Backstroke - Basics with Steve Haufler

Important Note to the Viewer

LESSONS: 26 VIDEOS

Introduction

Hello. My name is Steve Haufler. Ever since I started coaching -- more than 30 years ago -- I’ve had a passion for discovering the most effective ways to teach backstroke. In this video I want to share with you the methods I use to teach an efficient and fast backstroke to swimmers of all ages and abilities. In Part 1, I’ll show a basic teaching progression for backstroke. I’ll start with body position… … then the kick… …followed by the arm action (which includes both the recovery and pull)… …then timing and breathing. For each part of the stroke, I’ll show the dryland techniques I use to help students understand the skills BEFORE they get in the water. You’ll see how I demonstrate the skill… …and how I position myself and the swimmer to speed the learning process. You’ll hear what I SAY to the swimmer to make the instructions easy to remember. In Part 2, you’ll learn how to teach and train a fast underwater dolphin kick. In Part 3, I’ll share my favorite drills, tools, and teaching methods to fix the most common backstroke mistakes. In Part 4, you’ll learn teaching progressions for the backstroke start. And in Part 5, you’ll see a teaching progression for the backstroke finish. After more than 30 year of teaching and coaching backstroke, I’ve found ten techniques, habits and philosophies that really help. One: Be patient with the learning process. Two: Use dryland progressions that simulate what the swimmers will do in the water. Three: Get in the water to teach. Four: Watch world-class swimmers on Go Swim videos. Five: Sweat the details. The difference between good and excellent backstroke is in the details Six: Start over to fix major stroke flaws. Seven: Use a combination of teaching methods. Remember that swimmers have different learning styles and that you may need to try a variety of strategies to make sure you’re reaching every swimmer. Eight: Be aware of the sun. If you coach at an outdoor pool, make sure your swimmers wear dark tinted goggles. Nine: Don’t forget to train the kick. 26. And Ten: Practice legal backstroke pushoffs and finishes at every practice.

Step #1 Teach Backstroke Body Position

Backstroke Teaching Progression Step 1 Teach Backstroke Body Position When I teach backstroke I follow a 5-step teaching progression. Step 1 of the Progression is to teach Body Position, and to do this I start the swimmers on land. I have them lie down on a mat and press their lower spine into the mat by contracting their abs, squeezing their glutes, and pulling their belly button in toward their spine. Let the swimmers lift their legs…because it will help them engage their core. If swimmers need help with this, have them slide one hand under their lower back, and see if they can press the lower back into their hand. I want them to relax their shoulders down, roll them in a little, and extend the arms down the front of their thighs. Don’t shrug the shoulders…round the back. There should be a space between the underside of their chin and the tops of their shoulders. Sometimes I put a pull buoy under their head, like a pillow. This puts the swimmer in a more accurate body position because when the swimmer is in the water, the upper back is deeper than the head. Next…take that position to the water with a coach-assisted float. Tell the swimmers to let the sternum drop down and draw the ribs into the body. This will make them tuck in their tailbone. We want the swimmer’s hips to be a little under water. We want them to lean into the water and feel pressure on their back. The neck is long and relaxed and water surrounds the face. The legs will feel light in this body position when kicking.

Step #2 Teach Backstroke Kick

Backstroke Teaching Progression Step 2 Teach Backstroke Kick To teach backstroke kick, I start on land with the swimmer on a mat, and with one or two pull buoys under her head, and with arms by the side. I ask her to engage her core, and then kick with straight legs, from the hips, and with the toes long and feet slightly turned in and pointed. The knees will bend at the beginning of the upward kick and straighten at the end, under the water. The feet will be a relaxed point. Next, we go to the edge of the pool, with hips right on the edge, and move the legs. I can still move the legs from the hips by holding only her ankles. I do this so I can help the feet press down and then flip up. I push the legs down straight and then let the knees bend as she starts to kick up. I want the swimmer to feel like they’re boiling water and pushing water AWAY from them, not just making a splash. For most swimmers the upward kick is easy and natural, but they often need to be coached to kick down. This is why I have them emphasize the downbeat and press the bottom of each foot against my underwater hand. We want long legs, loose ankles, and an emphasis on pressing down with a straight leg. On the upward kick I want them to feel they are pushing water away from them—creating jet propulsion—the Jacuzzi effect. To teach backstroke kick and backstroke kick with rotation while in the water, I use a 4-step process. I don’t use all of these positions and drills with all swimmers. It depends on their skill level and age, as well as their specific technique needs. Step 1 is to use a board. The swimmer’s hands should be close together, which makes the shoulders roll in and puts them in the “canoe” position. It’s important to keep the arms straight. Have them extend the board over the legs. The legs should be near the board but you don’t want her to kick the board up with her knees. The swimmer should press down with a straight leg and then, as the upward kick begins, the knee bends and the feet and lower leg push water back. The legs straighten while the knees are still under water. In step 2, the swimmer kicks without a board, in the “canoe” position with hands near the top of the legs. Sometimes this position is difficult to maintain for young or inexperienced swimmers. If so, we try step 3 -- kick with sculling. It helps to assist them through the motion while they float on their back. In step 4, I teach backstroke kick with rotation. I stand directly behind the swimmer’s head and hold it gently from underneath. My hand is flat and I simply roll the right side up from the backside of the shoulder… pause… then roll the right side down from the top of the shoulder. By standing here and guiding the swimmer’s rotation, I make sure she doesn’t pause while flat on the water. At this point, especially with novice swimmers, it’s OK to progress to teaching the backstroke arms. However, let me give you three more drills for the more advanced swimmer. The first drill is called “vertical washing-machine.” I hold the swimmer’s head gently as they kick in a vertical position. Then, I have them initiate a rotation from side to side, with a slight pause as the shoulder passes under the chin. There should be space -- a few inches -- between the bottom of the chin and the top of the shoulder. I let the swimmer lean back into the water and begin kicking and rotating in a similar fashion down the pool. Another drill is called Side Glide. The body is tilted to one side and the extended arm and shoulder are tilted down into the water. The palm is facing the side of the pool. The other arm is straight along the side of the leg. The arm is out of the water because the entire side is tilted up. I help position the swimmer, making sure the head is straight and not tilted to one side. It is important that the swimmer is able to engage her core so that the body maintains a line. She practices on both sides. A third drill is Kick in Streamline. She practices on land and then takes it to the water. I don’t want young swimmers to position the streamlined arms way behind their head. This causes the body to be out of alignment and can create an arch in the back. I prefer a streamline where the arms cover the ears or are just a little behind the ears. The hands are in a hand-over-hand position with a firm thumb lock. The arms need to be snug against the head with no space between head and arms.

Step #3 Teach Backstroke Arm Action

Backstroke Teaching Progression Step 3 Teach Backstroke Arm Action Start standing and have the swimmers engage their core, tuck the hips under, and make sure the ribs are pressed in. The shoulders will be slightly rounded. I work first on the recovery. I have the swimmers stand with both arms by the side and looking straight ahead. Next, the swimmer takes a quarter turn to the left with the legs and body, but keeps the eyes facing straight ahead. She doesn’t move her head. With the body rotated like this I have the swimmer practice just half recoveries (with the right arm), until the arm is parallel to the ground. The arm is straight, the thumb side of the hand is leading, and the wrist is relaxed with fingers pointing downward. I want the swimmer to look down her arm. There should be a few inches of space between her chin and the top of her shoulder. The lift comes from the shoulder. Then, she rotates right and practices half recoveries with the left arm. Another “on land” position is the rotated entry. She rotates a quarter turn to the right and then extends her right arm straight up and behind her head, with palm facing outward and wrist slightly flexed. Make sure the head remains still and faces forward. I’ll help re-position the head, arms, and hand if necessary Make sure the core is engaged and the ribs tucked in. Next, we rotate to the left and extend the left arm. On all of these land-based drills and positions, I’m helping the swimmer develop correct muscle memory that transfers to the water. To teach backstroke pull, have the swimmer start in the standing “rotated entry” position. Then, have her turn the palm so it faces the ground with fingers pointing to the side. Next, while keeping the elbow high and stationary, have her practice a “catch” and she presses her forearm down so that is in line with her elbow. The palm is directly parallel to the ground. She does only a half pull because I don’t want them trying to rotate while standing. The next step is to put a board under the palm. Now, this swimmer can put a little pressure on her palm to help experience the muscle memory. She does these drills on both sides, and then it’s time to try backstroke arm action in the water. When I teach backstroke arms, I start with single-arm backstroke so I can guide the recovery and set up the pull. I have her start the recovery by bringing the thumb side of the hand out of the water first. I lock out her elbow and let gravity shape her hand. I bring her arm directly up and over the side of her body and over her shoulder. She should be able to see her hand as it passes directly above her eye. I position myself directly behind the swimmer so I can control her recovery and entry. I lock out her elbow and flex the wrist slightly on entry. I drop the arm down, direct the arm out a bit, and then position the hand and forearm for a pull. Now I put my hand on her palm so she can feel the position to catch the water. Then, I guide her through the rest of the pull pattern and recovery again. I do this a number of times with a novice backstroker to impart the correct muscle memory. I don’t ever say “bend your elbow” to novice backstrokers, or you might get something like this (Steve demonstrates)…a dropped elbow and elbow-leading pull. You want to avoid that. I do, however, use positioning techniques where I set the swimmer up with a bent elbow, demonstrate the proper technique, and use “word pictures” like “make a wide “V”” or “arm wrestle.” The key to a good backstroke pull is keeping the thumb side of the hand higher than the rest of the hand AND keeping the palm facing back toward the wall that the swimmer is swimming away from. Set up the correct position early in the pull by keeping the elbow high. When I speak of a high elbow in backstroke, coaches must think of “high” as in relation to the head…as in the area in front of the head (in relation to the direction in which the backstroker is moving.) Many swimmers get the feel of the bent-arm pull by learning to rotate and using one-arm drills. When using one-arm backstroke drills the most important part is that the opposite shoulder must roll up and out of the water before the entry of the other arm. As the pulling arm enters the water, the body must roll down as a unit, while the head remains motionless. Then, the pull begins with the body tilted toward the pulling side. The body must tilt or rotate BEFORE the pull begins. The body is tilted about 45 degrees to the side. The belly button and hips are turned toward the side. Then, the pull and the body roll are synchronized. It helps some swimmers to think of rotating the top side of their body down as they pull. Or, they can think to “rotate from your belly button,” as they pull. Either way, the pull must be coordinated with body rotation. To swim straight, the swimmer will often naturally begin to pull correctly. Combining one-arm drills with full-stroke backstroke is an excellent way to guide your swimmers toward correct pulling technique. Any combination of right and left is good – here we’re doing 25 yards right arm and then 25 yards left arm.

Vertical Double-Arm Backstroke

Additional Drills for Teaching Bent-Arm Pull Vertical Double-Arm Backstroke For swimmers who need extra help in learning or perfecting their pull, I use several drills that are extremely effective. I use Vertical Double-Arm Backstroke when the swimmer already does a correct freestyle pull. I ask the swimmer to go to deep water and do a “double-arm vertical freestyle pull.” The swimmer can see how their elbows stay high and the forearms press down until they are in line with the elbows. The palms face down as she pushes the hands through. Now, she does the same type of pull but points the hands toward the walls. I demonstrate. After she does that correctly a few times, she leans back and, while the muscle memory is still fresh, does double-arm backstroke. Then single-arm backstroke…then full-stroke backstroke.

Look-and-See Drill

Additional Drills for Teaching Bent-Arm Pull Look-and-See Drill The Look-and-See Drill is most effective with older novice swimmers because we ask the swimmer to roll their face into the water to watch their pull. Two things are important for the swimmer to know. First, the swimmer must understand she won’t do this in regular backstroke. With really young swimmers this may cause some bad habits with head movement. Second, the swimmer must know and remember what a correct pull looks like so that they can self-correct while swimming. The swimmer needs to know what to look for…palm facing back, thumb high, and a high-elbow catch. It’s a good idea to watch some DVDs of world-class backstrokers before doing this drill. I use only single-arm backstroke for this drill. She watches her recovery and then follows her hand into the water with her eyes by turning her face to the side and into the water. It helps to blow bubbles out your nose. The swimmer can watch every stroke or alternate one stroke watching…and one stroke NOT watching and with the head in the proper position.

Wall Press

Additional Drills for Teaching Bent-Arm Pull Wall Press Wall Press is an effective drill for teaching a bent-arm pull. Have the swimmer stand on the bottom of the pool and place their hand on the wall. Fingers should face to the side and the arm should be straight. Have the swimmer slowly and carefully retract the hand from the wall while keeping the palm square to the wall. As the arm extends back, keep it under water. Next, press the hand toward the wall, keeping the palm facing the wall. She naturally bends the elbow to accomplish this. She can see it and feel it and can hear any corrections and advice. She does this a few times and then swims with just one arm… …then swims with the other arm. Now try full-stroke backstroke.

Anchor the Hand

Additional Drills for Teaching Bent-Arm Pull Anchor the Hand Another effective drill for teaching a bent-arm pull is Anchor the Hand. At our pool we have a perfect area where the swimmers can actually anchor their hand against a freestanding side wall and press through with a correct bent-arm movement. The swimmer uses only one arm. I set her palm flat against the wall, with her elbow “high” (forward of her head. She then presses evenly on the wall and her body will move past where her hand is anchored. I make sure she rotates as her body passes the anchor point (the wall) in the stroke. Look carefully around your pool and see if there is an area where swimmers can anchor their hand and try this drill.

Strapless Paddles

Additional Drills for Teaching Bent-Arm Pull Strapless Paddles Strapless paddles are a key tool for learning and improving a bent-arm pull. Have your swimmers stand on the bottom and practice sculling with strapless paddles. Have them press out and in with an even, continuous motion. She is learning what it means to “hold on to the water.” The paddles will stay on if the swimmer maintains pressure on the paddles…which is the same feeling the hands should have on the water when swimming backstroke. Have the swimmer do single-arm backstroke. As the arm comes out of the water for the recovery, she needs to hold on to the edges of the paddle so it doesn’t fall off. After the hand enters the water and the wrist is positioned for the catch, the swimmer can let go of the paddle IF the paddle is square to the wall they are swimming away from. direct water pressure on it…and will stay on. Most swimmers, if they can keep the paddle in this “square-to-the-back-wall” and high-thumb position, will naturally evolve to a bent-arm pull.

Sculling Drills

Additional Drills for Teaching Bent-Arm Pull Sculling Drills I use 3 sculling positions to help swimmers master the backstroke bent-arm pull. The first is the “waving-at-your-feet scull.” I use this with our youngest swimmers when we practice backstroke kick with arms at the sides. I start with the swimmers on deck in a standing position with arms down. I have them extend their wrists, with palms facing down. Then, they imitate, following the instruction of “press out with the thumbs down and press in with the little fingers down.” Most swimmers get it. I have the swimmers scull on a solid surface so they feel each side of their hand as they pitch one way and then the other. For those who need help, I guide them through the correct motion. Next, we take this sculling motion to the water and repeat the same routine while standing on the bottom. We want the swimmers to feel the pressure of the water on their hands. After standing scull, we go to a back float, without kicking, and practice sculling with palms facing toward the wall they are leaving. If they do it correctly they will move forward. I believe that teaching this scull early in a child’s swimming career pays huge technical dividends down the line. Simply, they are developing a feel for the water. The second scull I teach for backstroke is the “W” scull. Have the swimmer start in a “T” back float, with arms extended out to the side. The swimmer turns the palms toward the wall they are leaving and then moves the arms into a big “W” position by pulling their elbow toward the bottom of the pool. Next, the swimmer waves at the wall they are sculling away from. The third scull is the one-arm rotated-catch scull. Have the swimmer get into a side-glide position and turn the palm toward the feet. I instruct the swimmer to do multiple little “push sculls” so they feel the pressure of the water on the palm and fingers. The scull teaches the swimmers to feel the important catch position that sets up the bent-arm pull.

Step #1 - Dolphin Kick on Front

Underwater Dolphin Teaching Progression Step 1 Dolphin Kick on Front Watch any elite backstroker and you’ll notice they have GREAT underwater dolphin skills. Underwater dolphins are so important that they are now considered to be a FIFTH stroke in swimming. There is less drag under water than on the surface. This means that swimmers with great underwater skills can kick faster under water than they can swim on the surface. It’s a skill worth teaching, and worth developing in every swimmer. In order to get to this… …I start by teaching this: Head-Lead Body Dolphin. Start with the swimmer on the front, and have them press gently down with the chest. Think of the air in the lungs just dipping below the waterline. The head should be still (don’t tuck the chin), and the undulation starts with a press and flows down the body. We want the swimmer to explore the flexibility in her spine. You can help your swimmer by gently moving her through the water, like this. Now transition to a hand-lead position. When first learning this skill it is OK NOT to be in streamline. With the hands slightly apart, the swimmer will be a little more flexible. Tell the swimmer to move the fingertips forward, not up and down. Use the abs and hips to generate the undulating movement and keep the feet under water…no splash. And finally… go into a complete underwater front streamline.

Step #2 - Getting Comfortable Under Water While on the Back

Underwater Dolphin Teaching Progression Step 2 Getting Comfortable Under Water While on the Back In order to get to this… …swimmers must be able to do one of three things. They must be able to blow bubbles out the nose. Or, they must have the unique ability to create a “reverse pressure” in their nose while upside down and under water, thus making bubbles unnecessary. (This can be learned). Or, they must be able to close off the nose with their upper lip, like this. This is a unique talent. However, with all developing swimmers we initially learn to blow bubbles while upside down. We start in a vertical position, and I go under water to see if they can create a steady stream of bubbles out their nose for a long period of time. Then the swimmers practice on their own, going under water and blowing bubbles while they look at the surface of the water. Next, we transition to a streamline float, while on the back, but still at the surface. I make sure the head is in neutral…looking straight up. Don’t tuck the chin. Next, I submerge her in this position and ask her just to kick. I tell her to take a deep breath and then blow bubbles out her nose as she submerges. I hold her head in line and keep her in streamline. The first time I submerge her I keep it quick. I want her eyes to look at the surface of the water from underneath. Don’t tuck the chin. It will cause more resistance and the swimmer will surface too quickly. Next, I have the swimmer practice ready position pushoffs, on her back into a straight, underwater, head-neutral streamline.