS Hydro
Fins
FINIS Tec-Tocs
109
Check Alignment with swimmer
swimming away from you
Watch the
hips and
check for
rolling along
the axis but no
side to site
swinging.
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
12
110
Check Alignment with swimmer
swimming toward you
Full Stroke – Novice Swimmer
111
For a novice
swimmer, this
stroke has
pretty good
balance.
Full Stroke – Novice Swimmer
112
Full Stroke
113
Notice Lifting of
Head.
114
“It’s not learned until it’s done under
pressure.”
Racing is a good
way to see if
young swimmers
are learning the
skills.
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
Notice:
finishing
stroke
early; lifting
head;
swimming
flat;
recovery
with fingers
leading.
Common Freestyle Stroke Faults
115
Most stroke faults in freestyle relate to breathing and recovery
problems.
Breathing faults:
1.
lifting the head to breathe
2.
lifting head to breathe with “skating” on opposite arm
3.
holding the breath
4.
breathing early
13
Drills for Freestyle Breathing Faults
116
Freestyle Recovery and Entry Faults
117
A misplaced entry creates a poor “setup”. When the setup is incorrect
the rest of the stroke is hard to correct. It should also be noted that
there is a relationship between the shape of the recovery and the
pattern of the pull. When there is a low wide recovery of the left
arm the right arm often has a wide pull. We have found that by
correcting the recovery many pulling problems are also corrected.
Drills should seek to lower the head in line with the spine and use
rolling to breathe rather than lifting to breathe
1.
2.
3.
side kicking, then side glide drill
catch up drill using a kickboard
one arm freestyle, opposite arm down, opposite side
breathing
a)
4.
one arm freestyle, opposite arm forward, same side breathing
a)
5.
118
“reach, roll, breathe”
“touch, turn, breathe”
bobbing
Correcting Freestyle Recovery and
Entry Stroke Faults
1.
high straight arm recovery
2.
low wide straight arm recovery
3.
cross over entry
4.
“crushing water molecules” entry
5.
no extension entry
Backstroke
What to look for
Establish Alignment And Balance And A Stabilizing Kick At
The Beginning Of Every Swim/Drill
Drills seek to correct the movement of the arms and the
placement of the entry.
1.
zipper drill or fingertip drag
2.
Scooters
3.
Sailboat Drill
4.
hose drill

Steady head, in line with spine
Alternating arms
 No splash entry
 Entry above the shoulder
 rolling
 Deep arms
 acceleration
 Steady kick


Jeff Rouse, note depth
New Trend in Backstroke?
121
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
14
Backstroke
“Good” Age Group Backstroke
122
Skills
Kicking – from quality kicking
Body position and alignment – from quality kicking, side
glide
 Steady head – from kicking
 Rolling – from one arm backstoke
 Alternating, deep arms: steady rhythm
 No splash entry – partner coaching, shadow swimming
 Anchoring the hands in water – fingers down and deep
 Deep stroke pattern – at least at the beginning


Backstroke Progression Suggestion
Backstroke Progression Overview
124
125




Kicking strength with proper body position is the
key. Work on this first.
OK to use fins with weak kickers so that you can
work on arms.
Work on rhythm and roll – steady straight arms –
with a steady head.
Arm details last.
o
Streamline kicking with a board
o
streamline kicking no board
o
streamline kicking to one arm pull to sideglide and hold
o
o
Toes up, belly up, head back
o
push belly to the sky
o
arms straight, palm down, deep arms, roll
o
opposite arms, head steady, deep arms, roll
arm brushes your ear
little finger first
streamline kicking to one arm pull to sideglide hold, to switch and hold
o
o
o
streamline kicking to one arm pull to sideglide hold, to three arm cycles and
hold
o
o
o
o
o
Backstroke Drills
126
Kicking streamlined on belly rolling to back,
Kicking, one hand up, one down
 Sideglide with head up and steady
 Alternating arms
 Sidestroke backstroke
 One arm free, one arm side, one arm backstroke
progression
 Shadow swimming or mirror swimming
 Laying on the deck, practicing arm placement at
entry, with partner coaching.


School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
opposite arms, head steady, deep arms, roll
arm brushes your ear
little finger first
streamline kicking to three opposite arm cycles
Streamline kicking to full stroke
Backstroke Key Words
127
Splash equals slow;
"freestyle and backstroke are the same stroke,"
 Palm down - Fingers out;
 deep and straight;
 Deep, up, and over
 Roll shoulders, Snap the hips, Head steady


15
Backstroke Progression
129

Streamline kicking with a board

streamline kicking







130
opposite arms, head steady
arm brushes your ear
little finger first
deep arms
streamline kicking to one arm pull to sideglide hold, to three opposite arm cycles
and hold


arms straight, palm down
two cycles of above


push belly to the sky
streamline kicking to one arm pull to sideglide hold, to switch and hold


Toes up, belly up, head back
streamline kicking to one arm pull to sideglide and hold


Backstroke Kicking, Hands down, tennis
ball for steady head and alignment
opposite arms, head steady
arm brushes your ear
little finger first
streamline kicking to three opposite arm cycles
Backstroke kick drill or Freestyle Kick
drill?
Backstroke Kick from Freestyle Kick
131
Free Kick Rolling to Back Kick
132
For those
less
buoyant,
this is a
difficult
drill.
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
Free kick to back kick
133
For
swimmers
with a weak
back kick,
rolling form
free to back
to free to
back can
help them
add
strength
and
distance to
their back
kick.
16
Backstroke Kicking with Fins
134
135
Backstroke Kicking – Fashion Model
Backstroke
This drill requires a very good kick.
Hands placed on the hips.
Alternately roll the elbows out of the
water. Roll whole body – not just a
shoulder shrug. Purpose is to work
on body roll and strengthen kick.
Streamline,
then
dolphin
kick, then
backstroke
kick.
Less skilled kickers can keep arms
at side.
Streamline to One Stroke
136
One Arm Backstroke
137
Begin with
streamlining,
then a
stabilizing
kick, THEN
take one
stroke.
Back: One Stroke Hold, Switch
138
Switch and Hold
139
Begin with
streamlining,
then a stabilizing
kick, THEN take
one stroke.
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
17
3 stroke to hold
Three stroke Hold
140
141
Working on Entry
142
143
“Hands up.
Fingers out.
Right arm
down.
Fall back and
go.”
One Arm Back
with and without
Fins
144
Using Shadows
(or mirrors)
to check alignment
and entry position.
3 Stroke Switch Free to Back
145
Nice drill
for relating
free to
back;
and for
working on
good
alignment
Fins make it
difficult to roll
but make it
possible for
weaker
swimmers to
do backstroke.
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
18
Back: 2-2-2 Drill -- 2 strokes OA Free, 2 Side Stroke,
2 One Arm Back
Sidestroke Backstroke
146
147
Good drill for
feeling the
water. Fingers
go down, up,
and through,
accelerating
through the
range.
Recovery is up
the side of the
body. The real
purpose of this
drill is to
prepare for the
next drill.
A very good
drill for
transitioning
from free to
back.
She does 22-2 here but
3-3-3 or 4-44 is better.
Backstroke Faults
Backstroke Faults
148
The most common problems in backstroke are in four areas: weak kick, misaligned
entry, no body roll leading to shallow pull, poor pulling pattern.
Drills for legs
 1. for flexibility, plantar flexion before practice
 2. for strength, kicking:
a.
b.
 c.
 d.
 e.


arms down, one arm down, both arms up
arms down with rotation
side kicking
side kicking with stroke to switch sides
fashion model backstroke
Entry stroke faults
 1. over reaching
 2. wide entry
 3. back of hand entering
 4. “crushing water
molecules”
 5. non alternating arms
Drills for entry problems
 1. water shadows
 2. dryland practice with
partner
 3. recovery around the
clock
 4. over correction
 5. swimming next to wall or
lane line
149
Backstroke Faults
Pulling stroke faults
 1. no rolling resulting
in shallow pull/splash
 2. straight arm
 3. dropped elbow
 4. no acceleration
Breaststroke
Pulling Drills
 1. sidestroke
backstroke
 2. 3 one arm free, 3
sidestroke backstrokes,
3 one arm
What to look for
Establish Alignment And Balance At The
Beginning Of Every Swim/Drill
Timing: pull, kick, stretch
Swimming up AND downhill
3 dimensional kick
Wide arm stroke
Slow-quick

150
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
19
Amanda Beard – Gold Medalist
152
Novice Swimmer – Not a Breaststroker
153
Note that
she pulls a
streamlined
lower body
through the
water.
THEN she
kicks a
streamlined
upper body
through the
water. 2
engines,
alternately
working.
What is the
biggest issue
here? NO
TIMING
(among about
a hundred
other things. )
Fix the timing
FIRST.
Alas.. There is hope…
154
Acceptable Novice Breaststroke
155
This is
same
swimmer,
after
about 2
weeks.
Timing: Pull,
Kick, Stretch.
Head is a little
high. Arms pull
a little too wide
and too far
back. Kick is a
little wide.
Breaststroke Progression Overview
“Good” Age Group Breaststroke
156
157


Teach the timing first
Teach kicking all the time



School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
Don’t wait for a legal kick before teaching arms or
timing. Be patient on errant kicks.
Teach the arms
Teach advanced lunge breaststroke “later”
20
Breaststroke Progression
158
Breaststroke
159
 Timing:
kicking with board, coach shouts
"breathe, kick, g-l-i-d-e"
 kicking without board, hands in front,
breathe, kick, glide
 Kick sitting on edge of wall, then kick on
back, then kick on belly
 kinesthetic teaching of arm stroke on deck
 Various arm drills in water

Kick on wall, kick on back, kick on belly
kicking with board, coach shouts "breathe, kick, g-l-i-d-e"
 kicking without board, hands in front, breathe, kick, glide
 kinesthetic teaching of arm stroke on deck
 crescendo breaststroke



Skills
Kicking
Timing
 Beautiful arms


Breaststroke Drills
160
Progression:
Breaststroke Key Words
161
Sit on side of pool and kick - "up to the wall, toes out, around
and together"
 Kick on back using board, Switching, kick on back, kick on belly
 Kick with board, face in: "breathe, kick, stretch"
 Kick on front, hands down, touch heels. "up, kick, dive"
 Kick on front, hands out front: "up, kick, stretch"
 Sitting on the board, sculling
 Cobra, "strike"
 Float: coach shouts "up-kick-down"
 Crescendo pull
 Noodles in the arm pits
 Y breaststroke




for kicking with or without board, timing drill
“What come up on the word up?”







Hands, heels, head
“out, up, kick, stretch”

Breaststroke Kick Suggestions
162
“Up, Kick, stretch”
For whole stroke
Hands go out, then hands come in as head comes up, heels come up, kick,
stretch
Describing the kick: “out, around, and down”
Describing the arm stroke: “S-l-o-w, quick”
Describing the arm stroke: “out, up, and forward”
“Chest down, hips up”
Breaststroke: Kick from side
163



Swimmers with illegal kicks with one foot turned in are usually
not kicking FLAT on their bellies. They are kicking a bit on their
side.
Have them kick down the side of the pool, pointing their belly
button toward the wall (in the opposite direction they are
currently kicking) and ask them to pretend to “brush the side of
the pool with the big toe.” This turns the foot out and flattens
them out.
The coach can lie on the side of the pool and hold the
swimmer’s feet in the proper position while the swimmer, using a
kick board, moves through the kick motion. After three motions
holding on to the feet, let the feet go and have the swimmer
perform about 3 kicks. One or two will be good. Repeat.
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
21
Breaststroke -- Kicking on back,
switching to belly
Breast Kick With Board Timing Drill
“UP,
KICK,
GLIDE”
Most novice swimmers can perform a “legal” kick on their back, even if they cannot
do a legal kick on their belly. In this drill we are transitioning from back to belly in
hopes that it will allow them to learn how to feel the 164
water on their belly.
“Brush the Wall”
165
“Up, Kick, Down”
“Up, Kick,
Down”
becomes
“Up, Kick,
Glide”
becomes
“Up, Kick,
Stretch”
becomes
“Out, Up,
Kick,
Stretch”
(when the
arms are
added.)
“Brush the
Wall” with the
toe will turn
the hips,
allow the foot
to be “out”
and change a
sidestroke
kick to a legal
breaststroke
kick.
166
Breast: up, kick, glide
167
Breast Kick, no board
She is
“cheating” a
little here by
using her arms
a bit. Not a big
issue… and
good to see
them figuring
out how to use
their hands.
(Head is a little
high though.)
168
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
169
22
Breaststroke Timing Drill:
up, kick, glide
Breaststroke: kick with hands down
171
“Touch you
heels with
your hands.”
“Chest down,
Hips Up”
“Up, Kick,
Dive.”
With Board
Without Board
170
172
Breaststroke Kick Drill:
Touch Heels with Hands – another view.
Watch the
hips go up as
the legs kick
down and the
head goes
down.
Purpose of
this drill is to
make the kick
more 3
dimensional
and to add
dolphin action
to the body.
On Deck Arms
173
Key words:
“Out, up and
forward.”
Here, we are
asking them to
pause after the
“out” just as a
temporary
overcorrection to
emphasize the
width. We do
not want
swimmers to
pause at this
point during the
normal stroke.
Breaststroke Shadow Arms
174
“3 Dimensional Kick” means out, around, and DOWN. Width,
length, and depth.
Breaststroke Pull: Standing on Bottom
175
We are asking her
to watch her
shadow to see if
she is pulling back
too far. We want
the pull out in front
of the shoulders.
(She doesn’t turn
her head until the
second stroke after
her sister steps in
to remind her!)
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
“Out, Up
AND
Forward.”
23
“Y Breaststroke Arms”
176
One Arm Breaststroke with Board
177
Float, hands out,
wait for the words,
“Up and forward.”
Here we are
isolating one
arm at a time,
working on the
outsweep.
Purpose of this
drill is to work on
the quick
insweep.
Head is too
high and there
isn’t enough
stretch
between each
stroke.
“Little Circles”
178
Breaststroke “Handcuffs” w/Free Kick
179
Purpose is to
isolate the
arms – not to
worry about
the timing.
“Handcuffs” is
a mind picture
image to
remind the
swimmer to
keep the arm
stroke out in
front. Overcorrection.
Breaststroke w/handcuffs
Breaststroke Faults and Drills
180
Timing Faults
Timing Drills
1. pulling and kicking at same time
1. drill on deck, arms extended, “up, kick,
down”, “what two things come up on
the word ‘up’?”
2. not finishing kick
3. breathing early
2. kicking with board, arms extended
holding board out front, face in water;
listening for coach, “up, kick, glide”,
doing same with coach.
3. kicking without board, hands out front,
same drill.
4. kicking with hands at side, “up, kick,
dive” touching heels with hands
5. full stroke, “out, up, kick, stretch”
181
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
24
Breaststroke Faults
Breaststroke Faults
182
183
Pulling Drills
1. drill on deck: swimmer faces coach, bent forward, head down,
offering outstretched arms, coach holds wrists and forearms making
movements and saying words, “out, in, and forward” adding
acceleration, asking swimmer to pop head and lift shoulders on the
“up”
2. noodles in the armpits to keep the stroke out front
3. standing on bottom, practicing arm patterns in unison with the coach.
4. sitting on board, sculling across pool.
5. using the washtub sweep on the deck then into the water
6. cobra
7. crescendo
Pulling Faults
1. pumpkin pulls, big wide circles finished under belly
2. flat, dropped elbows
3. climbers, pulling too hard too soon, then dropping
the water
Breaststroke Faults
Basic Butterfly: What to Look For
185
Kicking faults
1. knee and foot turned in
2. Not finishing kick
3. dropping knees
4. not getting toes out
Establish Alignment And Balance And A Stabilizing Kick At The
Beginning Of Every Swim/Drill
 Set up – hands enter outside the shoulders
 Stroke width and pattern matches athlete’s “swimming
strength”
 Stroke pattern is drag oriented with a slight taper inward
 “fingers forward, fingers back”
 Chest down, hips up
 Head out before the hands, in before the entry
 End of stroke “rounded out” for novice
 kick hands in, Kick hands out (kick in, kick out)
 Little finger first on recovery
 Minimal splash
 Chin plowing the water
Kicking drills
1. deck manipulation
2. swimmer holding board,
coach holding feet moving
in correct pattern
3. sitting on the edge of the
pool, bring feet to wall,
turn toes out, kick out
around and together
4. kicking on back with kick
board
5. stretching exercises
184
Butterfly
186
187

Benny Neilson – Olympic Bronze
Medalist and “classic butterfly”
Key words
 Kick in, kick out
 Out before, in before
 The chest goes down, the hips go up
 Chest before the hands
 Fingers forward, fingers back
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
25
Misty Hymen – Gold Medalist
188
“Good” Age Group Butterfly
189
Einstein and Butterfly
190
Do not overcomplicate the stroke
191


Einstein said, “Make everything as simple as
possible, but not any simpler.”
Therefore…(next slide)
Do not overload the swimmer
 Do not ask the novice swimmer to swim
with an advanced stroke pattern
 The result might be…Fonzi Butterfly

Teaching Strategies
Fonzi Butterfly
193

Teach kicking all the time

Teach all kinds of dolphin kicking
 Upside
down, on the side, underwater, on top, with board,
without board, hands up, hands down, with fins, without fins


School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
Teach the timing first
Teach the arms “later”
26
Kicking
Butterfly Kick – “wigglers”
194
195


All ways, all the time
Starting with wigglers, building to holding the line
examples next…
Butterfly Kick, “Wigglers”
196
Fish on Vacation
197
Similar to
wigglers
except
under
water.
Try to go
4 or 5
kicks on
one
breath.
Fish on Vacation
198
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
Fish on Vacation with Fins
199
27
Kick with Board, head down
200
Kick with Board, head down
201
We also kick
with head up.
It changes
body position
but: it moves
emphasis
away from
head
movement to
chest and hip
movement…
AND I can talk
to them!
Teaching:
Timing Progression – Keep it Simple!
the fine print
203

This progression violates all known swimming principles

This progression gives Terry Laughlin heartburn.

This progression leaves Bill Boomer speechless.

But Bill Sweetenham likes it.

And for me… it works.

So I humbly present this as a suggestion.
"pull up, stop"
1.
o
no kick, maybe use pull buoy for the sinkers,
o
one stroke at a time,
breathe every stroke.
o
Helps keep from stopping at the end of the stroke
o
o
Goal is timing only.
o
Maximum of 3 strokes
o
Do not worry about length of stroke.
Do not worry about body position
o
o
Because it is really ugly!
--- continued
Fly: Pull up, stop
204
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
Pull up - Stop
205
28
Pull Up - Stop
206
Pull up, stop – three times
207
Deck Practice - Arms
Interspersed with Water Time…
209
208
Do Lots of On Deck Drills with Arm Strokes,
Recovery (especially little finger forward), and
Timing.
Timing Progression
Shadow Arms
210
211
"pull up, dive" –
2.
o
the dive or chest down brings the hips up,
o
which creates the kick
o
o
But don’t talk about the kick – yet.
Maximum 3 strokes
--- continued
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
29
Pull Up -- Dive
212
Pull up -- Dive
213
Pull up -- Dive
214
Pull up - dive
215
Progression - 3
216
Progression - 4
217
3.
alternately work on all types of dolphin
4.
Slowly add length to the arm stroke. Too
kicking. Do not introduce kicking as part of
much length too early leads to recovery of
the whole stroke too early.
head and arms at same time.
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
30
Progression – 5, 6
218
Fly: Chest before the hands
219
One arm fly “chest before the hands,”
5.
o
Key words
o
“Kick hands in, kick hands out,”
o
o
Kick in, kick out
“head comes out before the hands, in before”
o
Out before, in before
Butterfly Drills
220
For the Developmental Swimmer, fewer drills is probably
better. Again, avoid over complicating it.
 Kick underwater, hands up / down
 Kick on top, no board
 Kick with board, different positions
 pull over the lane line with head leading way
 One arm butterfly with opposite arm down

Fly – One Arm
221
“chest before the hand”
Avoid drills that require the hand to stop at the sides. One of
the worst stroke difficulties to correct is the butterfly stroke that
gets stuck at the hips. Short strokes at first. Lengthen with gain
in strength.
Fly – One Arm
222
Fly from Dive
223
Having novice
swimmers do
butterfly from a
dive gives
them some
speed which
helps the
stroke.
If we can get
half way down
the pool on 3
or 4 strokes,
that’s a good
butterfly start
for a young
butterflyer.
This young swimmer doesn’t quite make the middle on 4 strokes.
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
31
Fly from Dive
224
This 10 year old
novice makes
the middle of
the pool on 3
butterfly
strokes!
School for Coaches of Novice
Swimmers
32