After the I.M. thread and watching my daughter at her meet I got to wondering if being good at certain strokes has anything to do with heredity. If you read the I.M. thread you know that I am terrible at the breaststroke. Today my daughter had to do the 100 I.M. She was second after the fly and doing the backstroke. She had at least a 1/4 of a pool length on the two swimmers behind her. All the parents around me were commenting on how good she looked. I told them to wait and see what happens on the breaststroke. What do you know the two swimmers behind her caught her and past her on the breaststroke. She dropped down to fourth place. Is she destined to be a terrible breaststroker like me? Keep in mind that she has always done lessons at the Y and not with me.
Parents
Former Member
Good or not, all my coaches have tried. My other three strokes are pretty solid (top ten times in all three, though the freestyle ones are marginal) so the desire to add IM to my event list has always been attractive. But I remember one 200 LC IM I swam, ahead by ten meters after the backstroke, and watched the whole field pass me before the next wall . . .
I don't think I take breaststroke coaching very well, however. In order to not be disruptive to my lane, I often do a butterfly kick during breaststroke -- that way I can keep up. Oddly enough, good breaststrokers don't understand how I can go faster with the butterfly kick, and I can't understand how it could be any other way.
I tried to follow Wayne's kick advice that he has given in other threads, but my coach saw me and told me to get my feet out more: "it looks like you are doing a bent-knee butterfly kick with your toes pointed out."
I think my pulldowns are pretty good. I come out well past the flags, and when swimming breaststroke in practice I am usually ahead 1/3 of the way from the first push off. It does not last.
A couple of days ago I did a set where, if I could break 40 seconds for a 50 ***, I could stop swimming *** (that is great motivation!) I couldn't get close, and swam all ten fifties ***. *not* a good way to start the day :rolleyes:
Good or not, all my coaches have tried. My other three strokes are pretty solid (top ten times in all three, though the freestyle ones are marginal) so the desire to add IM to my event list has always been attractive. But I remember one 200 LC IM I swam, ahead by ten meters after the backstroke, and watched the whole field pass me before the next wall . . .
I don't think I take breaststroke coaching very well, however. In order to not be disruptive to my lane, I often do a butterfly kick during breaststroke -- that way I can keep up. Oddly enough, good breaststrokers don't understand how I can go faster with the butterfly kick, and I can't understand how it could be any other way.
I tried to follow Wayne's kick advice that he has given in other threads, but my coach saw me and told me to get my feet out more: "it looks like you are doing a bent-knee butterfly kick with your toes pointed out."
I think my pulldowns are pretty good. I come out well past the flags, and when swimming breaststroke in practice I am usually ahead 1/3 of the way from the first push off. It does not last.
A couple of days ago I did a set where, if I could break 40 seconds for a 50 ***, I could stop swimming *** (that is great motivation!) I couldn't get close, and swam all ten fifties ***. *not* a good way to start the day :rolleyes:
