Freestyle Drill: 3 Touch

Posted on December 2, 2008 by Andy Scherer

There are always multiple ways to extend, modify, or add on to a swimming drill. The 3 touch drill is a great example of how to modify an existing freestyle drill in order to cultivate a more exagerated movement. That being said, let’s go into the variations of the 3 touch freestyle drill.

The purpose of this freestyle drill is to promote a high elbow recovery and proper axis rotation throughout the entire freestyle stroke. When this drill is done by the Hamden North Haven YMCA Swim Team, we exagerate the shoulder and hip rotation to almost a seventy-five degree angle. The pull phase of the stroke leads directly into the high elbow recovery with the first touch being at the hip. The elbow remains high and the second touch comes at the shoulder/arm-pit. Now, as a modification, you can make this dril a 2-touch and focus on an extended entry after the second touch. However, in my opinion, the third touch (at the head/temple) is one of the most important because it forces the swimmer to have a high elbow all the way to and through the entry phase. After the third touch, it is very important for your swimmers not to enter the water by the head, but to extend, rotate, and enter the water at the wrist of the transitioning arm.

It seems like a lot to think about when you are coaching this drill (especially with less experienced swimmers). So, as a coach, here are some things to think about as you are watching this drill:

Shoulder and hip rotation
Breathing patterns (are you teaching your swimmers every other or every three)
Exhalation and inhalation should be as normal as possible (no elongated breathing during the drill)
Kicking patters – are the swimmers stopping or scisoring their kicks during the drill or during the breathing? If they are, break the habit.
Are your swimmers actually touching each point or are they just skimming the water (similar to a finger drag drill)
Are your swimmers entering the water properly and starting the normal rotation and pull phase properly

As always, you want to make sure that everything the swimmers are doing is creating or reenforcing a positive swimming habit so their strokes become more natural. I’ll go into other drills later on throughout the week that are similar to this 3 touch freestyle drill (finger drag and zipper). If anyone has any comments please feel free to leave them on the blog or contact me at any point!

Freestyle Drill – Distance Per Stroke

Posted on November 20, 2008 by Andy Scherer

I was asked by one of our Hamden North Haven Swim Team members this past week about DPS (Distance Per Stroke), and why we do this drill in practice. His thought was that DPS was essentially a pulling set and therefore we should just go into a pulling set and not do DPS. My thought was, “Oh no, he is not doing the drill the right way”!

The reason that DPS is done as a drill is to practice making the pulling phase more effiencent as well as determining the correct timing of the stroke; therefore making the swimmer faster. Distance per stroke is where you want to maximize the distance that you get from your stroke while holding the maximum speed with the pull. In other words, each pull will propel you through the water. Obviously the swimmer will hit a peak speed during the pull. At the point of the peak your other arm should be poised and ready to pull to maintain that speed. So, it’s not just a pulling set or just a pulling drill, but an efficiency drill where you are truly working on getting the biggest bang for your buck!

Hamden North Haven Swim Team – Basic Catch Up Drill

Posted on September 21, 2008 by Andy Scherer

The following video is a good example of how we (the Hamden North Haven YMCA Typhoons) start to learn the freestyle catch up drill. The swimmer demonstrates an excellent streamline position which is something that we stress. However, things to remember that this swimmer has a difficult time doing:

Rolling to and through the other hand; your hands should meet in that streamline position, but your body should not stop rolling at that point. The body should continue to roll until your recovery hand passes over top of the next pulling hand. Remember that the easiest and most efficient way to complete this drill is by rolling from one axis to the next! There are a lot of swimmers in Connecticut (and all around the U.S.) that have a hard time remember to fully rotate.
The kick should be a non-stop motor throughout this drill. At this demonstration speed, there should be 6 kicks on one axis, 6 kicks during the roll from one axis to the next, and 6 kicks on the next axis (and repeat). This particular swimmer, unfortunately, does not remember to keep the kick consistant and doesn’t get the most out of the drill that he can.

Overall, though, this is a great way for our Hamden North Haven Swim Team kids to really get to know the Catch Up Drill!

For more information on Typhoon Swimming, please feel free to contact us at any point!