Basic Drills used in Swimming

1. BASIC DRILLS

2. WHAT IS A SWIMMING DRILL?
• an exercise done specifically to help your
swimming technique. It’s usually a modified
version of one of the four competitive strokes
(butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, or
freestyle). A drill is designed to help you focus
on a specific part of the technique, like your
arm position, kicking, or breathing.

3. BLOWING BUBBLES
• You may think you need to be able to
hold your breath for a long time to swim.
But the truth is you need to be able
to control it. Blowing bubbles is the start
of learning breath control! By getting into
a pattern of breathing in when your face
is out of the water, and blowing out when
your face is in the water, oxygen keeps
flowing to the muscles while you swim!

4. TO GIVE IT A GO, A SWIMMER SHOULD:
• Be comfortable with water on the face
• Be able to support their head position
• Understand how to control their breathing

5. GUIDE TO BLOWING BUBBLES
• Use the hands to wet the face if not already wet
• Take a deep breath in through the mouth and hold it
• Lower the body down until the mouth and nose are
submerged
• Blow the air out into the water
• Stand back up before you breathe in again

8. FLUTTER KICK
• The flutter kick is a small but mighty and versatile move in
swimming, whether you’re competitive or just splashing
around for fun. Perfecting the flutter kick just takes a little
practice, and once you get the feel for it, it’s all smooth
sailing. In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you
need to know to practice and master the flutter kick,
including familiar strokes that use it and the most common
mistakes to watch out for. Go ahead and jump right in
whenever you’re ready (the water feels fine, we promise!).

9. STEPS IN FLUTTER KICK
• Place your hands against a pool wall to
hold yourself steady. Push your feet off
the ground and extend your legs behind
you so you’re nearly floating (your feet will
want to keep sinking down). Hold your
arms out straight so you’re as horizontal as
possible in the water.

10. • Have children or people who don't want to be underwater
hold their head above water (or put their arms on top of the
wall so their head and arms are dry).
• As you get more comfortable with this position, practice
lowering your face into the water. Your body will float
easier and stay aligned when your head is down.
• Try a snorkeling mask in the beginning so you can keep
your head down. Later, ditch the mask and lift your head
above water when you need to breathe.

11. STEP 2
• Use your hip muscles to push one leg
down in the water. Begin your kick cycle with
your dominant leg. Keep your entire leg fairly
straight and relaxed through the knee and
ankle joints without bending your knee very
much (this helps you stay streamlined).

12. • Keep your toes pointed and turned
slightly inward.
• Feel the power of the kick move from
your hip, through your knee, and finish
in your foot. Your foot moving down
through the water creates propulsion.

13. STEP 3
• Repeat with the other leg while you lift your
first leg back up. In the beginning, let your first
leg float back up on its own—as you master the
kick, keep your hip muscles engaged to raise
your leg and balance your kick
strokes.[3] Remember to power your kick from the
hips and push the water backward with pointed
toes.[

14. • Keep your kicks fairly small. It’s OK if your heels
break the surface of the water, but keep the
majority of your kick in line with your body.
• To develop your upbeat (raising your leg during
a kick cycle), position yourself vertically in the
water and kick back and forth rather than up
and down.

15. STEP 4
• Continue alternating legs to flutter
kick. Maintain alternating beats—as one
leg goes down, the other comes up.
Increase the speed as the motions become
more comfortable. When you flutter kick
quickly, the force will drive your legs and
hips upwards so they’re horizontally
aligned with your body.[5]

16. • If your legs keep sinking, push your chest slightly
further down in the water to balance your body
alignment.
• If your legs are rising too much, keep your chest
slightly higher in the water or try kicking with lower
speed and power.
• Hold the wall until you can maintain a balanced,
horizontal body position while kicking and barely
touching the wall. Then it’s time to get moving!

17. DRY LAND FLUTTER KICK

19. PERFORMANCE TASK 1
Directions: Assume that you are an swimmer representing your school, you are going to
perform a dryland flutter kick for freestyle and backstroke.
This is how you will be graded:
Criteria for time
51-1-minute--------100%
40-50seconds -------95%
30-39 seconds -------90%
16-29 seconds -------- 85%

20. 3 STROKES & 6 KICKS DRILL
• The 3 Strokes & 6 Kicks Drill helps you balance
your freestyle stroke and improves your coordination.
Take three strokes, then balance on your side for six
kicks. Repeat for the given distance (usually 25 or 50
yards/meters)
• Focus on driving the rotation with your hips and legs
rather than your arms and add a pair of fins to help
keep your body position high.

22. CATCHUP DRILL
• The Catchup Drill will help you improve your stroke timing
and patience in the water.
• Grab a piece of PVD pipe or a stick that’s about half a meter
long. Hold onto it with both hands, keeping your arms extended
in streamline position. Delay each stroke until your recovering
arm finishes.
• Focus on keeping your body position high and make sure your
hands stay directly in front of the shoulder when gripping the
stick.

24. 6-KICK SWITCH DRILL
• The 6-Kick Switch Drill is a fundamental drill in freestyle that
works on balance.
• Take 6 kicks while balancing on your side and looking down,
then take a single stroke and balance on your opposite side for
another 6 kicks.
• Great freestyle technique involves continuous rotation from side
to side and this drill helps you find balance. Adding fins is a great
way to complement this drill and help you keep a high body
position.

26. FIST DRILL
• The Fist Drill is the single best way to improve your freestyle
catch.
• Swim freestyle as you normally would, but grip your hands into
fists. Because you’re decreasing the surface area of your hands,
the rest of your arms will have to step up and pull more water,
forcing that early vertical forearm catch.
• If you have access to whiffle balls or tennis balls, swim with
them in your hands and feel the connection with your forearm.

28. ZIPPER DRILL
• The Zipper Drill works on balance, high elbows, and
maintaining a consistent stroke rate in all phases of freestyle.
• As you finish your underwater pull and your hand exits the
water, focus on keeping your elbow above your hand. As your
hand reaches forward, gently drag the thumb of your recovering
hand across your torso into your armpit.
• It’s as if you’re zipping up the side of your body with your
thumb.