by Gary Barclay | May 11, 2024 | Blog, Freestyle
Freestyle, the most dynamic of swimming strokes, demands a meticulous approach to technique for optimal speed. To enhance your child’s freestyle efficiency, start with a thorough examination of the foundational elements. Ensure your child maintains a horizontal body position with the head in the correct position, reducing drag and maximizing forward movement. Focusing on proper shoulder rotation, arm recovery and hand entry, along with a strong flutter kick, sets the stage for efficient and speedy freestyle.
Correct Stroke Pattern
Understanding the correct stroke pattern is important to swim more efficiently in freestyle. The arm pull pattern and correct hand pitch at each stage of the underwater pull will play a major role in technique improvement. Incorporation of drills by the coach that emphasize correct arm mechanics, encouraging a high elbow catch and an effective pull is important. Implement leg-focused exercises to enhance the flutter kick, promoting propulsion without excessive energy expenditure. Gradually introduce interval training to build endurance, a key factor in sustaining speed over longer distances.
The Art of Breathing
Efficient breathing is a linchpin in the quest for speed in freestyle. Teach your child the art of rhythmic breathing, synchronising inhalation and exhalation with arm strokes. Emphasize learning to breathe on both sides of the body. Introduce hypoxic training, gradually increasing the duration between breaths during practice to enhance lung capacity and endurance. A well-mastered breathing technique translates to sustained speed and race-day success.
Our Stroke Model and Skills Videos provide a clear visual representation of correct technique, allowing swimmers to see the stroke movements and body position throughout different stages of the stroke. These videos come with commentary and annotations from former Australian Head Coach Leigh Nugent and provide families with the most up-to-date details around technique in freestyle and other competitive strokes.
by Leigh Nugent | Oct 15, 2023 | Blog, Freestyle
The technique for freestyle kick and backstroke kick is based on very similar mechanical principals for each of these strokes.
Key points:
- The legs are extended.
- Significant plantar flexion of the feet is an advantage in generating propulsion.
- The leg swings from the hip.
- The muscle contractions which drive the leg movements have their origin in the lower core.
- The amplitude of the kick (as a guide) should be within the margins of the cross-sectional range created by the body.
- The ankles remain loose at all times, so the feet flap up and down like they are hinged.
- Engagement of the gluteus, back muscles, hip extensors and hamstrings during the recovery phase.
- Engagement of the core muscles, abdominals, hip flexors and quads during the extension phase.
- Continuous oscillating action.
- Minimal surface disturbance.
It is vital that children are taught the correct kicking action from a young age. If we come across children who haven’t been taught in such a way then we must address the imperfection immediately.
Check out the Freestyle and Backstroke Technique Videos now available. These videos have been produced by Leigh Nugent, 2004 & 2012 Australian Olympic Team Head Coach, and there are no other videos available like this that will simply explain to coaches, parents and swimmers the correct technique to use in freestyle and backstroke.
Effective Kicking
We need to develop effective kicking in our swimmers not only for propulsion but also for stability or anchoring. The anchoring effect is more related to freestyle and backstroke where we rotate and the kick assists by stabilizing our lower body, this allows our arms through the upper body to apply greater leverage for propulsion.
It must be understood by all that the recovery phase of the kick (upbeat for freestyle and down-beat for backstroke) is performed with a straight knee. When the heel is at the highest point of the kick in freestyle and the lowest point in backstroke, the knee is then flexed and the drive of the power phase of the kick is executed. The leg is rapidly extended during this action.
When the leg completes the power phase the recovery phase begins immediately.
Both phases are propulsive.
When swimmers swim backstroke with their knees breaking the surface it is down to the fact that they haven’t got their legs straight at the knee during the recovery phase of the kick.
Take the time to teach all swimmers to automate the correct mechanics for their kicking technique.
Don’t forget to check out the Freestyle and Backstroke Technique Videos.
by Leigh Nugent | Jan 31, 2020 | Blog
Over time I have noticed that there is an overwhelming amount of young swimmers who I have witnessed in training kicking above the water.
Their feet are spending more timing out of the water than in the water and this is particularly evident when they are on their kick boards and doing kick sets.
I wonder how they are supposed to gain good propulsion from their kick when their feet spend more time out than in?
Not only are they missing out on that propulsion but also working the legs and muscle groups that require a good amount of conditioning for the back-end of the race.
I had the opportunity to run a session with some state and national age swimmers and made the focus kick. We worked mainly on holding kick times while increasing the distance of efforts.
After the first round of kick I asked the swimmers to complete the second round with silent kicking. By that I mean keep the kick underwater and don’t make any splash.
I wanted to see if they 1 could do it and 2 what type of response I would see
- Times compared.
- How did they feel doing it.
Since we were doing a set that fatigued them eventually what I witnessed was times = to the first set but fatigue at a much quicker rate.
Also with the feedback the athletes mentioned their core was more engaged and their quads and glutes fatigued much faster.
The take away for me is that when an athlete swims their kick is underwater more than when they are on a board.
With fatigue the athlete loses body position through the legs and core.
I believe the kick sets need to be more specific if being used to condition, my tip is to make all kick sets silent!
If this article has helped your coaching then you would benefit from the resources at Swim Coach Advantage. Check it out today.
Recent Comments