My son lately always slow down in the back stroke finish. I am frustuauted to see slow down at least 2 sec in the finish touch. He says he is afraid of bumping his head to the wall. I have a couple of questions. It takes him approx 5 strokes (in SCY) from the flag to do back stroke flip turn, is that means he should count 6 to 7 strokes in the finish lap then do the finish stretch (head down & stretch) to touch the wall? Also is it standard length in all pools of the disttance from the flag to the end? What about 25 yd pool and 50 m pool are the flag distance the same in SCY & LCM? Thanks
... about altering the stroke at the finish. First of all, why teach a bad habit that will later need to be broken? Secondly, it may well change the number of his strokes and mess up his finish. Finally, you want to defuse his fears, not reinforce them...
It's sometimes hard for a kid to have perfect form into the wall ... but it's hard to argue with this logic, and over the longer term my suggestion will come with a clear cost ...
I agree with Dan that this is a confidence thing. He needs to KNOW where the wall is, and that only happens with practice. Have him go out to the middle of the pool and do many finishes (a dozen at least) where he charges the wall. You should position yourself by the wall and promise to catch his head if he is about to hit. Then he only has to worry about the timing, etc. Once he feels comfortable, do some without the "safety net" (right away, while the timing is fresh in his mind).
That's a great suggestion that I may take for myself. I'm not very good at backstroke, and I always slow down into the wall, for the very reason I'm afraid I'll hit it with my head (I've done it a few times). I'll sometimes flip over early (yes probably illegal in a meet) to avoid a head-butt. One day when we have 2 coaches on deck, I'll ask one to do this with me...only downside is they may get a little wet.
Maybe someone can find a better clip with a closer view, but watch the finish in this race:
www.youtube.com/watch
No one's head position changes on the approach the wall ... everyone has a straight arm on the last over-the-water recovery ...
That's a great suggestion that I may take for myself. I'm not very good at backstroke, and I always slow down into the wall, for the very reason I'm afraid I'll hit it with my head (I've done it a few times). I'll sometimes flip over early (yes probably illegal in a meet) to avoid a head-butt. One day when we have 2 coaches on deck, I'll ask one to do this with me...only downside is they may get a little wet.
Although they worry about it, I see little kids hit their heads all the time and bouncing right back. With their small bodies and (usually) slow speed at the wall, they have very little momentum. (I am sure there are exceptions to this.)
Adults are a different story. With the increased momentum, it is usually a much bigger deal for an adult to hit their head on the wall when doing backstroke. I have known a number who have smacked their head and had some relatively serious consequences, including hospital visits. Not trying to scare you off...but it is something to respect.
Just to be clear - I am a weak backstroker - and swim it only in IMs. One of the things I am trying to do is minimize my natural slowdown as I approach the back to *** turn. I realized I have been inherently chicken as I approach the wall - hence the slowdown. I am usually one stroke short and end up gliding in.
So I have been mentally telling myself "one more stroke" - which has made a big difference (at least in practice). So my confidence is improving.....
He says he is afraid of bumping his head to the wall.
He might try, on his last stroke or two - just as he's approaching the wall - to modify his over-the-surface recovery. His problem is that he clearly sees that, if he maintains his normal stroke, keeping his elbow straight, and if he mis-judges the wall, his hand might crash into the bulkhead or he might hit his head before his hand reaches the wall. Instead of recovering with a straight arm on those last strokes, he might try recovering with a bent elbow - with his arm extending past his head. This will enable him to find the wall with his hand, even if he's mis-judged his position - and this may give him the additional confidence he needs to swim to the wall ...
My son lately always slow down in the back stroke finish. I am frustuauted to see slow down at least 2 sec in the finish touch. He says he is afraid of bumping his head to the wall. I have a couple of questions. It takes him approx 5 strokes (in SCY) from the flag to do back stroke flip turn, is that means he should count 6 to 7 strokes in the finish lap then do the finish stretch (head down & stretch) to touch the wall? Also is it standard length in all pools of the disttance from the flag to the end? What about 25 yd pool and 50 m pool are the flag distance the same in SCY & LCM? Thanks
As Dan's answer states, the distance flags-to-wall is difference for SCY (5 yd) compared to LCM/SCM (5 m).
He should need one extra stroke (6) to finish compared to a turn (5).
I agree with Dan that this is a confidence thing. He needs to KNOW where the wall is, and that only happens with practice. Have him go out to the middle of the pool and do many finishes (a dozen at least) where he charges the wall. You should position yourself by the wall and promise to catch his head if he is about to hit. Then he only has to worry about the timing, etc. Once he feels comfortable, do some without the "safety net" (right away, while the timing is fresh in his mind).
Do this several times and he should hopefully be fine.
I disagree with James about altering the stroke at the finish. First of all, why teach a bad habit that will later need to be broken? Secondly, it may well change the number of his strokes and mess up his finish. Finally, you want to defuse his fears, not reinforce them. Just my :2cents:.
The USA Swimming rule book says:
Location:
A Long course and short course meters: 5 meters (16 feet 5 inches) from each end of the course, a minimum of 1.8 meters (5 feet 11 inches) to a maximum of 2.5 meters (8 feet 3 inches) above the water surface.
B Short course yards: 15 feet (4.57 meters) from each end of the course, 7 feet (2.13
meters) above the water surface.
C Height shall be measured to the horizontal line from which the pennants are suspended.
So for a given course - the flags should always be the same distance from the wall.
How old is your son? If he is young I would not worry about it too much. Many kids are timid at the wall on backstroke turns and finishes. I think to finish strongly he needs to practice it often so that he can trust his stroke count. He should know that his stroke count might be slightly different when he is tired swimming repeats in practice compared to racing. But I'd say especially on fast swims in practice he needs to concentrate on his stroke count and think about accelerating into the wall, not easing up.
