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.
She's 6. As long as she's having fun, does much else matter?
I agree. At that age the very best thing is for the kid to develop an unshakable love of swmming. Not only will it form the basis for an active healthy lifestyle, but also if she does take up serious competitive swimming, she will need to draw on that love of swimming to get through years and years of tough practices.
There is a community center a little too far from where we live for us to make regular trips there. They have a big 10-lane SCY pool and a "recreation" pool with a water slide, several fountains, a "tile beach", a dolphin statue etc. For several years we have taken our daughter (now 8 y.o.) there on occasional weekends. We all do some laps together and I sneak in a little stroke instruction, then we play in the fountains, go down the slide and in general play in the water. Afterwards we shower up in their spacious locker room and have an indoor picnic in their snack area. My daughter has learned a lot during those "play" days.
She's 6. As long as she's having fun, does much else matter?
I agree. At that age the very best thing is for the kid to develop an unshakable love of swmming. Not only will it form the basis for an active healthy lifestyle, but also if she does take up serious competitive swimming, she will need to draw on that love of swimming to get through years and years of tough practices.
There is a community center a little too far from where we live for us to make regular trips there. They have a big 10-lane SCY pool and a "recreation" pool with a water slide, several fountains, a "tile beach", a dolphin statue etc. For several years we have taken our daughter (now 8 y.o.) there on occasional weekends. We all do some laps together and I sneak in a little stroke instruction, then we play in the fountains, go down the slide and in general play in the water. Afterwards we shower up in their spacious locker room and have an indoor picnic in their snack area. My daughter has learned a lot during those "play" days.
