Category Archives for Turns

Starts and Turns (Our Grades 4,5,6,7) Amateur Swimming Association National Plan for Teaching Swimming Grades 7-10

From Swimming

Fig.1. The importance of streamlining

Grades 5,4 and 7 in that order. The first two kind of go together, but the grades 7 are well ahead with several of them turning into potential mini-squad swimmers.

A warm up 50s FC and BC with emphasis on smooth swimming. I run through in a multitude of adjectives:

  • Slinky
  • Smooth
  • Silent
I draw on drills from Ruben Guzman’s ‘The Swim Drill Book’
  • Smooth
  • Sneaky

What works wonders with the younger swimmers is to tell them that they are ‘secret agents’ on a ‘secret mission’ and have to swim in the dark without being seen or heard. The result can be highly controlled, smooth swimming – just the kind of thing you’d hope for from a squad rather than a teaching group.

I centre everything on streamlining in starts and turns so start off where I usually end with a streamlined bounce, a handstand with emphasis on long legs and pointy toes, then a cannon ball and somersault.

The sequence into the turns starts with pushing off and:

  • glide out to the flags (or beyond)
  • glide and add a few dolphin kicks
  • then glide, dolphin kick a single stroke of FC and tumble (flip)
  • then glide, dolphin kick and two strokes.
  • The something similar on the back.

Streamline bounce along the black line all the way to the deep end.

Push and glide on BC using the block

Then with a dolphin kick.

From a dive:

  • Glide
  • Glide and add the BR underwater stroke
  • the full BR transition
  • And from 10 m out all the turns.

An IM with correct turns and transition

With assessments coming up the Grade 7s did an 800m set too.

And with time spare some fun activities and efforts to fault correct.

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Backstroke (Teaching Grades 4-7) ASA NPTS 9-10

I used Swim Drills as a prompt.

Poolside I don’t have time to read the tips (I know the book inside out anyway). What I can do is glance at the images as a reminder. Each chapter runs in a logical chronology in terms of ability and the drills that are likely to be appropriate.

We start poolside for a few moments before entering the water.

From the brilliant ‘The Swimming Drills Book’ Ruben Guzman. (2007) p.44

I want the swimmers’ shoulders against the tiled walls. Usefully there are protruding columns too, so that I can demonstrate and have them all in vision. I have to have them in reverse hight order so that the smaller ones can see.

We run through the drill three times with each arm, raising the hand like a dagger, turning the palm to face the tiled wall when it is perpendicular, then brining it above the head, as if entering the water, little finger first.
I repeat this for the other arm.

WARM UP

2 x 50m FC
1 x 50m BC

MAIN SET

From the brilliant ‘The Swimming Drills Book’ Ruben Guzman. (2007)


Repeat from the deep end.

Streamline stretch in the water.
Bounce up an down.
Get this right then have them do a length of kicking on their backs.
None of the groups required a float (perhaps the 7 year old in the Grade 4 group)

Using the lane rope they swim 50m in one direction, then 50m in the opposite direction.

From the brilliant ‘The Swimming Drills Book’ Ruben Guzman. (2007 )

This is the’pull lane rope’ drill in which the outside arm touches and takes the lane rope, this helping (as the drill by the wall) to get the swimmers to rotate into the stroke.

More kicking, one arm stretched out, the other by the side doing a ‘sail boat’ drill.

FUN ONE

Roly-polly straight down the black line down.
Jump in off the block into a pencil jump.
Bounce all the way down to the shallow end.

Double-arm pull

From the deep end to use the blocks.

Racing start on backstroke, with a streamline glide ‘Like a harpoon’, a few dolphin kicks into the stroke at race pace.
Get them to count (or recount and verify) the number of strokes it takes them to get from the 5m flags in the shallow end to the wall.

From 2m beyond the flags in the shallow end
Swim in demonstrating a Backstroke tumble turn.
Repeat

FUN ONE

‘Sea Otter’ to the deep end
(Duck dives to the bottom of the pool collecting imaginary oysters that they bring to the surface and crack open on imaginary stones on their chests)

Drill

Raise arm to the perpendicular,
Pointed up at the ceiling.
Pause to rotate the hand then lower into the catch

(The grade 4 & 5 swimmers got this, while it took several goes and a variety of tactics before the grade 7 swimmers go it. More to do with the group than their age).

Used an image from the Swim Drills Book (have it on a Kindle)
Demoed upright from the poolside
(This worked for most)

Identified the swimmer who could do it and had them demonstrate.
Had them count ‘One mississippi’ with the hand paused and pointed at the ceiling, then another ‘Mississippi’ once they had rotated the palm.

THIS WORKED!
Finally had them swim in pairs, over one length, checking on each other to synchronise the drill.

Synchronised Backstroke Drill (one to repeat)
(I do something similar with single-arm fly drill. They enjoy working like this and concentrate enough on the synchronicity to get it right)

Another RACE PACE swim
Start using the block
Correct position of feet,
Tucked in, head back
On my command using the whistle

A 3 lengths IM of BC, BR, FC,

Depending on timing a FUN FINISH

Handstand
(Straight legs, legs together, pointed toes)

Somersault
Mushroom or canon ball float

‘Dead swimmer’

Sitting on the bottom of the pool

On this occasion flyers were handed out for the next Gala. What is the best solution for this? They take them wet, into the showers, some then forget them, most hand over a dripped on or soaked flyer to their parents?

ON REFLECTION

The swimmer who can’t dive can’t do a somersault either. Indeed, when doing a mushroom float they are likely to lift their head even here.
There is rarely any group cohesion, so working in teams of two or three for a drill or for something fun like ‘sea otter’ make it more like party games.
To get them into race mode I use a whistle; I should have a stop watch too.

Backstroke swim, start & turns with assessments due @ Grade 5

From E-Learning V

Fig.1. Wembley Arena. Gamemaker Training

Next week I have am OU Tutorial so need to get assessments done for those swimmers who show. Before the session Angela and I chat. She is the new Principal Teacher.Train in from Lewes as afterwards I’m heading to Wembley Arena for an Olympics Gamemaker introduction. A return ticket with a break at Haywards Heath costs £16.

M and A continue to impress but have somewhere along the line failed to crack a reasonsble efficient dive. Others lack either coordination or fitness and really require some remedial catch-up teaching sessions.

All three sessions get 50m BC, 50m FC, 50m BR and (for those who looked as if they’d make it) another 50m FC and so getting their 200m swim ticked off. Other must haves were the series of skills: sculling, somersaults and surface dives, as well as treading water. I put all of these in while pressing on the day’s theme of BC. So push and glide on the back, BC start from the shallow end and deep end using the block.

Extras included a reminder of the flutter kick and refreshing on the tumble turn for BC. Some fun too, so ‘otter’ as the forward surface dive, streamlined bounce to the deep end and rolly-polly. Fly had to be checked off too. As the dolphin kick is used in turns, starts and transitions it was easy enough to tske the next step into the fullstroke. I needed to check the grab start so did the jump sequence for some: jumping as far into the water, a ‘jump’ into a dive and the dive and glide into Fly.

All in the first group also did the diving sequence of progressions: sitting, kneeling and standing in order to try and fix the problems holding some of them bsck, namely falling into the water rather thsn diving!

I completed my assessments, spoke to the Principal Teacher and left my folder at the pool shouls anyone wish to refer to it next week.

T2/T3 Warm Up, Fly Drill, IM Mixed Aerobic Good 60 mins

T2/T3

‘Swimming fast and easy is the key to maximising individual talent.’

WARM UP

1 x 400m FC + Fins Smooth                                                       6/10 mins

Give notes to each on technique.

1 x 200m BC + fins smooth                                                         4/6 mins

Notes as above

FINS OFF

FLY 8 x 50m drills

  1. Dolphin
  2. Kick on Back
  3. Kick on side
  4. Corkscrew
  5. Single Arm x 2
  6. 2+2+2 x 2

1 x 25 Full Stroke

Dive into IM 8 x 50m as

FLY/BC

BC/BR

BR/FC

FC/FLY

FLY/BC

BC/BR

BR/FC

FC/FLY

1 x 25m FC sprint

STFs

Swim Down

T2T3 and MINI, One hour. IM with work on turns.

T2T3 and MINI

A mixed 45 mins to 60 mins aerobic session based on IM, with  emphasis on turns.

WARM UP + fins

Mini as 75s. T2T3 as 100s.

3x 75m as 25m FC kick, 25m FC drill, 25m FC swim                          45/60

3 x 75m as 25m BC kick, 25m Bc Drill, 25m BC swim                         45/60

600m

Emphasis on streamlined drive off the wall with extended UW phase in turns

1 x25m FC UW for as far as possible, scull to breathe.

8 x 50m in IM order as 50m of each twice: (Possibly lane clear/or as a relay so up to 2 mins rest between each)

FLY

BC

BR

FC

1 x25m FC UW for as far as possible, scull to breathe.

450m

From the blocks for a competitive  start and aim for a technically correct and competitive turn every time.

FC 4 x 100m

1 x 100m FC kick                                                                             r.10

1 x 100m FC Zip up drill                                                              r.10

1 x 100m FC arms only                                                                 r.10

1 x 100m FC swim                                                                            r.10

400m

TURNS

3 x fc

3 x bc

3 x br

3 x fly

(RELAYS IF THERE IS TIME/or 25m sprints)

SWIMDOWN

100/200m as 2 x 50 or 2 x 100 as reduced stroke on FC

or Silent swimming on FC/BC

Mini, Dives, turns and FC and BC break-out

Mini Dives and Transition in FC and BC

Fun and team-building warm up

  • Hot potato
  • * Push and glide on front
  • * Push and glide on back

Deep End

* Dolphin Kick by lane rope

Re-cap

* Jump from block

* Topple and jump

* Topple and dive

* Dive, glide and dolphin kick (distance challenge)

* Back start, glide and dolphin kic

* Break-out into FC

* Break-out intro BC

100m swim FC

100m BC

 

Rotational Turn

Mid-pool three strokes and flip

Mid-pool to end, Feet on Wall

Push and glide, flip

Push and glide and 1, then 2, then 3 strokes and flip

Check stroke count on BC

IM RELAY 25s or 50s?

Swim Down

(Tunnel ?)

Mini One Hour (varied)

WARM UP

1 x 50 FC DRILL Zip UP 1.15/1.30

2 x 25 Head Up FC + Water Polo Ball 2.00/2.15 (Steady head, kick hard)

1 x 100 as 100 FC SMOOTH 2.30

1 x 100 as 100 BC SLO MO 2.30

300m 12 MNS

MAIN SET

2 x 50 FC HFTP 2.00 (so lots of rest)

2 x 50 No.1 FO HFTP 2.30

200m 8 MNS

12x 50 IM Order. FLY, BK, BR, FC,

1 x KICK 1.30 1 x DRILL 1.15 1 x STROKE 1.15

20 MNS

DIVES, TURNS, FINISHES

Dive max, break-out to half-way; half-way into wall, turn and return to half-way; half-way to the end. Climb out and repeat. X 4, as x2 FC, x2 Choice

12 MNS

SWIMDOWN

6 x 25m FC as Hypoxic breathing every 5th,7th,9th,5th ….

125m 8 MNS

925m 60 MNS