Swim Tip #31 – Freestyle Drills
Here are some Freestyle drills, kindly provided by Anne Smyth one of the MSNSW Coaches. You can test them out during your training sessions. And only one drill requires extra equipment. Be warned though some are not elegant, especially the last one.
Here is a PDF copy of the Freestyle Drills, so you can download them for easy reference.
| Drill | Why? | How |
|---|---|---|
| Sculling | Improve catch/feel for water | Pull buoy - small movements with hands - 6 sculls in front, 6 under chest, 6 flipper (end of stroke-elbows tucked into waist, alternate arms),6 doggy paddle-underwater recovery, then swim rest of 25 F/S. |
| Closed Fist Drill | Improve catch/feel for water | Swim 25 m closed fist, Rub hands at pool end on rough surface, then swim 25 normal. (increases feeling on surface area of hand - helps find 'feel' of the water) |
| Kicking on side | Catch/body position | 1 arm extended in front slightly under water, other
by side, take breath, then head in water, kick. *Maintain good posture and hand position in water to set up for catch |
| 6-1-6 6-3-6 |
Catch Maintaining high elbow underwater |
As with kicking on side, kick for 6, stroke, change
sides As above but with 3 strokes, change sides |
| Pause Catch | Catch Improve entry Get rid of dead spot |
Swim F/S, before hand enters, pause slightly, then enter |
| Double Dip | Catch Improve entry Get rid of dead spot |
Swim F/S, hand enters water(dip in) , reverse hand to hip, then bring over and enter as normal |
| Finger-tip drag | Relaxed recovery | High elbows, drag fingers on water, imagine elbow is being pulled forward on a string |
| Almost catch up/accelerator drill | Setting up stroke Pull rhythm |
Swim bringing hands over to almost touch atfront - Almost catch up -slow catch then accelerate your stroke though 2nd 1/2 of underwater pull phase |
| 224 | Catch, timing | Stroke 2 on 1 side, 2 other, swim 4 strokes normal |
| 6 kick | Kick, lengthen stroke | 6 kicks to every arm stroke - quick little kick, long slow arms |
| Unco | Body rotation, timing | 1 arm stroking, 1 arm by side, breathing to nonstroking side. Roll shoulder out and in as you breathe - then dip and stroke. Swim 25 1 side, 25 normal. Swap sides |
Anne Smyth MSNSW Coaching Group
