STROKE DEVELOPMENT PROGRESSIONS
FOR AGE GROUP SWIMMERS
BALANCE…ALIGNMENT…ROTATION
Fly/Breaststroke: Short Axis Strokes
Balance, alignment and rotation progressions for FL (fly) and BR (breaststroke) are fundamental for eight and unders through national qualifiers. The progressions below are based on observations and copious notes taken at a week-long Stanford University Age-Group Swim Camp conducted by Coaches Richard Quick and Skip Kenney, several two and three-day long clinics conducted by Bill Boomer, weekend Total Immersion Camps with Terry Laughlin--as well as conversations and coaching with Judy Busse (Express Swim Team), who worked with several consecutive summer Auburn University swim camps.
Glenn Mills and Barbara Hummel of Go-Swim visited our team for two days and generously share ideas on their awesome Internet site; both have influenced our stroke development program. Numerous coaches, at clinics, online and on deck, also contributed to the progressions.
Most importantly, these progressions help age-group swimmers build sound stroke techniques. They were used with large groups of age-group swimmers many of whom became Illinois USA Age-Group Champions and went on to immensely successful high school and university swimming. No matter the swimmers’ talent level, these stroke development drills resulted in improved performances.
The principles and drills for balance, body alignment, and rotation are used in club programs as well as at great swimming universities like Stanford and Auburn.
The theories (Boomer) and their practical application (Laughlin/Mills/Marsh/Hines) are no longer a secret, yet many age-group coaches (and parents) are surprised that they contribute so quickly to championship age-group swimming. The epic struggle between high yardage and skill development is still very real.
I used the following stroke development progressions (primarily 9-12 year-olds) while coaching with the Naperville Riptides as well as the Fox Valley Swim Team, both USA Age-Group Champions.
Whenever possible, I use Total Immersion terminology because it is clear and descriptive. I highly recommend coaches attend a four-stroke Total Immersion Camp with Terry Laughlin or purchase Terry’s CDs.
We used stroke development progressions for 80 percent of our age-group workouts in the first two weeks of the short course and long course seasons. The remainder of the first two weeks is dedicated to streamlines, turns and finishes, starts, sculling, and highly energetic dolphin kicking on front and back, both above and underwater.
Conditioning occurs during skill development, but we use intense dolphin kicking to ratchet up heart rates and strengthen back and leg muscles. Sculling introduces swimmers to the concept of seeking the path of most resistance and provides conditioning similar to dolphin kicking.
Nearly every day after the first two weeks of a season, we incorporate some portion of stroke development drills in large practice sessions and have special skill camps on weekends and holidays to rehearse skillful swimming.
THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF STROKE DEVELOPMENT PROGRESSIONS TO CHAMPIONSHIP AGE-GROUP PERFORMANCE
· Age-group coaches should focus on skill development, aerobic capacity/basic swimming endurance and speed, general fitness including range of motion, an extensive and creative variety of pool and dry land activities, and enjoyment of being a part of a special sport, group and team.
· There should be no conflict between skill development and conditioning. Both occur every day.
· Swimmers make faster progress if coaches consistently spend time on intelligent stretching (range of motion development), core strengthening exercises and technique (mechanical skills).
· Drills contribute directly to either increasing or minimizing resistance in the water, the two major means for increasing speed.
· Long, fluid strokes in practice translate in races to fewer strokes and heartbeats “going out,” and allow swimmers to change gears to maintain or increase pace “coming home.” (Laughlin)
· Drills must be done 100% correctly or we “imprint” the wrong information on the nervous system.” Don’t be impatient. The benefits are immense. (Laughlin/Sweetenham)
· If you want to condition your athletes from day one of a season, throw in many 25s of vigorous dolphin kick during the two weeks you start to learn these drill progressions; and design appropriate dry land body exercise sets that are done with high intensity.
· Tell your swimmers: “if you learn to drill effortlessly your speed will improve dramatically when we ask you to swim fast, but if you try too hard now or attempt to go fast you will not improve as quickly or as much.” (Laughlin)
· Constantly offer feedback—mostly positive.
· When introducing a new skill, have your group watch someone who does the drill correctly.
· Do not underestimate the ability of young swimmers to understand the reasons for balance and body alignment as well as positive and negative resistance.
· Quiz them often until they know the names of the drills.
· At the outset try to learn the drills without fins. For those having great difficulty, put them in fins or take another approach. Later do sets of drills with fins and then without, or the reverse.
· Present water and dry land problems and puzzles for swimmers to solve everyday (Laughlin).
HOT TIP: Helping swimmers learn skills that result in fast, fluid, rhythmic FL and BR is highly rewarding for coaches.
Important concepts:
THROW WEIGHT: Movement of the head that affects other parts of the body, e.g. hip alignment. (Quick/Boomer)
LANDING ZONE: The shape/position of the upper body as it lands on the water in FL and BR. (Quick/Boomer)
SEQUENCE FOR BUILDING BR/FL (SHORT AXIS STROKES)
1) Teach basic balancing drills
2) Link landing zone and body throw-weight concepts to the ideal balanced position. Teach that the body is weighted like a tetter-totter requiring swimmers to land well out in front
3) Focus on drills that teach proper hip shift, essential to fluid FL and BR. Teach the timing of hips sliding forward, down and up.
4) Master balance, front landings, and hip movements before teaching arm stroke patterns and proper kicking
FLY—Key Points
· Keep your body close to the surface
· Maintain a spine-line throughout the stroke
· Stay low to the water on the arm recovery
· All motions are forward, not up and down or backward
BASIC BALANCING FOR BR/FL
HEAD LEAD FULL BODY DOLPHIN/AKA: PULSING
THE key starting block for learning FL and BR.
Critical for all age groups (many 8 and unders will learn it too!).
Pulsing/full body dolphin/slinky all refer to the same basic movement.
You will never regret time spent on teaching your swimmers how to flow EFFORTLESSLY AND RYHTHMICALLY just below and above the surface by pressing the “T” and then releasing it.
The goal here is to move down the lane by alternately applying, then releasing, pressure on the “T.” Pressure down-hips up; release pressure-hips down.
Impatient swimmers tend to begin dolphin kicking down the pool or, drop their heads off the neck/spine line—your job is to find a model who executes a body wave/full body dolphin flow and have the group observe from above and below the surface.
Coaching Cues:
· Begin with short distances and no breathing (e.g. across a diving well or six-lane pool)
· Start with a gentle push on the front, arms to the sides and head with a slightly positive chin (forward)
· Do a body wave…rhythmic and relaxed; like a flag slowly waving in the breeze (coach can demonstrate with an outstretched arm, palm down)
· A sliver of the back of the head/cap is dry; most of the head is under the surface
· Maintain the all-important spine line
· The suit on swimmers’ “bottoms” is just below or at the surface
· Hands to sides; in your “pockets” and keep them there especially when taking a breath
· Use your sternum-rib-hip section of the body and an undulating rhythm to move through the surface
· Initiate the body wave from the sternum/”T”
· Legs are long and flexible, just an extension of the body
· No splash, no kick; feet remain underwater
· Don’t peck like a chicken with your head; pulsing is rhythmic, not rapid/jerky
· Be quiet as you move through the surface
· Lazy chin…the nose moves slightly forward
· Rhythm not speed is the key
· Applying pressure on the “T” and releasing it creates a body wave that moves you forward
· Breathe every 3-4 full body dolphins (pulses)
· Breathe inside the body motion, eyes slightly down toward water
· Maintain the body rhythm THROUGH each breath
HAND LEAD BODY DOLPHIN (also called pulsing)
- Pulse in head lead position, now slowly extend hands forward without stopping the rhythm
- Hands about shoulder width apart (Superman!) as if you were holding two tennis balls on the surface of the water; try it holding onto an eight inch long PVC pipe about 1 inch in diameter and don’t let the pipe dip up and down
- Press the chest down, hips up, not arms/hands/fingers up and down
- Feel fingertips thrusting to the far wall not up and down
- No breathing as you learn the motion
- Fingertips consistently move forward
- Keep you head within the wave-line (just below and through the surface)
- Your full body generates the undulation, not your hands
- Now breathe within the motion of the body as your hands move slightly together
- As you breathe, no downward pressure on the arms
- As you breathe, look forward and down; nose leads chin
- Channel all of your energy forward
- Count your pulses per 25 yards
· Pulse in head-lead position 3xs
· Now sneak hands/arms out into hand-lead position, a little wider than shoulders
· Now slide the hands out quite wide, beyond shoulders, thumbs slightly down, little fingers up; all the while, press through with the T...chest and chin
· When the hands are out and pressing, hips are up; called loading the gun
· No downward pressure on the water with arms
· Arms are weightless
· Pulse, pulse, slide to the corners
· You breathe as your hands slide back to the superman position
· YOUR PULSING RHYTHM NEVER STOPS AS YOU SLIDE TO AND FROM THE CORNERS
· Try 2xs pulse, slide to the corners, slide together as you breathe
· With the face in, slide to the corners with every pulse
· Hand-lead body dolphin or pulsing…
· Pulse once, then a second time and slide hands to the corners
· Anchor your hands (like in breast pullout); hands form a triangle
· In one motion, press your hands in and back as you VAULT over the anchor and get a breath close to the surface (review the landing zone concept above)
· Like a stone skipping just over the surface
· Land on face and chest at the same time
· Pulse #1 arms at sides
· Pulse #2 sneak arms out front to superman full extension
· 2xs hand lead pulse, 2xs head lead pulse
· CHANT: pulse, pulse and vault, pulse, pulse and recover arms to front
· The full body rhythm never stops
· Keep your head within the body line
· Breathe early
· Land forward
· Feel the use of the pelvis and hips as you load up to vault
· Return to pulsing immediately after the breath
· This should be a quiet drill
STONESKIPPER WITH KARATE CHOP
· Stoneskipper sequence as above
· As hands anchor and your body vaults over them, karate chop pinkie first out of the
· Hands exit just before reaching hips
BODY DOLPHIN FLY…adding arm recovery
· Two hand lead pulses; on the second pulse, slide to corners, then—without breathing—take a full stroke over the water stroke
· When done well, eliminate the first pulse
PLAY THE PIANO DRILL (Quick/Boomer)
· Start on the front, head leading, arms to sides, with a soft, gentle, no-splash flutter kick
· Now, dribble the fingers along the surface in the FL arm recovery pattern
· Fingers playing the piano as they sweep to the entry position
RACHEL’S DRILL (named for a swimmer who didn’t follow directions, but invented one of the most terrific FL drills for age-groupers)
· Start in head-lead and pulse twice.
· With either soft flutter or easy dolphin kick do a slow thumb-drag through the surface to the catch position for FL
· Now do a Stoneskipper (this is when you breathe) and immediately transition into two more head-lead pulses.
SWIM: EASY/“NO STRUGGLE” FLY—Full stroke work.
· Novice swimmers start with one full FL stroke only
· Transition to 2 full FL strokes, no breathing, then finish the length with perfect BK
· Then 3 FL strokes, no breathing, and finish with perfect FR or BK
· Never practice broken down/struggle FL
· Using short fins, 10-12s can easily build up to 20 minutes of 25’s with several strokes FL, then perfect BK
· Have all swim the same direction in the lane to a void collisions, or have those on the south end swim BK, those on the north end FL
· When the last swimmer gets inside the flags, the first swimmer starts
· Require a given number of dolphin kicks under water off walls
· Minimum: streamline, dolphin K under water until feet past flags
· Then: 2-5 great strokes, no breath, and switch to perfect BK/FR or alternate
BREASTSTROKE
BREASTSTROKE—Key Points
· Streamline at the end of the stroke
· Keep your head on the spine line
· Breathe with a full body motion, not a jerk and slam!
· Everything moves forward at all times
· Make the scull compact and quick
Review: Head and Hand Lead Full Body Dolphin (pulsing)
For all age groups able to perform it correctly. A great drill in a BR progression set.
· Use a small, EZ FR kick
· Face out, chin on surface
· Skull hands out front, arms extended;
· As hands press out to the widest point, press the “T” to raise hips
· Look down slightly, goggles do not touch the water
· Hands/arms stay inside of shoulders
· Elbows high, hear the surface on the out sweep
· Keep elbows away from the rib cage/body
· Elbows higher than hands on the in sweep
BODY DOLPHIN BREASTSTROKE
A key drill for BR that teaches loading, unloading and landing.
· The core (armpit to below hip) generates power/rhythm
· First practice pulse--pulse in the hand lead position and slide to the corners
· Now pulse—pulse—and a mini scull as you get a breath
· Hands spin, i.e. cut thumb and forearm blade in front of chin and immediately to the front
· On the extension of the arms smoothly/forcefully lunge forward
· In torpedo/streamlined position, the crown of the head points directly to the opposite end
· Head is between the shoulders; have swimmers press biceps onto cheek bones of face
· Keep elbows high and close to surface on out sweep
· Shrug shoulders and clap arms/hands together on in sweep
· Keep elbows away from the body
· On extension: hands forward with thumbs/index finger touching (like a roof angle or a pup tent)
· Hands fully extended before the head goes between shoulders
· Most age group swimmers will bend the arm (drop elbows) on the extension: don’t allow it!
· After mastery, substitute a breast kick for a pulse
Teaches the all-important torpedo position.
- Do two rapid cycles of heads up sculling
- Legs in a dolphin position but no kick
- Now do 1 BR kick and streamline with head between shoulders; glide with entire body just under surface
- Hold for 3 counts
- Cue: kick yourself forward
- Cue: lean on the chest
Re proper width of BR kick:
Try to align the knees, thighbones and hips. Only the feet grab water outside the hips.
(How to determine perfect knee width: Spread fingers and thumb wide, then place the outstretched hands between the knees; this is the perfect width for the knees.)
At the completion of the kick, the soles of the feet should be together.
Emphasizes the torpedo position.
· Full cycle of BR with a 2-count streamline glide
· Be sure to lean on the chest
DRILL: UNDERWATER BREASTSTROKE KICK
This drill permits coaches to clearly see whether swimmers have a spine line, flat back, and a kick that is loaded and unloaded properly. Age group swimmers love it!
· BR kick underwater on front in a streamline position
· Try for distance per kick (dpk)
· Count kicks per width or 25 yards, trying for fewer while maintaining speed
· Recover heels/legs inside the body line
· Only flared out feet go outside the hips
· When mastered, time 12.5 yards kicking only and count the kicks
· Strive for fast heels/great distance per kick
A terrific drill that works on breath control, torpedo spine line, and kicking.
· Two BR kicks per stroke cycle or 2-kick BR
· Streamline/glide forward not down
· Underwater go through the smallest hole possible
· Don’t allow bent arms
DRILL: EASY BREAST—1 MINI/1 FULL
Teaches proper stroke width, accelerated scull, and torpedo position.
· Whole stroke BR
· Slide to the corners
· Alternate one mini scull on the 1st cycle with a full stroke on the 2nd cycle
· Out to the corners before starting to scull
· Quick/compact scull
· Breathe on the in scull
· Extend arms almost completely before the kick
· Kick arms the last few inches forward
· Glide just below the surface on this drill
Drill: SEA HORSE LEANING FORWARD
For fairly advanced swimmers.
· Focus on: hip loading, chest half above surface, spine line on 45 degree angle, everything moving forward
· Do not kick; legs trail the spine line
· Forceful loading of hips; draw them up/forward as if sliding them under the shoulders to create a wave
· When hands reach the corners, about half the chest is above the surface
· Hands at corners and press the “T”
· Slide hips under shoulders causing them to rise above the surface at 45 degree angle
· Neck/spine breaks the surface on a 45 degree angle
· Goggles slightly down at highest point
Drill: LEANING SEA HORSE LANDING
For fairly advanced swimmers.
· Emphasize simultaneously landing the face and “T” (lung area of chest) well out front
· Sequence: scull up, lunge forward, kick to torpedo position
· Scull up on 45 degree angle by pressing your “T,” sliding hips toward shoulders, and sculling to the corners
· Forehead, chin, chest land as one unit with head between arms, biceps pressed against cheek bones and crown of head pointed to the opposite end
· Work on landing well out front
· Kick after the arms extend forward and the face is down (See Go-Swim’s Amanda Beard video)
· The head/face lift forward (forehead leads the chin) for a breath on the in sweep
· Chant: Scull! Lunge! Kick!
SHORT AXIS COMBOS
DRILL: BODY DOLPHIN COMBO
This drill is particularly helpful to those struggling to get proper timing in the FL. Have these swimmers alternate 1BR-1FL during all FL sets for several weeks (no breath on FL). Only when proper timing is established, is the swimmer allowed to do more than one stroke FL, or “get” a breath.
· Hand lead pulse, slide to the corners and do 1 full FL stroke (no breath)
· Hand lead pulse, slide to corners and do 1 full BR (breathe on in sweep)
· Use the pulse to drive the hands to the corners
· No breathing on FL
· Alternate starting FL on even #s, BR on odd numbers
· Strive for a steady/unbroken rhythm, especially the hip undulation
Breaststroke Combos:
These can be done by half-length, full length, alternating two rounds of each. Use your creativity! Swimmers hunger for variety.
COMBO:
- Alternate hand lead body dolphin…pulsing with full BR with 2-count glide
COMBO:
- Alternate 2 UP/1 DOWN…i.e. 2 cycles heads up pulling, legs drag, then kick to 2-count extension
- Alternate 2DOWN/1 UP…i.e. full breast cycle with 2 kicks while underwater
COMBO: Switch among:
a) kick underwater in streamline position
b) 2 DOWN/1 UP
c) 1 UP/1 DOWN
There are many combinations that provide your swimmers with variety and focus on parts of the stroke. Everything you ask of your swimmers should have a purpose.
Fly Combos:
COMBO:
§ Head lead body dolphin (pulsing)
· Stoneskipper
· Easy FL
COMBO:
§ Hand lead body dolphin (pulsing)
§ Stoneskipper with karate chop…hands chop out just before hips
§ Easy FL
