This is a strange one so bear with me...
I have become addicted to swimming as a result of my son taking to the sport. So, I asked him a breathing question today and I found out that he exhales/inhales with his head out for *** and free, and inhales/exhales out on butterfly. His form is right on and I never would have known (I haven't had a chance to tell the coach yet).
On his *** - head comes out every stroke
On free - head out every 3rd (alternate breathing)
On fly - head out every other
ok...my questions are:
How can he be swimming faster consistently at each meet and maintaining his form (sprint and longer events) while breathing this way? He is one of the fastest on his year-round team in his age group. What is he losing by doing this? Or, the better question might be, what could he gain by learning the traditional breathing out under water method? He is very good at staying under water after the turn and can do a proper breakout and he doesn't typically look winded like the other kids.
And, if this were a drill, would there be any benefits?
Thanks!
Former Member
The only time I talk technique with my two swimming daughters,(Senior in College, Junior in HS) is when I have a question about MY technique. Growing up I would sometimes ask them what the coach said about certain things, but did not coach. True Story: I did however coach one of my daughters softball teams in the 9-11 age catagory one season. EVERY practice, at the end of practice, they would do a drill which consisted of hitting a ball off a T, then run to first....with the emphasis on running THRU the bag at first... I mean EVERY practice we did this. During our end of year tourney, girl hits ball, runs to first, slows down as she gets to the bag, and is thrown out by an inch. Coaching at first I hear over my shoulder, "Geez, you would think that they would work in practice on running thru the bag.!" Moral: Sometimes you can work on something but nothing happens until one day "click". Just make sure he is getting good instruction...then trust the coach. Just my $.02 as well
The only time I talk technique with my two swimming daughters,(Senior in College, Junior in HS) is when I have a question about MY technique. Growing up I would sometimes ask them what the coach said about certain things, but did not coach. True Story: I did however coach one of my daughters softball teams in the 9-11 age catagory one season. EVERY practice, at the end of practice, they would do a drill which consisted of hitting a ball off a T, then run to first....with the emphasis on running THRU the bag at first... I mean EVERY practice we did this. During our end of year tourney, girl hits ball, runs to first, slows down as she gets to the bag, and is thrown out by an inch. Coaching at first I hear over my shoulder, "Geez, you would think that they would work in practice on running thru the bag.!" Moral: Sometimes you can work on something but nothing happens until one day "click". Just make sure he is getting good instruction...then trust the coach. Just my $.02 as well
Here is something I suggest all swim parents read, especially the new ones to the sport.
www.clubwolverine.org/.../Top10WaystoSabatogeKids.pdf
#9 under the coaching part refers to your moral above.
I have seen numerous parents like the ones Leonard portrays and it is tough to let them know that it really matters when their kids are older.
He should be exhaling continuously while his head is underwater so that he can maximize the volume he is able to inhale when he does take a breath. I agree that he should discuss it with his coach.
First, I am NOT trying to coach my son. It irritates me when people assume that because I am curious about something I am trying to coach him. I know a lot of people (me included) only read the last post on a topic so think they are replying to the initial message...
What happened was, I have started swimming and I was asking my son about a breathing question in relation to me. He feels good when he's asked for advice/input regarding swimming. Upon having the conversation with my son I discovered the breathing issue with him. I didn't tell him to change it or say anything except, "No way! I never would have known you did that!"
I emailed the coach to let him know...like I said, I doubt anyone has noticed because his stroke is so smooth and he is not slow. I am glad I found this out because with the COACH working with him, he may be even faster once this breathing thing is worked out.
Thanks for the replies!
He's the fastest kid already yet you think "he may be even faster once this breathing thing is worked out"?
Didn't mean to irritate you with my assumption that you were trying to coach him......
I used to exhale continuously until about 8 years ago. When I got a stroke coach to teach me the elements of wave breaststroke he recommended that I hold my breath until my head was out of the water then exhale rapidly and fully and, finally, inhale for the next stroke. This is an explosive action. His reasoning was that keeping air in the lungs longer while the upper body is in the water also keeps the upper body position at a constant level whereas exhaling must change the upper body position because of changing bouyancy.
This line of reasoning seemed perfectly understandable to me. I have adopted this style of breathing for free, fly and *** and find it works for me. However, I generally don't discuss this with any of my own coaches because all I get is frowns and comments about not knowing how to swim.
By the way, I swim faster in all strokes now than I did 50 years ago when I competed in college.
No answer for you on your question. I would ask the coach if I were in your shoes. At least you take an interest.
And in regards to parents not coaching their kids, from my 30+ years of being around swimming and other sports, I see many more parents coaching their kids than not. Some things will never change.
My dad even tried to coach me and he couldn't swim a lap. As a 10 year old I was smart enough to know that the old man didn't know what he was talking about and I ignored him. Or I even did this :laugh2::laugh2: at him.
Even as a masters swimmer, I have other swimmers trying to tell me what to do. Maybe 2 of every 10 know what they are talking about. It's life.
Thankfully, our site coach sticks to his guns, stays true to his coaching technique, and is somehow always there and on time even when his car breaks down, he is sick, etc. For all this, he gets paid...not so much. He is truly in love with the sport - every kid is important no matter what level. I am very thankful we have him here.
Be very glad. That's hard to find. We've had a number of Masters coaches who were more like "babysitters" than coaches.
Come to think about it, I was so surprised by his response, I don't think I ever got an answer to the breaststroke breathing question I was asking him!
Ask us... As I'm sure you've figured out, nobody here is shy about giving opinions, :2cents:, or advice...
Anna Lea
"This line of reasoning seemed perfectly understandable to me. I have adopted this style of breathing for free, fly and *** and find it works for me. However, I generally don't discuss this with any of my own coaches because all I get is frowns and comments about not knowing how to swim."
Cool...that sounds like what my son does and the logic behind it seems to work.
We have all come down hard on you.
Have you found out for sure how your son breathes?
Have you watched him swim?
Is his breathing what he described or is it something else?
I hope his coach is doing something about it?
He's the fastest kid already yet you think "he may be even faster once this breathing thing is worked out"?
Didn't mean to irritate you with my assumption that you were trying to coach him......
Ummmmmmm...where did I ever say he was THE fastest on the team? I said "he is not slow" and is "ONE of the fastest" and how does being curious about my son's swimming mean that I am coaching him? I haven't told him to do anything regarding the breathing and like I said, the conversation was about MY breathing and just happened to bring up his breathing which I thought was a bit strange considering how he is doing. Sorry to "p" you off.
We have all come down hard on you.
Have you found out for sure how your son breathes?
Have you watched him swim?
Is his breathing what he described or is it something else?
I hope his coach is doing something about it?
I have watched him, a lot, and he doesn't mind - believe me, he would tell me. I can't say for sure about the breathing...just going by what he told me. I emailed the coach and he's going to see what the deal is on Monday.
And I completely understand about the parent coaching dilemma - I'm not perfect, but in this case, it was out of simple curiosuity.
Come to think about it, I was so surprised by his response, I don't think I ever got an answer to the breaststroke breathing question I was asking him!
Thanks for being patient with me:)
