When working with swimmers who have a tendency to let their hands lead UP during extension in freestyle, it's important that they understand this can cause additional resistance, and slow their ability to get into the catch.

Step one in this quick progression is letting them experiment with positioning their extended arm.

1 - Put on some fins, and for some swimmers, a snorkel is great for this.  Have the swimmer do flutter kick on their side with one arm extended.
2 - The swimmer should allow the hand rise to the surface, fingertips touching the surface to illustrate what they're typically doing.
3 - Now have the swimmer experiment with lowering the arm until the pressure of water disappears and the arm is floating forward.
4 - Finally, have the swimmer drop the fingers to feel the pressure of the water on the back of the hand, starting to develop the understanding of the hand too high, or the hand too low.

Next, Step 2 moves this to a full single stroke.

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Step 1 - Building a Better Catch