So my daughter is 6 and is swimming on the summer team. She is a very good little breaststroker and has a powerful kick. However she uses a modified version of this kick on her backstroke and freestyle, but it seems to affect the freestyle far more.
I have no idea how many times the coaches say and I say, "keep your legs straight"; "kick up and down from your hips"; "touch your big toes with each other", she STILL does this awful wonky breastroke kick action which slows her down and snakes her across the pool!
So I'm now wondering if she's doing something mega-wrong with her pull and feels she needs to compensate on her kick? She turns and looks at the ceiling to breathe, but I thought that was pretty "normal" at that age, but otherwise it looks reasonable. She is also very competitive in the lane, wanting to catch up with whoever is at the front, so I have said that it slows her down when she bends her legs, but she still persists.
Anyway if any of you more experienced in coaching littlies have any tips, I'd very much appreciate it.
Parents
Former Member
Thanks for the input - I was watching her this morning and I think she looks forward in the water rather than looking down which means her head is higher and her hips drop so she tries to get them on the surface and propel herself forward with the breaststroke kick.
Still don't know where she inherited the breaststroke from as I was a fly swimmer in my youth, but a rubbish kicker in general.
Anyway she wants to gatecrash the morning lap swim with me tomorrow, so I'll get her kicking with the board, and perhaps doing some catch-ups concentrating on looking at the bottom. Hopefully it'll begin feel "right" to her so she does it at practice.
I know it'll click eventually, but we'd love her to get the A regional qualifying time in her 25yd free in the next 3 weeks (she already has made the back, br and fly :D ) as far as I know only 1 girl in our region has made it, and DD has been coming 3rd or 4th in the meets, so isn't far off.
Its at times like this I wish I had got her interested in a sport I know nothing about!
Thanks for the input - I was watching her this morning and I think she looks forward in the water rather than looking down which means her head is higher and her hips drop so she tries to get them on the surface and propel herself forward with the breaststroke kick.
Still don't know where she inherited the breaststroke from as I was a fly swimmer in my youth, but a rubbish kicker in general.
Anyway she wants to gatecrash the morning lap swim with me tomorrow, so I'll get her kicking with the board, and perhaps doing some catch-ups concentrating on looking at the bottom. Hopefully it'll begin feel "right" to her so she does it at practice.
I know it'll click eventually, but we'd love her to get the A regional qualifying time in her 25yd free in the next 3 weeks (she already has made the back, br and fly :D ) as far as I know only 1 girl in our region has made it, and DD has been coming 3rd or 4th in the meets, so isn't far off.
Its at times like this I wish I had got her interested in a sport I know nothing about!
