Great turns start with great posture, and the easiest place to teach this is on land.

Step #1
Have the swimmer stand on deck, with feet parallel and together, and both arms extended.  Position one hand over the other, with the top thumb locked around the bottom hand.   

Squeeze tight with the thumb and squeeze the shoulders and biceps tight against the head and ears.  There should be no air space between head and arms.

Keep the head in a neutral position, with eyes straight ahead.

Flatten the back by tucking the belly button toward the spine and squeezing the buns inward.  Try to eliminate or minimize any arch in the back.  

Have the swimmer stand on tiptoes and maintain balance for a few seconds in this position.

Step #2
Have the swimmer lie on their back with arms in streamline and toes pointed to make the body as narrow as possible. 

Pull the belly button to the spine and tighten the buttocks, trying to press the lower back into the deck and eliminate any gap between the lower back and the deck.

At this point, you can measure the streamline from middle finger to pointed toes.  This is their “water height” or “maximum aquatic length.”   The longer the height, the less they need to swim on each length and the faster they’ll go.

Step #3
Take it to the water by having the swimmer float on their back in streamline.  You can assist in positioning the body.  See if they can maintain the correct body position on their own.

Step #4
Now turn them over and position the swimmer so they’re in streamline position on the stomach.  Keep their head in a neutral position.

Step #5
With the swimmer in tight streamline, give them a “rocket push” by pushing them straight ahead from the feet.  The swimmer should feel straight, narrow, and FAST as they glide forward just under the surface.  

Step #6
Now let the swimmer be his own rocket.  Have him stand on the bottom with arms above the head.  He crouches down, then pushes straight up, and extends into a tight streamline with head in neutral and eyes looking straight ahead.  

The swimmer comes back down, crouches again, and repeats the vertical jump into streamline.

Step #7
Learning how to exhale through the nose is a fundamental skill for learning to turn.
Without this skill, the swimmer will get water up the nose and will not enjoy the learning process.

You really need to be in the water for this, so you can SEE if the swimmer is blowing bubbles out the NOSE with a vigorous exhale.  Start with vertical bobbing.

Then observe them in a face-down position.

Finally, try to get them to exhale through the nose when they are on their back.  This will take a very vigorous exhale, and you may need to guide their body.

Step #8
To make sure the swimmer is ready for actual push-offs and turns, teach them this final skill -- the streamline log roll.

Have the swimmer float on their back in a tight streamline, and begin to kick.

After a few seconds, they take a good breath and then, while maintaining a tight streamline, they calmly rotate a complete 360 degrees and return to a floating position on their back.

Take another good breath and repeat.

Practice rotating in both directions, and see which directly feels more comfortable.

If your swimmer can do this skill while holding streamline and keeping water out of their nose, they’re ready for the next step, which is learning a proper push-off.


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Basics for All Turns