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ROTISSERIE FISH aka. TURNING TORPEDO
Purpose: BEGINNER. Stabilizing the core and being aware where you are in the water. Maintain streamline and using core to rotate.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Start with arms at side and have swimmer slowly rotate their bodies around throughout the 25, either side to side, or fully around. Flutter is the kick. Can use fins to assist. Then progress into streamline with arms straight forward. Rotation should be initiated from hips . Very hard for swimmers to maintain a slow, consistent speed throughout the rotation while staying straight. Make sure you switch rotation direction every lap (or every full turn for that matter) and don’t over do it as it can make some kids dizzy.
BOARD ON TUMMY
Purpose: BEGINNER. Helps kids learn the very first steps of breaststroke and backstroke kicking
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
“Hug the board” to your stomach, lean your head back into water and kick flutter or breaststroke kick. Especially helpful for breaststroke kick and bringing knees up together, while not having to worry about floating. For breaststroke, the knees can come out of the water so it simulates a real kick better. For backstroke, the knees should stay under. Kids can lift their heads and look at their knees/feet to see if they are doing it correctly.
TURBULENCE
Purpose: BEGINNER. Helps to kick from the hips and eliminates excessive knee bend
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Do it in backstroke kick. Lift your head up(read in bed) and look at your feet as you kick. You should be creating turbulence with your feet, but NOT with your knees. Progress with laying the head slowly back into the water, but keeping kick the same
KICK BOARD OVER KNEES
Purpose: BEGINNER. Helps to control knees coming out of water i.e. “bicycling” in backstroke kick or knees too wide in breaststroke.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Kick backstroke and hold a kick board over your knees. Knees should not touch the board. Can be done in breaststroke as well to emphasize keeping kicks narrow- this time swimmer HAS TO touch the board with both knees.
KICK WITH PULL BUOY or RUBBER BANDS
Purpose: BEGINNER. Helps to move from hips for dolphin kick and keep knees together for breaststroke kick.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
Kick dolphin or breaststroke, but with pull buoy between thighs or a rubber band above the knees.
NO KICK BOARDS KICKING
Purpose: ESSENTIAL, ESSENTIAL, ESSENTIAL. Kick boards restrict the natural movements and keep the upper bodies up, so legs tend to sink or knees tend to bend too much. Ditch them as much as possible. Although some social kicking is more entertaining for kids and necessary for team cohesion.
Video:
Video coming soon!
How:
All strokes, any way kicking. Up, down, left, right. Hands up or down, or one up and one down. No boards and bodies flat and in streamlines. Use snorkels for not having to move heads to breathe, or breathe in the direction you would when swimming that stroke i.e. to front with dolphin and breaststroke kicks, side for flutter on stomach. Or allow for one (correct) stroke during breath. Stay flat and keep bodies in streamlines, whether hands are up or down. Kick on sides a bunch, especially to train up-kicks and/or to observe kick amplitudes from the deck. Focus on size of the kicks and speed/effort control. Make sure everyone kicks from hips, but don’t wiggle/snake them. Do some blasts off the walls/blocks and mix in some vertical kicking for good measure.
Swim Atlas 