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Breaststroke Drill Library
BASIC BREASTSTROKE PROGRESSION
Purpose: BEGINNER, PROGRESSION. For young swimmers just learning first steps
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
- Kick with board to practice just the kick
- Kick without board to practice streamlining and lifting the legs after the kick
- Kick with small scull to practice fast head movement
- Kick with ¾ pull to make sure elbows don’t go too far back
- Full breaststroke.
All focusing on getting head in the water ASAP, so you can get in the streamline AND separating the pull and the kick, while also taking the “glide” after kick
RUBBER BANDS
Purpose: DETAIL. Keeping knees narrow
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Kicking, drills or swimming with a band above your knees, so the knees can’t get much wider than shoulders. Try 2 kicks 1 pull drill
2-3 KICK DOWN DRILL aka. 2 KICKS 1 PULL
Purpose: ESSENTIAL, BEGINNER. Getting into streamline/holding it after kick
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
One pull and then 2-3 kicks underwater in perfect racing streamline. Remain underwater for kicks. Can be part of sequence i.e. 8*75 with 25 w 1P:3K, 25 w 1P:2K, 25 w 1P:1K.
SAY ” CHICKEN” aka COUNT TO 3
Purpose: BEGINNER. Breaststroke sequence, enforces correct timing and the importance of glide part
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Say chicken, or count to 3 before taking the next pull. Say only when hands are in the front, not before that.
STREAMLINE KICK
Purpose: ESSENTIAL, BEGINNER. Kicking and streamline
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
On your stomach, on your back, underwater, the point is to be in this racing streamline with tight elbows and head low between arms when not breathing. And also to keep your knees narrow (shoulder width apart) while kicking back as well as while pulling them forward. Sometimes it helps to let the knees come out of water while breaststroke kicking on back, focusing on keeping feet, hips and shoulders level and lifting the legs to correct it before the next kick. Special focus should be also on straightening the legs, lifting them up and pointing toes like a ballerina at the end of each kick, so the swimmer is flat and in streamline after every kick. Don’t rush it!!!
HEEL TAG
Purpose: BEGINNER. Kicking knee placement, flexibility
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Have your hands down right over your butt. Tag your hands with your heels at every kick. The narrower you can get the hands the better. Start with hands on side. Can be done on stomach or back and make sure you get to flat body position after every kick.
POOL NOODLE UNDER ARMS
Purpose: BEGINNER. Helps to stop kids from pulling back too far with their elbows
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Swim, or pull, with a pool noodle under your chin and armpits. Go slow!
BUTTERFLY KICK BREASTSTROKE aka. “BROLPHIN”
Purpose: ESSENTIAL, DETAIL. Rhythm and staying on surface, pulling power enhancement, also good for practicing late breath technique
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Swim breaststroke with butterfly kick. 2 dolphin kicks per pull, so you get to glide a bit during the second kick. Stay on top of the water, don’t dive down! Can use fins
FREE KICK BREASTSTROKE
Purpose: ESSENTIAL, DETAIL. Focuses on power and tempo of pull
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Swim breaststroke with flutter kick. Stay on surface! Can get exhausting, so use fins and do short laps/rounds.
GLIDE AWAY
Purpose: ESSENTIAL. Helps with the glide and streamline
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Kick, pull or swim 25s while counting strokes/kicks/pulls. Try to minimize the number you take to get from wall to wall on each subsequent lap
FRONT SCULL and STRAIGHT ARM SCULL
Purpose: ESSENTIAL. EVF, Feel of the water
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Scull in front with both arms keeping pinky facing out going both directions with hands, go slow or fast, use a snorkel (and/or fins) with younger swimmers so you don’t have to lift the head to breathe and you don’t sink your legs behind you, or use a pull buoy with more advanced swimmers. Variation is to keep your arms totally straight so you can work on the really early parts of stroke
HEAD SLAM aka. KARATE CHOP aka. BREAK THE BOARD
Purpose: ESSENTIAL. Helps with getting in the streamline faster
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
With breaststroke pull, after a QUICK! breath, slam your face/forehead into the water as fast and powerfully as you can and then stay in streamline for a beat
2 BUTTERFLY + 2 BREASTSTROKE
Purpose: APPRECIATION. To maximize the short axis (you don’t rotate side to side) elements. Driving the body forward focus
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
2 full strokes of butterfly and 2 full strokes of breaststroke. Idea is to learn how to drive your head/neck/shoulders forward in short axis strokes with-out getting as tired. Probably better for more advanced swimmers
KICK-PULL-KICK
Purpose: DETAIL, ESSENTIAL. Variation, or rather, a different way to explain “2 Kicks-1 Pull” drill that also promotes proper timing.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Try to have each stroke build into the next stroke so that momentum is not lost. So instead of a single pull followed by 2 kicks, think of it as a kick first and then INTO a full breaststroke cycle and going from there
EGG BEATER
Purpose: STRENGTH. Work on breaking apart the kick to isolate the ankle and knee position of each leg. Build kinesthetic awareness of the kicking mechanics
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Kick breaststroke, but one leg at a time, or alternating them. Make them as fast as you can.
PULL BUOY KICK
Purpose: BEGINNER, DETAIL. Keeping the kick narrow
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Swim breaststroke, but with pull buoy between your thighs. Young swimmers can use a kick board to keep their upper body afloat
BREASTSTROKE SPLASH
Purpose: DETAIL. Promotes arm speed at the end of pull cycle
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Make a splash ahead of you at the end of strike phase.
1 ARM, 1 LEG BREASTSTROKE
Purpose: APPRECIATION. Core strength and for correcting imbalances in body
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Opposite arm and leg remain in streamline, other arm and leg try and achieve full range of stroke and kick
2 UP, 2 DOWN BREASTSTROKE
Purpose: APPRECIATION. Timing, feel for the water, shortening the pull and decreasing kick width.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Two cycles of breast done on top of the water and then two fully underneath the water, which helps to narrow the kicks and stops elbows going too far back
3-2-1 GLIDE
Purpose: ESSENTIAL, BEGINNER. Getting swimmers to glide in breast and feel difference in length
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Take a breaststroke, glide for 3 seconds, next stroke glide for 2 seconds, next stroke glide for 1 and repeat
ACCORDION BREASTSTROKE
Purpose: DETAIL. Work on breaking apart the components of breaststroke
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Snorkel on, head down. Think about “coiling with straight legs” and “kicking with straight arms” to ensure that the negative acceleration parts of the stroke do not overlap on each other. Hands only go to forehead, kick is full kick, you should look like an accordion from above
COBRA ATTACK
Purpose: BEGINNER, DETAIL. Good way to explain to kids to keep hips high and make the head move fast
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Imagine a striking cobra. You are ready to strike with hips high in the water and then you slam your head forward with arms striking forward
FEET FIRST SCULLING
Purpose: APPRECIATION. Works catch phase- trains the swimmer how to trap the water and keep body flat on surface if they want to move faster.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Swimmers lie on their back and move forward feet first by sculling simultaneously besides their hips
ROCKER DRILL
Purpose: DETAIL. Focus on use of hips in breaststroke. Hips anchor the movement.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
When swimming breast, get as much height as possible at the top of your stroke. Try to arch your back and get as much of your body out of the water as you can. Don’t let your hips drop and lunge forward into your next stroke with the kick. Drive the hips back up to the surface to establish body line again
SEPARATION DRILL aka. STAGGER DRILL
Purpose: BEGINNER. Timing, especially for younger swimmers. To teach swimmers that the pull and kick of breaststroke are two separate motions which require independent focus, allowing them to focus on one at a time.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Separate the kick from the pull. While keeping legs straight, you pull as if you are just pulling breaststroke. You get fully into a line while keeping legs straight. After glide, keep head down in line and kick while arms are kept straight upfront. Repeat. Take it slow!!!
SHOOT DRILL
Purpose: DETAIL, BEGINNER. Helps work on acceleration through the stroke, helps kids to think about how small their strokes should be length-wise (AKA not pulling to hips)
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Keep head out of water, light flutter kick. Do super-fast “half” strokes of breaststroke with arms. They should be really small strokes, “shooting” hands forward in water, turning over as fast as possible. Use fins for easier time
SINGLE ARM BREASTSTROKE
Purpose: DETAIL. Alternating between the single arm pulls forces swimmers to learn control over their timing. It is common to see swimmers slip through their stroke, pause at their chest with their pulling arm, or try to use their non-pulling arm when doing this drill. Encourage them to drive forward through each pull, and after a few cycles they should be able to translate their timing into their full, normal breaststroke pulls. The end result will be a greater awareness of the timing of their pull and a more effective and efficient pull.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
To perform the drill, swimmers will alternate between a right arm pull, a left arm pull, and a full normal pull throughout a pool length. Swimmers will still use a full breaststroke kick following each pull. While completing the single arm pulls, swimmers should have their opposite arm extended in front. With their single pulling arm, they should focus on grabbing as much water as possible in the beginning of pull to feel themselves drive forward. Through the middle and recovery phase of their pull they should be as fast as possible, minimizing any pause in their stroke
UPSIDE DOWN BREASTSTROKE
Purpose: APPRECIATION. Helps to correct pulling arms too far back as you can see them because light doesn’t bend as in air to water. Helps with streamlining too.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Swim breaststroke on your back and under water. Definitely more advanced drill and should be used sparingly. Nose clips help with breath control
WALL PUSH-OFF
Purpose: BEGINNER. Helps to fix the scissor/dolphin kick with young swimmers
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
On end lane, tell the kids to push off the wall with their foot every kick. Can use boards to hold on to. Repeat on the other side on the way back. Naturally fixes the kick as you have to use the bottom of your foot to push off the wall
Y DRILL
Purpose: DETAIL. Focus on body undulation and glide. Using head to drive forward.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Arms out in front of head like a Y. Use a small scull to lift the head and then drive head down while taking a kick. Let body travel through undulation motion completely until reset. Repeat. Do not let swimmers do full arm motion and tell them to finish the glide
DRY LAND KICK DRILLS
Purpose: BEGINNER, PROGRESSION. To get this tricky kick down, sometimes it helps to do things on dry land first
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Foot circles while sitting down with legs straight (bring toes up, and then rotate out and make a circle).
Sitting in a chair bring lower legs back and wrap them around the legs, repeat
Wall drill- Stand close to wall and do a one legged kick pushing off the wall, helps to keep the knees down and to turn the toes out.
And of course, duck-walks
W DRILL
Purpose: DETAIL, BEGINNER. Great for timing, glide, and kick strength. For some helps to not spread arms too wide to sides as well.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Lock thumbs together, keep locked throughout drill. Swim full breaststroke pulling elbows and hands in with a breath and recover the hands with a kick while you keep thumbs locked
VERTICAL KICKING
Purpose: STRENGTH. Leg strength and pushing water back with insteps/bottoms of feet.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Hands out of the water or over head. It is hard to keep your face out, if you kick to sides or too wide in general. On the other hand, use sparingly, as it is counter productive to finishing the kick properly with pointed toes and straight legs.
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