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Freestyle Drill Library
3 STROKES + 6 KICKS
Purpose: ESSENTIAL. Good for balance and working on body rotation/swimming mostly on sides.
Video:
How:
Take 3 strokes and then balance on the side with one arm extended forward and the other upper arm up 90 degrees vertically (with hand dangling by the goggles or arm straight, or anywhere in between depending on sprint vs. distance style the swimmer is practicing for), while doing 6 kicks. Switch with 3 strokes after 6 kicks. Make sure the head stays stable/straight with eyes looking to the bottom and the body rotates fully. While kicking, the shoulder of the vertical arm should be out of the water and the other arm extended as far to the front as possible with palm facing down. Can be done with snorkel and/or fins for easier time. Switch slowly to get the rotation right, faster to practice driving the hand forward on top of the water.
LANE LINE CATCH
Purpose: DETAIL, BEGINNER. Learning EVF. Practicing moving/dropping fingers before moving upper arm.
Video:
How:
Practice pulls/catch over the lane line with paddles. Lying flat in the water with arms over lane line and elbows right at it, you can get the sensation how it should feel like to pull in the beginning of a catch cycle. Rinse and repeat as needed.
ONE HAND WALL PUSH (WITH LOW CEILING)
Purpose: DETAIL, BEGINNER. Head position and breathing to side
Video:
How:
Kick on the wall with holding the wall with only one hand, other hand down side… practice breathing to side. Easy for coaches to correct from deck as you can direct their head with your hand or place a flat kick board just above the head and above the water that they have to breathe under
FAST BREATH PROGRESSION
Purpose: PROGRESSION, BEGINNER. Taking the breath fast and not lingering. Blowing air into water before breathing
Video:
How:
Great for beginners. Start with just doing super-fast breaths standing in the shallow end of the pool with face in the water and then progressing through kicks etc. The point is that a breath should be taken fast after blowing air out into the water while face is submerged. Too many small kids hold their breath under water and then try to breathe in and out into the air at the same time, witch obviously breaks the smoothness of the stroke
1 STROKE + 6 KICKS
Purpose: ESSENTIAL, BEGINNER. Really focuses on balance on side, stretching out the stroke and rotation
Video:
How:
Simpler variation on 3 Strokes+ 6 Kicks with only doing one stroke (meaning you switch hands) and then 6 kicks on your side, with one hand extended forward and one vertical with forearm in any recovery style (bent, vs straight elbow) desired. Take a breath whenever you need by just lifting head to side and then to neutral again. Easier with fins and snorkel. Make switches slow at first to fine tune the movement and then fast to practice at race speeds… stay on side while kicking and pay attention to rotation speed, especially when going fast.
FAST 2 + 6 KICKS
Purpose: ESSENTIAL, DETAIL. Helps to do things right at speed, especially to learn the galloping technique
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Start with one arm extended and other back. Take one full stroke cycle (meaning both arms do a full turn), make it fast, and then pause for 6 kicks. Start with other arm up on the next lap
HIGH ELBOW ONE ARM PULL
Purpose: ESSENTIAL, DETAIL, BEGINNER. Helps with learning to keep elbow up for more efficient swimming, because you can really see and feel what that one arm is doing
Video:
How:
You only pull with one arm, while the other stays on front. Don’t forget to rotate body each time you pull. One lap with one arm, next lap other arm. Focus is on the EVF and high elbow recovery.
CATCH-UP DRILL
Purpose: BEGINNER. Classic. Helps with patience and slowing down/paying attention to the full stroke, plus balance
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Hands meet on front while swimming. Take 6 kicks in between strokes to train correct breathing as well. Hands are slightly apart. Or it can be done with kick board, or anything else to hold. Can use snorkel and fins
FIST DRILL
Purpose: APPRECIATION, DETAIL. Teaches how to grab water with your whole forearm not just your hand. Great for teaching keeping elbows high under water right from the beginning of stroke
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Either use tennis/ping-pong balls, or just make a (real, not only fingers curled in) fist and swim. Can use a pull buoy for added effect. Don’t rush it, it can feel really slow, but then when you swim with open palms, you will feel the speed later on
ZIPPER DRILL aka. FINGERTIP DRAG
Purpose: DETAIL, ESSENTIAL, BEGINNER. Helps with keeping elbows high above the water for a more efficient stroke for longer distances.
NOTE! Sprinters can and do use more straight arms for more rotational and centrifugal force, but this is great for practicing being efficient for longer distances.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
While swimming freestyle, during arm recovery, touch your arm pit at every stroke, or run your thumb along your body from hips to head. Alternate: drag fingers on the water during recovery. The important part is the accentuated body rotation so you don’t hurt your shoulders and letting the forearm/wrist relax during recovery.
BOW & ARROW
Purpose: DETAIL. Helps with balance as well as proper posture in water, plus arm entry/timing. Vartiation on ¾ catch-up
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Pause the recovering arm at 45 degrees, with fingers pointing to water in front. The other arm is stretched in front- hence “bow and arrow”. Switch arms with stroke. Pause every stroke with the other arm ending up. Can use fins, but more advanced swimmers can get a good work on their legs without fins and really keeping that motor going
SINGLE ARM DRILL aka. ONE-ARMED BANDIT
Purpose: ESSENTIAL, BEGINNER. Great for getting a lot of rotation as well as maximizing your legs
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Pull with one arm and opposite arm remains down by the side.
Breathe fast to the opposite side of pulling/moving arm while it’s at shoulder line. Don’t forget to rotate body while maintaining body posture! Best with fins for younger kids
6 KICK ONLY SWITCH
Purpose: ESSENTIAL, BEGINNER. Great for whole body rotation and learning not to scissor kick
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
You only kick, with arms staying on your side, but you rotate the body (the whole body including shoulders and hips- legs will follow anyway) every 6 kicks. Eyes should be glued to the bottom unless taking a breath! Head totally still, only body moving side to side. Can use fins/snorkel. Can be done with slow or aggressive rotation.
FANCY FINGERS or BEAR CLAW
Purpose: APPRECIATION. Great for building feel for the water
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Same as fist drill (swimming with closed fists), but at every lap stretch out one more finger until all five fingers are in normal position- so it should take 5-6 laps. Bear claw is keeping your fingers spread and curled in
UNDERWATER FREESTYLE
Purpose: APPRECIATION. Helps with feeling the connection between your hips and shoulders and also to feel how much water resistance matters. Also teaches to really reach forward as body turns to side.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Swimming full freestyle underwater. Will feel hard underwater, but then when you get to surface, you will feel great. Definitely way more doable with fins
3 STROKES + GLIDE
Purpose: DETAIL. Streamline and body position, adding glide element while keeping arm up and reaching for the wall.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Take three strokes and then glide with one arm up, one down, while being absolutely still
while being absolutely still and as streamlined as possible. Do it with pull buoys for added effect. NO KICKING!
FREE WILLY aka. FREESTYLE WITH DOLPHIN KICK
Purpose: DETAIL. Forces faster arm speed in freestyle and works the development of dolphin kick. Also works the core of the swimmer
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Freestyle arms and dolphin kick. Time the “Down” Kick to happen at the same time as a hand entry. One kick per one stroke. Rhythm takes some getting used to.
FREE & LAZY aka. 2 BEAT KICK DRILL
Purpose: APPRECIATION. Helps to slow things down and think about your upper body movement, since you are essentially pulling, but with no buoy.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Swim freestyle, but extremely slow with only one leg kick per stroke
TARZAN DRILL aka. WATER POLO FREE
Purpose: APPRECIATION, DETAIL. Outlines the importance of a strong kick as a foundation for stability and helps with developing high elbows and stable head position. Plus enables the swimmer to really watch their hand entry.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Swimming with your head above the water, with chin at water level, like Johnny Weissmuller. Eyes glued to the opposite wall or your hands entering the water up front. Watching the hands is helpful because the swimmer can see whether their hands enter correctly palms down or thumb first (a big NO-NO). Can also slowly descend your head to water as you swim, which helps to keep the head steady and practice hand entry. Important part is not to trash the head around, but to keep it still while the shoulders move and hands enter correctly.
OVERDRIVE KICK
Purpose: DETAIL. This drill encourages a straighter, fuller flutter kick (avoiding the tendency to corkscrew legs/feet when taking a breath).
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Kick with extra intensity while maintaining a slow, purposeful arm tempo – kick should be at least double the tempo of the arms
TOP HAT DRILL
Purpose: ESSENTIAL, DETAIL. Corrects breathing, body and head position, connects core to keep body rigid.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Place a paddle on top of your forehead and swim with pushing it forward. Some people can do turns as well, but definitely more advanced skill, although fun for kids to try
SINGLE PADDLE, SINGLE FIN
Purpose: DETAIL. Reinforces the cross-body connection.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Swimming with a fin on one leg and a paddle on the opposite hand
EXTENSIONS DRILL
Purpose: DETAIL. Works on many things… freestyle catch position, extension of stroke (stroke length), and hip rotation
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Recovering arm reaches to the point of the catch, then reverses the recovery to go back to the hip, then back to the front and extends past the original catch point, while body really rolls onto the side. Keep that elbow up
FRONT SCULL
Purpose: BEGINNER, DETAIL. Helps setting up the catch with high elbow, holding water at the start of catch, plus body position
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Free kick (or only use pull buoy) and scull with high elbows. Do not rush it! Use snorkel
FULL LENGTH SCULL
Purpose: APPRECIATION, DETAIL. Arm shape and position, feel for water through the pull cycle
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Free kick or use pull buoy while starting the skulls from the front and gradually ending all the way on the back by the end of the lap
BREATHING 1-2-3
Purpose: BEGINNER, PROGRESSION. Breathing timing. Variation on holding the wall with one arm and breathing to the side
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Step 1: At the wall, stretch one hand out to hold the wall and have the other hand by your side. Kick and breathe to the side of the down arm every 6 kicks
Step 2: Same: one arm down, one stretched out, but swimming laps with fins on (if necessary), still breathing every 6 kicks
Step 3: Full freestyle to put it all together either with fins or not
LONG DOGGIE PADDLE
Purpose: DETAIL, APPRECIATION. Front quadrant timing and reaching to front (towards the wall)
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Like swimming doggy paddle, but head in the water and arms extending all the way back and front, i.e. recovery phase is sliding arms underwater with fingers first and close to the body. Don’t start with one arm, before the other reaches almost to the front
PUPPET DRILL
Purpose: DETAIL, BEGINNER. Balance and high elbow recovery
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Hold underwater arm straight out front from shoulder (never let it drop) and allow the hip to rotate so swimmer is fully on side. Stroking arm is out in a high elbow with the hand dangling by goggles, relaxed (like a puppet on strings). Kick for 8 to 10 kicks, then sharply transition to opposite side, using torso to power the switch and pause again with the other hand dangling by goggles. Fins make it easier.
REACH THE WALL
Purpose: BEGINNER. Helps with distance per stroke
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
While swimming, focus on “reaching the wall” in front of you with every stroke. Easy to grasp for young kids.
ROTATOR KICK
Purpose: DETAIL, APPRECIATION. Kick efficiency, rotation from the hips, not lifting the head to breathe and using core to turn to side
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Start by kicking on stomach with arms by side. Do six kicks in this position on your front, then rotate your body from the hips into a side position for 6 kicks and rotate back to on front for 6 more kicks then rotate to the other side for 6 kicks. The keys to performing this drill well are to lengthen your neck or look down, and to twist from the hips rather than the shoulders. This should then make it easier to turn your head to the side to breathe, while you’re on your side
SILENT ASSASSIN
Purpose: APPRECIATION. Focus on slowing down, thinking about proper technique and maintaining good body position
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
After completing other freestyle drills or at the end of practice, have swimmers put everything together and try to swim freestyle with correct technique as silently as possible. NOT A SPLASH! Feel the water, hear the sounds and relax.
TOUCH THE HIP
Purpose: DETAIL. Helps with extending stroke backwards, for those who lift the arm out too early
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
While swimming, touch/brush the upper part of leg/thigh with your thumb as far back as possible without twisting the body sideways
HEAVY BREATHING
Purpose: DETAIL, STRENGTH. Helps with breath control
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
For every x meters you breathe after every x amounts of pulls, i.e. breathe every 3-5-7-9-11 pulls by every 25 or 50
SHORT PADDLE
Purpose: ESSENTIAL, DETAIL. Forces EVF
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Take swim paddles and hold them with your fingers curled over the top i.e. paddle is more towards your forearm than normal use. Swim freestyle, but slowly paying attention to how the paddle forces you to get your elbow up at the start of the pull to propel you forward
3/4 CATCH-UP
Purpose: ESSENTIAL. Works on everything, especially timing and rotation
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Catch-up, but with arm stopping at mid-recovery i.e. at shoulder line. Then take a stroke/switch hands. Use aggressive rotation and take a few extra kicks between strokes or no extra kicks and try to “skate” on the side a bit with the other arm extended forward. Idea is to rotate fully. Arms can recover with bent elbows or straight or anywhere in between depending on what style of freestyle is being practiced. Same for pulls.
ANCHOR and THROW
Purpose: DETAIL. Setting the catch and learning to anchor the arm and swimming past it, using the “throw” of the recovering arm and rotation from the body, to move forward.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Paddle on one hand only. Set that arm into an early catch position in front. i.e. arm in front palm down and elbow bent towards the ceiling a bit, body rotated to side. Other arm down by the side. Then “anchor” the pulling arm and use the energy from the recovering arm to make your body move past the anchored arm by “throwing” the recovering arm over the top. Don’t actively push back with the paddled arm, let it be where it is, anchored, which is the point. The “anchored” arm should end up by the hip as the body moves past it. Rinse and repeat, switch paddle every 50 or 100.
STRAIGHT ARM FREE
Purpose: DETAIL Lengthening the stroke and going right into catch as arm enters, instead of entering too close to head and pushing hand forward under water and then dropping the elbow and letting the elbow lead while pulling
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Swim (very slow) freestyle or do 6-kick 1-pull drill, but with totally straight arms above during recovery. Really lock the elbows! Try to go over in a circle and right into catch up front. The arm pit should be out of the water right until the last second when arm enters the water- this helps to gauge the rotation.
FEEL THE TORQUE
Purpose: APPRECIATION. For feeling how much difference bending the elbow during the pull makes to torque applied to shoulder.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Use fins and snorkel. Regular flutter kick, one arm back on side, the other arm at 6 o’clock fingers pointing down. Firm up the shoulder so arm stays vertical. Kick with the hanging arm straight down, then elbow bent at 45 degrees and then at 90 degrees with elbow an inch below surface with forearm hanging down. Feel how much harder the shoulder has to work to keep the arm straight as the drag hits the arm. Further explanation: During swimming at race speeds, the hand actually stays at almost the same position relative to bottom (anchoring), so most of the drag is caused by upper arm (that moves forward much faster along with the body, with the front of the shoulder being the biggest culprit). So pay extra attention to your bicep area when feeling the drag/torque.
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