Had a chance to swim with a pal over the weekend who swam D1. So fun to watch someone swim with that kind of knowledge. I noticed he has a very pronounced location of his cheek close to or actually pressing against his shoulder until his arm gets well into the insweep/propulsive phase. We chatted about it and he said the difference in drag is massive in his opinion if he doesn't do it.
I messed around with it and kinda sorta could do it, but methinks my inflexibility is a limiter. Obviously I don't want to contort my neck downward to get my cheek on my shoulder right? So it's a matter of bringing the shoulder up to my cheek? How does one go about this and still keep their shoulders wide enough? My biggest issue was that I felt I had to narrow up my shoulders so much that I couldn't catch quite like I'm used to.
Thanks for any insight.
Parents
Former Member
Getting the shoulder to the cheek seems a little too far but the shoulder should definitely get to the chin (or under the ear). It is important that you are not lifting the shoulder in a shrugging motion or moving your head to the shoulder. The rotation needs to come from the hips and the upper body will follow. This rotation allows you to get into a powerful position for the catch.
All the best
Mitchell
Getting the shoulder to the cheek seems a little too far but the shoulder should definitely get to the chin (or under the ear). It is important that you are not lifting the shoulder in a shrugging motion or moving your head to the shoulder. The rotation needs to come from the hips and the upper body will follow. This rotation allows you to get into a powerful position for the catch.
All the best
Mitchell
