Coaching Swimming

When I’m coaching swimming… I do this more casually than professionally.  The key in coaching or teaching is “one thing at a time”. 

One Thing At a Time

The key here is to figure out the biggest departure from the individuals ideal form.

We are all individuals.  All different. There are some basics of course.  And these basics are so, so important. 

I do basic drills every workout. 

I watch coaches and swim instructors.  Often trying to correct 2, 3, 4 or even 5 things at once. “You need to do this with your arm, while you breathe better and don’t forget to kick.”  Doesn’t work.

No one can learn properly that way. In any subject. 

Teach only one thing at a time!  This is really, really important. 

And everyone is different.  Not everything will work for everyone.

Two of the biggest faults I find are difficulty with breathing and not enough ‘turn’ or rotation. 

Breathing

I often, with very sloppy or new swimmers, tell them they have to practice bobbing.  Most don’t want to do this because they feel that’s only for children.  Watching them swim, I see that they are lifting their head to breath. The reason for this can be from a variety of things.  One, being that they need to wear goggles.  That is usually a pretty simple fix.  A trickier thing is that the swimmer is trying to breathe out and in while their face/mouth is out of the water.  Takes too long.  That's why bobby is taught as a drill to children. If taught properly one learns to breathe out underwater and in while their face is out of the  water.

Need to get used to breathing in while out of the water and breathing out while under the water.  If they don’t have this drill conquered, they try to breath out and in at the same time while they are swimming.  As a result their face/head is out of the water too long or they tend to lift their head to get enough air.  Either way their stroke gets messed up.  If they lift their head, feet sink and they drag.  The bobbing drill helps to fix that.

Turn Baby Turn

The biggest fault I see, though, with many and more advanced swimmers, is the lack of rotation.  That’s why I do my ‘skating’ drill every workout.

I kick, with fins, half a length, switch sides then, do the rest of the length on the other side.  "Skate" on the front bone on your hip. Usually it is about a 45°  angle.  Now, again, everyone is different.  So, the angle that is perfect for you may not be perfect for someone else. Find your sweet spot for your freestyle stroke.  Some say to exaggerate this exercise.  I disagree. I think one should drill the exact thing you want to be doing.  But that's just me.

What this does, swimming with a proper rotation, allows for a number of different benefits.  One, your reach will be longer.  In some cases, lots longer.  You will be doing fewer strokes per length.  The negative trade off for that will be fewer breaths if you are breathing the same pattern.  Adjust.  Also, as your hand is exiting the water, if you are rotating, you will find it is much easier to get that little extra push.  

Another benefit is that you are using more and varied muscles.  Using your latissimus dorsi as well as your arm muscles. They are stronger.  You will feel it.

Kick: Two Beat Kick

And it’s best when you are doing longer strokes like this that you do a two beat instead of a six beat kick.  The propulsion that you get from a six beat flutter kick is terribly overrated.  Even back in the 1960s - James E Counsilman's book The Science of Swimming - he tested this extensively.  Showed that kicking like crazy was not getting you there much faster.

Personally, I use fins when I do kick drills.  I’ve learned to do a two beat kick and fins strengthen the muscles that I use.  I get a stronger kick this way without fluttering away uselessly.  The fins really work the necessary muscles.

Paddle and Buoy Drill

Using hand paddles and a buoy between your thighs as a drill is very helpful to get the feel of a proper stroke.   It is hard to just drag your hands and arms through the water and waste energy when you are wearing hand paddles.  And if you are doing a proper rotation you will really feel the muscle groups being worked: your lats particularly. 

Please feel free to leave questions in the comment section or email me directly.  The photos at the beginning of the article are of some of the books I've read and/or use for reference.  The 'Science of Swimming' by James E Counsilman is considered the "bible" of competitive swimming.