Tell us what you think of the backstroke demonstrated by this young swimmer.
Also, the hip movement you'll see in the video looks a bit like another backstroker we've worked with. Get Aaron Peirsol's DVD here.
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Maybe its the angle of the camera but it looks like his thighs are coming out a lot. Also his hips look really flexible when he switches sides. I was filmed doing a 400IM recently and could see by the end of the backstroke leg my legs were all over the shop..i was horrified when i saw it. |
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:) Did you watch the video first? You know the rules! By the way... he's 9. |
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I watched the video, He's got good upper body mechanics, great rotation and catch, with a great finish down by his waist. However, his lower body needs some work. When he rotates to his left, his right leg/foot sweep way across to the side, causing his hips to shift from left to right, rather than rotate along an axis. Then vice versa when he rotates to the right, his left leg sweeps over to the right. I would say for him to concentrate on keeping his kick a bit smaller, meaning keeping his feet closer together. This will reduce the drag he's causing with such a huge separation of his legs. (pause the video at 6 and 12 seconds as an example) |
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I agree that he has good upper body mechanics, in fact he has really great alignment along his long axis. Being that he is 9 years old his training should include lots of kicking with good body balance and alignment. His kick will come with the swim specific strength gathered through kicking drills. |
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Is it the camera angle or can we see his (right hand) palm upon hand entry ?
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wrong kick timing , too late hand entry. |
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I might be wrong but isent his left hand to deep wen he finishes the stroke ? |
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The rules? Sorry if ive mucked up Glenn. |
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No no Tony... I was just kidding. By the rules I meant... we should post first looking at the picture... THEN post again after we've seen the video. I guess I've never made that clear, but to me, the picture itself looks great... when you watch the vid, you can see all the little things this swimmer needs to work on... then... realizing he's 9, we should all sit back and pick out the good things. Again, that's just me, and it's not that I don't see what he's doing wrong, I instinctively always focus on what he's doing right first. But hey... that's just me. :) |
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90 degree elbow bend. Hips rotated a little too far to be balanced, but the shoulder rotation is perfect, possibly a bit too much to be able to race with it. But the paddle is against the water because it looks pretty long! good posture through the spine and neck I'm sure he has a solid control of moving his body forward in any stroke. Oh and head position is great especially figuring how far his hips and shoulders are rotated. He has some potential to have a very streamlined (being on his side) backstroke while being in control. As well as some great pulling power potential. The kicking mechanics do not look so streamlined though. |
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Looking at the video the kid looks to be pulling with a pull bouy only without the pull bouy. He has a phenominal body line through the spine. Pulling mechancis are great (entry could be a bit better, but it looks like it works ok for him! Hand and arm recover completely while still on his side and enter the water just as the rotation happens to get to the other side. If he does this quick enough he can be a quick puller. Without a stabilizing kick and more streamlined kick probably not an effective racing technique. And using the abdominal muscles to rotate the shoulders to that great position on their side without having to have the hips and legs be all the way on their side will allow his kick to become continuous and not be drug around or have energy wasted for his legs to rotate his body when they can be used to send it forward. Using the abdomen is a tricky skill for a youngster and usually I see either stabilizing kick at practice or great rotation, not too often both. So this kid is doing awesome! |
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I'm guessing that this was taken in an outdoor pool (or you purposefully had him swimming at an angle). Either way I think our perspective is thrown off a little by the lane line. While you can definitely see in the picture a loose core, and the kick is to big, I really like this stroke. This is a stroke the kid can build on in the future as he becomes stronger. While there are several little things that could be better - everyone from Olympians on down have several little things in their strokes that could be better. The thing I love the most - and a concept I struggle getting my little ones to understand - is where he's pulling through. While his arm is almost pointing straight towards the bottom, his arm is moving through a plane inline with his body where all the power is. I'm pretty sure if you flatten him out some (I'm guessing that he was exaggerating his stroke a little - trying to do the 'perfect stroke' for Obi Won Glen) that he'd continue to pull through the proper line. |
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Tony Burt
Glenn Mills
Andrej
arbri
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