Thanks for the thread Ande.
Although the first link is for BR and FL specifically, actually I think the open turn is WAY underrated even for freestyle. The inaugural issue of our Magazine had a feature on this and I thought it was important although many in this forum saw otherwise.
As a swimmer in distance free races I do open turns and have yet to race someone in my age group who is faster off the wall than I am.
As a coach, I saw many swimmers who suffered from turn anxiety and got into and out of the turn before they were ready and really lost ground because they didn't streamline properly and didn't give the maximum push. When I was swimming with the group I coached I could easily beat flip-turners off the wall who were half my age.
That's not to say that we shouldn't flip turn. However, my theory is that age-groupers learn to flip before properly learning how to turn and that it stays with them all their swim lives. Only the elites will take the time to learn to do the flip correctly and then have the best turn possible.
So, my point is that swimmers should learn how to do the open turn first and then put in the tumble after they have mastered the mechanics. Learning to turn properly for *** or fly will do that.
Thanks for the thread Ande.
Although the first link is for BR and FL specifically, actually I think the open turn is WAY underrated even for freestyle. The inaugural issue of our Magazine had a feature on this and I thought it was important although many in this forum saw otherwise.
As a swimmer in distance free races I do open turns and have yet to race someone in my age group who is faster off the wall than I am.
As a coach, I saw many swimmers who suffered from turn anxiety and got into and out of the turn before they were ready and really lost ground because they didn't streamline properly and didn't give the maximum push. When I was swimming with the group I coached I could easily beat flip-turners off the wall who were half my age.
That's not to say that we shouldn't flip turn. However, my theory is that age-groupers learn to flip before properly learning how to turn and that it stays with them all their swim lives. Only the elites will take the time to learn to do the flip correctly and then have the best turn possible.
So, my point is that swimmers should learn how to do the open turn first and then put in the tumble after they have mastered the mechanics. Learning to turn properly for *** or fly will do that.
