Tag Archives: technique

Freestyle Drill – Finger Drag

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Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, children of all ages…..your Hamden North Haven Swim Team Coach is back with another freestyle technique drill!  In a previous post regarding freestyle drills, I discussed the 3 Touch Drill which is a great addition to your drill sets when you want to work on a high elbow recovery for freestyle technique.  Another great freestyle drill is the finger drag.  The finger drag is a slight variation of the 3 touch (or vica versa) which also promotes a high elbow recovery.  That being said, all the other details of the stroke still prevail throughout this drill (entry point, high catch, rotation, proper pull, proper kick, proper breathing).

So, how do you do the finger drag drill the right way? 

After the pull phase of the stroke simply drag the tips of your fingers on the top of the water with an exagerated height on the elbow.  You want to essentially be carrying the lower half of the arm with the elbow, and while keeping the tips of the fingers in the water move your hand up the side of your body (almost in a “tickle” motion).  Try to keep the hand as close to the body as possible as your pass by the should and head, start your rotation to the other axis while maintaining the high elbow and fingertips in the water.  Finally, complete the recovery phase by entering by the wrist of your arm transitioning to the pull.  I would suggest that the swimmer breath every three strokes while doing this drill, but it is always up to the individual swimmer and/or coach.

Some things to keep in mind whie you are coaching this or observing this as a parent:

  1. Is the hand or the elbow coming out of the water first following the pull phase
  2. Is the swimmer completing the pull phase fully which will lead smoothly into the recovery
  3. Is the swimmer staying streamline, or are they “wiggling” to maintain a steady high recovery
  4. Where is the hand entering the water, and is the elbow hitting the water first
  5. Is the kicking pattern varied while they are doing this drill

I’m sure there are a lot of other things running through your head as you are watching your swimmer do this drill, but those are just a few to keep in mind.  Later on this week I will touch base on the zipper drill which is a variation of the finger drag and the 3 touch drill.  As I always say, make sure that you are reenforcing the good habits so you get rid of the bad ones, and always encourage the swimmer to do better (never discourage in any way)!

Happy Swimming, and Go Typhoons!

Freestyle Drill: 3 Touch

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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:

  1. Shoulder and hip rotation
  2. Breathing patterns (are you teaching your swimmers every other or every three)
  3. Exhalation and inhalation should be as normal as possible (no elongated breathing during the drill)
  4. Kicking patters – are the swimmers stopping or scisoring their kicks during the drill or during the breathing?  If they are, break the habit.
  5. Are your swimmers actually touching each point or are they just skimming the water (similar to a finger drag drill)
  6. 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

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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!

Freestyle Hand Placement

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This, I promise will be one of those short and sweet posts for freestyle technique!

There are several methods of thought out there with regard to hand position and placement during the entry phase of freestyle.  In my travels throughout the swimming world, I have come to agree almost whole-heartedly with one of those schools of thought.  This theory being that a good swimmer enters the water with a relaxed hand, more of a middle-finger/ring finger entry (not necessarily flat handed entry, but more so cupped and ready to start a high catch.

In my opinion, this style of entry cuts down on wasted movement in the water and significantly increases the chance of a proper catch and efficient pull (respectively).  The primary reason being that I have seen almost every type of freestyle entry there is in the swimming world (though almost all swimmers differ slightly from detail to detail), and this technique has proven to me that it is the most efficient.  Along with this, a significantly high percentage of high-performing freestylists appear to utlize some form of this entry.

So, if you agree, great, if not I would love to hear your thoughts so please feel free to leave a comment for our Hamden North Haven Swim Team blog!

Early Vertical Forearm

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I know this is somewhat redundant and as you read it turns into a bit of a swimming coach’s rambling thoughts on a late night before Master’s Swim Team in the morning, but I want to stress the importance of an Early Vertical Forearm in proper Freestyle Technique!  As I mentioned in the previous post, the early vertical forearm (EVF) sets up a swimmer for a more efficient propulsion in the pull.  So, one of the questions that I got tonight with regard to the blog post from yesterday was, “How often do young age group swimmers do the proper catch during freestyle”?

To be quite honest, I smiled and asked myself how truthful I wanted to be with the parent.  Now, this parent (mind you) has swimming experience and knows the technical jargon of the swimming world so I am going to make this user friendly with my response:

“Typically with a swimmer that is just coming out of any regular swimming lesson swims their freestyle (and truly any other competitive stroke that they have learned) with a dropped elbow.  The reasoning behind this, in my opinion, is because it is the natural evolution and modification of their stroke.  They went from not knowing what to do with their arms as a very very beginner to all of a sudden getting some sort of propulsion from their pull.  This improvement in their overall stroke was highly rewarded by (most likely) the instructor as well as the parent.  So, moving forward, the instructor now concentrates on the recovery portion of the stroke and the finish of the stroke in order to make it look more like a freestyle stroke.  Once the student has the general concept of the follow-through and the recovery into entry the actual pull is never truly corrected or adapted to its fullest potential.  It’s at that point that the swimmer now has the general concept of freestyle, backstroke, and most likely breaststroke that the parent moves the swimmer either out of lessons or into swim team.  So, they have about 2 – 3 years of practicing an advanced version of doggy paddle.  The long and short of it, in all honesty, is that very few age group swimmers have the proper entry/catch/pull/recovery for freestyle”.

Now, before all of the swim lesson parents out there panic and take their kids out of a lesson program, please keep in mind that this is truly (at least in my opinion) the natural progression of the stroke.  For example, if you look at the progression of the competitive backstroke it looks completely different now than it did in its origination.  Your swimmers’ stroke is the same way.  With the right coaching and the right instructors in the corner for support your swimmer will learn and have fun at the same time!  And not to turn this into a my swim lesson program vs any other swim lesson program, but I (as the Aquatic Director and the Head Coach) have a lot more say in what technique as well as how much technique we will be teaching the swim lesson participants.  I also develop the curriculum for each of the levels based on the YMCA of the USA and my experience with our community.  Anyway, before this turns into a plug for our YMCA Swim Lessons, the best answer to this question is:

The stroke will evolve properly with time and effort from the swimmer, coach(es), and parent(s)!  Until they are seconds away from qualifying for YMCA Nationals, let the swimmers have fun!

Now, if you were to ask, “What can you do to help your swimmer achieve the Early Vertical Forearm”?  I would say that it were an excellent question and show you different games that you can play with your kids while you are in the pool as well as on dry land.  However, if anyone wants these “games” and ideas please feel free to let me know via e-mail or leave a comment; I cannot give away all of my trade secrets to the internet world!

As always, all the best and happy swimming!  Go Hamden North Haven Swim Team (the YMCA Typhoons, of course)!!!

Over The Barrel – Early Vertical Forearm

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There are several types of coaches out there, but the common thing that I hope you hear when asking about freestyle technique is the importance of swimming with your forearms!  As all of my Hamden North Haven Swim Team (the YMCA Typhoons) know, I stress technique as much as anything else that we do in practice.  In my opinion, with better technique comes faster swimmers, and better future coaches!  And better coaches mean better future swimmers (you get the picture).  Anyway, all of those future possibilities aside, it is extremely important for a high catch (an over the barrel, or early vertical forearm).

The simple way to look at the importance is to say that an early vertical forearm (EVF) is needed in all of the competitive strokes (freestyle, breaststroke, and butterfly being the major trifecta, but backstroke also includes an early vertical forearm).  EVF is where you get your forearm vertical quickly (which is setting up for an efficient pull).  In other words, when you finish the recovery phase of the stroke and begin the entry and catch phase you are full extended into a streamline axis position.  It’s in this position that you are fully extended on one of your axis and will begin the EVF.

The goal of the EVF to not drop your elbow and to set you up for a very efficient pull!  Again, do not drop the elbow!  Wait…one more time….do not drop the elbow.  Instead, try to keep the elbow at the same level and in-line with your shoulder and hips.  Bend at the elbow and the wrist in order to “grab” the water.  I find it easiest to pretend that you are reaching over a large barrel and trying to push the barrel past your hips.  Once the forearm is vertical and in-line with the shoulder and wrist the propulsion phase starts.  This is where the most amount of power comes from your stroke.  So, instead of pulling the water downward past you with a dropped elbow you are pushing yourself over the water with a vertical forearm.

OK.  This was a quick sampling and description of EVF.  So, to Dr. Councilman (who first noticed the EVF) I apologize for anything that I miss here – which is, I’m sure, a lot of information, but I wanted to give as brief of a description as possible.  Anyway, Here is where you get to comment and ask questions regarding this post!  I’m sure that you, as swimmers or coaches or parents, have many questions racing through your head right now.  So, write them down in the comments area and go for it!

Shoulder Injury

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There are several swimmers out there that have had, or are having shoulder issues/injuries.  However, the debate right now in a lot of forums and social networking sites is if these shoulder injuries are preventable in swimmers.  For me, personally and professionally, I absolutley think that a majority of the shoulder injuries can be prevented and/or controlled.

Here’s the catch, though…swimmer rotate their shoulders (if they are free, fly, or back) a significant number of times throughout the course of one practice.  Now, let’s hypothetically say that a single swimmer rotates their arm 1500 times in a practice (relatively low, by the way).  In a given week where they attend 5 practices they are rotating their shoulders 7000 times in a single week.  The swim season is around 10 1/2 months long so roughly estimated you are rotating one arm close to 294,000 times in a year (on the low end of the spectrum).

With that information, how can anyone prevent a should injury if they are a swimmer?

Here are a few ways that you can control and prevent these injuries from occurring.

  1. Fluid warm-up stretches.  Harsh/aggressive stretching can actaully damage the shoulder more by pulling, pushing, etc.  I would suggest that you warm up by natural and controlled movements that will loosen up the muscles by increasing bloodflow to them.
  2. Dry-land workouts.  I am not talking about weight lifting here, but more so resistance/low impact training.  The Hamden North Haven YMCA Swim Team uses resistance bands for these exercises.  I would suggest to use resistance training in the most accurate swimming motions that you can do on dry-land.  That means to get down into streamline for pulling exercises (breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle), and stand straight up for backstroke pulls (with the resistance band hanging from the ceiling if possible).
  3. Rest rest rest.  After you do your workouts, make sure that you have plenty of rest and relaxation.  You want to give your body enough of a chance to recovery from the workout that you just gave it.

Again, these are only some suggestions on how to prevent and/or limit shoulder injuries in swimmers.  I hope this helps some people out there, and please let me know if you have any other suggestions by leaving a comment!

Freestyle Breathing

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In a number of the social networking forums that I participate in have been talking/debating how to properly breath during freestyle.  From these debates there are generally two schools of thought:

  1. When you take a breath, hold your breath as long as you can throughout your strokes.
  2. Continuously exhale throughout your strokes.

So, which one is the right technique for breathing?  Let’s analyze each one individually and go from there.

Argument number 1: hold your breath through your entire stroke and try to take as few breaths as possible.  Logistically, the reason why this is a theory is because the more oxygen/air that your body has inside, the more bouyant you become which reduces drag and makes you faster.  The other aspect that they touch on in the argument is that your body will be able to utlize the full amount of oxygen that you intake.

Argument number 2: continuously breath out (exhale) throughout your stroke and breath as normal as possible.  Logistically, the reason why this is a theory is because when you swim (much like when you run) the goal is to be relaxed and comfortable in the water in order to increase your speed.  The consistent exhale allows the body to expel CO2 and will allow the body to naturally (without force) intake as much oxygen as possible which will have quite a positive effect on the body’s performance and efficiency.

As you can probably tell, the Hamden North Haven YMCA Swim Team (the Typhoons) utilize the second  theory where you exhale continuously throughout your stroke.  The reasoning is listed above, but what I didn’t mention about the first theory is that if you retain all of that CO2 and try to expel everything at once you are simulating hyperventaliation which will limit the amount of oxygen in your blood and significantly limit your performance.

I would love to hear your comments on the subject if you have the same or difference of opinion!

Backstroke Technique

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The following video really shows how the backstroke should be done!  Notice how the body rolls from one axis to the next pulling nice and deep while pushing the water as far down as possible.  Also, notice how close the shoulder gets to the chin and how the head stays almost completely still!  The last thing that you will notice (and quite possibly the first thing because of how the video is structured) is the excellent dolphin kicks starting off the stroke!  Enjoy, and happy swimming!

Hamden North Haven YMCA Swim Team – To Do List

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There was a recent post on Mat Leubber’s blog with regard to 10 things that you can do in order to improve your swimming.  If you look at all 10, we have doen 9 of them throughout this past summer season, and look to add the 10th (swimming occassionally with fins) during the Short Course Season.  So, Hamden North Haven YMCA Typhoons (and other swimmers out there), here is the list:

  • Do swim frequently
  • Do swim with good technique
  • Do drills as part of every swimming workout
  • Do challenging workouts
  • Do easy workouts
  • Do streamlines
  • Do leave the wall the same way every time
  • Do wear a swimsuit made for competitive swimming
  • Do ask someone to watch you swim
  • Do use flippers occasionally

    • Just a quick “thank you” to Mat Luebbers for writing this!  As a quick reminder for our Hamden North Haven Swim Team, our swim clinic ends Friday this week and our regular swim team practices start next week.  Keep up the good work!