**Breaststroke Teaching Progression
Step #3:  Teach Breaststroke Pull**

To teach breaststroke arm action, I start with the swimmer out of the water. I have her lie on her belly with arms extended over the water.

Or, have the swimmer drape her arms over a laneline or a noodle…like this.

Either way, her arms are extended straight, thumbs together, wrists slightly flexed and hands angled down. The arms are partially under water. She is in the “I” position…long and straight like the letter “I.”

As her hands begin to press outward, the wrists flex and the palms face slightly back and outward.  While keeping the arms straight, she presses water with her palms until she’s in a “Y” position…the body and arms make a shape like the letter ”Y.”

From the “Y” position, the swimmer flexes the arms at the elbows in order to place the hands and forearms in a backward-facing position.

This is the Early Vertical Forearm position for breaststroke pull.

Elbows are in front of the shoulders.

Forearms are vertical, with the fingers pointing down and with the hands in front of the shoulders. 

From the early vertical forearm position, the forearms begin to scoop in, up, and forward.  Try to keep the wrists from bending as the hands change their pitch, with the thumb side slightly up. 

Be sure to keep the swimmer’s arms away from the wall on the scoop. Have them watch.

The forearms are now parallel with the surface of the water as they move forward.  This is the recovery phase of the pull.  

As the arms shoot forward, the palms will turn down as the arms extend into the missile glide position.

She practices this head-up drill until she gets a good feel for it…and then it’s time to try the pull in the water. 

Start with the head down in a missile glide position. I remind her that each pull will start and end in this position.

I assist her by rotating the thumb side of the hand down and pressing her arms out to a “Y” position. She freezes in this position.

Next, I stand at her side and guide her arm into a vertical forearm. She freezes in this position.

Then, I guide and pitch her hands in and up, guiding them through the scoop and shoot.

She ends up in a missile glide position.

Next, she tries it on her own and without breathing, but with a pause at the “Y” …and at the vertical forearm position.

She does it without pausing…except in the glide position. 

This is a good time to have a mirror on the bottom of the pool. The swimmer can see what she is doing and self-correct if necessary.

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Step #3: Teach Breaststroke Pull