Head-up dolphin kick drill

I have never tried this drill but I wonder if it is intended to help the swimmer learn to be able to breath during fly without losing good body position? Our coach sometimes has us do head up front crawl, I assume as an open water aid, I don't do it because I haven't figured out a way to do so that doesn't hurt my shoulders. Everyone else seems to do ok so I presume I am missing something... I think my problem is that with my head up I can't get enough of a roll to keep my recovery in front of the plane of my body? Maybe I'm just not in good enough shape to keep myself high enough in the water... Or maybe it is just intended to enforce how hard it is to swim with the head up, i.e. suggest how much easier it is to swim with your head down!

I have never tried this drill but I wonder if it is intended to help the swimmer learn to be able to breath during fly without losing good body position? Our coach sometimes has us do head up front crawl, I assume as an open water aid, I don't do it because I haven't figured out a way to do so that doesn't hurt my shoulders. Everyone else seems to do ok so I presume I am missing something... I think my problem is that with my head up I can't get enough of a roll to keep my recovery in front of the plane of my body? Maybe I'm just not in good enough shape to keep myself high enough in the water... Or maybe it is just intended to enforce how hard it is to swim with the head up, i.e. suggest how much easier it is to swim with your head down!