The Butterfly Lane

Boom-Digs, This is gonna be a complete stab in the dark. First - For now, don't even think about when or how to kick - except to keep your toes pointed. Next - Fly is best swum with your focus on the position of your shoulders relative to your hips. It is called short axis rotation. If you do this right, the kick takes care of itself. Most people who struggle with fly have not figured out how the shoulders and hips should be positioned during the stroke cycle. I suspect that as you start to pull, you are performing the pull (actually a push) from your shoulders and your shoulders are going down at the same time your arms are going down. This is exactly the opposite of what you want. It leads to very late breathing and plowing along - mostly underwater. Next - if this is your problem, to change to the correct positioning, when you start your pull, lift your head upward and keep your head up throughout the pull and most of the recovery. Yes, this will cause your hips to drop. More importantly, it keeps your shoulders higher than your hips which is the correct position. Over-exaggerated - Yes! Future adjustments to fix - Yes. Once you get comfortable with this, you and your coach(s) can start the fine tuning process. Fins can be helpful if you have the basic stroke rhythm. If you are pushing your shoulders down to get your arms to pull, fins will not correct this - only help you go faster which might reinforce the incorrect rotation. As I said - a complete stab in the dark without video to confirm or deny. :) Good Luck Paul

Boom-Digs, This is gonna be a complete stab in the dark. First - For now, don't even think about when or how to kick - except to keep your toes pointed. Next - Fly is best swum with your focus on the position of your shoulders relative to your hips. It is called short axis rotation. If you do this right, the kick takes care of itself. Most people who struggle with fly have not figured out how the shoulders and hips should be positioned during the stroke cycle. I suspect that as you start to pull, you are performing the pull (actually a push) from your shoulders and your shoulders are going down at the same time your arms are going down. This is exactly the opposite of what you want. It leads to very late breathing and plowing along - mostly underwater. Next - if this is your problem, to change to the correct positioning, when you start your pull, lift your head upward and keep your head up throughout the pull and most of the recovery. Yes, this will cause your hips to drop. More importantly, it keeps your shoulders higher than your hips which is the correct position. Over-exaggerated - Yes! Future adjustments to fix - Yes. Once you get comfortable with this, you and your coach(s) can start the fine tuning process. Fins can be helpful if you have the basic stroke rhythm. If you are pushing your shoulders down to get your arms to pull, fins will not correct this - only help you go faster which might reinforce the incorrect rotation. As I said - a complete stab in the dark without video to confirm or deny. :) Good Luck Paul