Setting up a good backstroke catch is essential to improving your times.

Why do it:
Too soft of a hand entry can mean certain swimmers miss the initial catch on their backstroke.  This quick drill and get just a bit more drive forward prior to initiating the pull.

How to do it:
1 - Build the swimmer’s rhythm and feeling of having the hand enter with a bit more firmness.
2 - Have the swimmer take three firm strokes, but on the third, PAUSE a bit and ride the extended arm forward for just a bit.
3 - Now make sure the swimmer drives forward with a stronger kick.

How to do it really well (the fine points):
Well, this has to be moved forward to swimming, right?  For this, we count on rhythm.  We set a Tempo Trainer to a slow rate, and make the swimmer focus on a SHARP transition from side to side, focusing on driving the extended hand forward.

Over a few lengths, we speed up the rate, but make the swimmer focus on making the transition to extension with such quickness, even at the higher rate, she has to pause just a bit.

While this method of extension rather than immediate catch isn’t for everyone, it is sometimes ideal for swimmers in longer races.

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Backstroke - Drive the Hand Forward