between the laps with coach chris by Chris Da Sie

Effective communication with swim parents is vital to a successful coaching journey. Here's a quick tip: Set up regular communication channels, such as weekly newsletters or updates, to inform parents about training, progress, and upcoming events. Transparent communication builds trust and a stronger partnership.

We're embarking on a deep dive into the realm of coaching – a realm where the delicate balance between pushing our athletes and providing them the rest they need holds the key to unlocking their true potential. As experienced age-group swim coaches, let's journey together through the intricate tapestry of coaching wisdom, where growth, resilience, and success intertwine in a captivating dance of push and rest.

The freestyle or front crawl pull has evolved over the last few decades. We've moved from a question mark pull that caused us to push the water off to the side of the pool without genuinely allowing us to build power and speed in our stroke. Thankfully, we got wise to this and started to teach the concept of entering the water with a flat hand and guiding the pull through the giant paddle of our hand, forearm, and upper arms. In today's episode, I offer drills for those still struggling to adapt to this newer approach to the freestyle pull. I also discuss the benefits of pulling in this straighter arm approach to ease shoulder pain.  

Breathing is a crucial part of swimming. It is imperative to swim great Freestyle. Many beginner and intermediate swimmers struggle to get their breathing right. They often lift their heads to breathe, swallowing tons of water. Some swimmers prefer to swim with their heads out of the water the entire time. These bad habits make you less efficient in the water and can make your overall breathing significantly harder, causing swimming to be far more stressful than it needs to be. Developing a good breathing technique is one of the hardest things for new swimmers to master but one that needs constant attention. Breathing correctly will help make you feel more relaxed in the water, making stroke adjustments easier. By having poor breathing, you can cause other issues with your strokes, like scissor kicking, poor body position, crossing-over, and lop-sided strokes, to name a few.

Coaches often teach the double kick technique when learning how to do Butterfly. Though this technique is not wrong, it often results in swimmers doing four kicks rather than just 2. Today we offer ways to correct this through particular drills and other tips for more efficient Butterfly. You will learn how to use your hips to drive the stroke, resulting in a smoother stroke sequence with your arms. Find out when and where to breathe to optimize your oxygen intake.

Building a solid engine in the water is crucial for faster and longer swimming, but what exactly is our engine? Well, it's your kick. You might be dead in the water without a strong kick since you rely solely on your arms and upper body. To build a strong kick, you must think about generating energy from your core and hips, then moving that energy down through your legs and feet. It would help if you remembered to keep your legs loose like you are cracking a whip. Like a whip where the power comes from the movement of your hand, then moves along the leather until it snaps at the end of the line, you are trying to accomplish the same approach with your kick. 

Today we will be going over three of the most common mistakes swimmers make while trying to master the freestyle stroke.