I've been teaching swimming for over 30 years and I built Swim Teach so that I can share all my knowledge, wisdom and experience from the thousands of swimming lessons I have had the pleasure of teaching. Take a look back through my previous newsletters and see what you missed.
Master Freestyle Kicking – Are Your Basics Solid? Plus, Fresh Teaching Resources!
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"If I kick harder then I will stay afloat and swim further." ...a common misconception among beginners learning to swim. Relaxed and smooth is the key to an effective and efficient front crawl leg kick. Hi, Mark here. I hope all is well with you. In this edition of Swim Teach News, we are looking at front crawl leg kick technique and a basic exercise to help practice and fine-tune it. If you're a teacher, my resource library is packed with drills and lesson plans to help make your teaching efficient, effective and fresh. Below is a basic drill to help fine-tune your freestyle leg kicking. Click here for detailed information on front crawl leg kick technique. Leg Kick Technique Using a Kickboard. A great exercise to try out is kicking, holding a float or kickboard in both hands straight out in front. Aim: to practice and learn the correct kicking technique. Holding a float or kickboard out in front isolates the legs, encourages correct body position and develops leg strength. Key Actions
Technical Focus
Common Faults
Need More Drills To Improve Front Crawl?Download a full set of 22 basic drills to improve front crawl, covering body position, leg kick, arm pull, breathing and timing and coordination. 'How To Swim Front Crawl' will have you swimming with smooth and efficient technique. Click here to discover my Freestyle eBook. Resources for Swimming Teachers Swimming teacher resources that save time by taking the hard work out of teaching swimming. Click the button below.
That's it for this week. Stay focused, stay in touch and stay safe. Happy swimming! Cheers Mark ps - did someone forward this to you? Subscribe here. |
Hi! I'm Mark, creator of Swim Teach
I've been teaching swimming for over 30 years and I built Swim Teach so that I can share all my knowledge, wisdom and experience from the thousands of swimming lessons I have had the pleasure of teaching. Take a look back through my previous newsletters and see what you missed.
Hi, Mark here. Hope all is well. You know that frustrating moment in a swimming lesson. You explain the skill.You demonstrate it.You simplify it. …and the swimmer still looks confused. It is easy to assume that the exercise is not working - or that the swimmer simply cannot do it yet. But sometimes, the problem is not the skill. It is the words. One swimmer may respond to a clear, direct instruction. Another may need an image they can picture, a rhythm they can follow or a physical sensation...
Have you ever wondered why one person can lie back and float almost effortlessly, while someone else sinks the moment they stop moving? Hi, Mark here. Hope all is well. For beginners, this can be incredibly frustrating. It is easy to assume that you are doing something wrong - or that you simply “can’t float”. But floating isn’t a test of swimming ability. Body composition, lung capacity and the way we position ourselves in the water all affect buoyancy. Some people naturally float higher...
What if your breathing timing was the one thing holding back your whole stroke? Hi, Mark here. I hope all is well with you. This week we are talking front crawl breathing - and more specifically, the timing of your breath. If you’ve ever felt your breathing “throws you off” in front crawl, you’re not alone. It’s one of the hardest parts to coordinate - but once you get the timing right, everything flows more smoothly. My full guide is right here. What timing means It’s not just when you...