**Freestyle Body Position**
To teach a balanced body position for freestyle, I press in on the swimmer’s belly button to help flatten her lower back.

I put her head in a neutral position so she’s looking straight down without tucking her chin.

I make sure her arms are extended and positioned higher than her ears, and that her fingers are straight forward with hands angled down with a slight bend at the wrist. 

Swimmers have a tendency to angle their fingers up, so it’s important that they get this feeling of a slight flex of the wrist because it gets them ready for an effective pull.

**Freestyle Kick** 
To teach freestyle kick, I use a 3-step process.  For the first step I use the wall.  I position the swimmer with one hand holding the edge and the other hand lower on the wall, with fingers pointed down and elbow bent.

I place my hands above her knees and create the motion from the hips.  I want long legs and loose, floppy ankles.  The knees should bend slightly but you usually don’t need to mention this because kids will bend the knees on their own -- and usually too much. 

For step two in teaching the flutter kick, I use a board.   I have the swimmer hold the board with arms straight and pressed against her head.  We call this “Position 11.”

It’s best to have the swimmer hold the board with the fingers on top and the thumb on the underside.  

In step three, the swimmer transitions to kicking without a board.  She’s still in “Position 11” -- with her arms straight and positioned above her ears and with her head in neutral.  “Neutral” means the head is right where it would be if the swimmer were standing up and looking straight ahead. 

**Freestyle Breathing**  
Before I teach freestyle breathing, I want to make sure the swimmer knows how to exhale under water and through their nose.   This is a critical skill and if they don’t have it, they will get water up their nose and have a very unpleasant experience.

Once they can exhale through their nose, I use a three-step process to teach freestyle breathing.  In step one, we use the wall.   I have the swimmer hold on to the edge with one hand, with the other arm back by the side.  

The swimmers breathes away from the leading arm.  I position myself on the non-breathing side so I can roll her shoulder and body up on the breathing side.

I position my hand on her temple and, without grabbing, gently guide her head to the correct position for a breath...then back to the water where I ask her to look for bubbles.  She can hear me say, “Bubbles!”  Remember to keep the instructions simple.

For step two, I have the swimmer extend her lead arm away from the wall while the other hand -- the one back by her side -- holds on to the wall.  Her feet are on the wall.

Keep the lead arm up near the surface of the water and have the swimmer roll the side of the head -- the area behind the ear -- on to the arm.

I position my flat hand on her temple and gently guide her head to the side and press it against the arm.

For step three, we move away from the wall and I position the swimmer so that the lead arm is straight out front and near the surface.  Her other arm is back by her side with the hand along the side of her leg.

She breathes away from her lead arm (left arm) and toward her other shoulder (the right shoulder).

She starts with eyes straight down and then her head rotates to the side for a breath.  Notice how I have her right should UP, which is the side she’ll breathe to.  

I keep her body in a straight line before I let her go on her own.  When she starts to kick, shell be kicking slightly to the side.

**Freestyle Pull**
I use a two-step process to teach the freestyle pull with breathing.   For step one, I use a board.  One hand holds the board and the other hand is off to the side.  This is a much better position in which to begin a pull than if both hands were on the board.   If the pulling hand starts on the board there’s a tendency to pull the hand back by leading with the elbow.  We want to avoid that.

I assist her first with the timing and technique of the breathing.  I stand to the non-breathing side so I can turn her head.

I wait until her arm is about half way through the pull before I gently roll her head to the side.  It’s important that she returns the pulling arm back to where it started -- along side of the board -- and that she pauses there and kicks before pulling again.  

I also assist her with her pull.  I put my hand directly over the top of hers and guide her forearm to a vertical position and then direct it back toward the side of the leg while keeping her elbow high.

Step two for teaching the pull is to offer some resistance to the swimmer’s hand so that she can feel what it’s like to catch the water.  

This is “catch-up” freestyle in “Position 11” with my hands turned up with our palms touching under water.  

As I drop one hand down, the swimmer pulls one arm back and comes back around to the same position.

After the arms are back in “Position 11,” I drop the other hand down and she begins to pull with the other arm.

I tell the swimmer to have a Breathing Arm and a Bubble Arm.  It’s easy for them to remember.

Or, I say “Pull and breathe...pull and don't breathe.”   Keep the instruction simple and short so they can understand you... even when their head is in the water. 

**Putting It All Together (and Preventing Crossover)**  
When the swimmer is ready to put all the parts together, I have her do no-breathing freestyle as I hold her head.  Remember to be aware of the swimmer’s need to breathe.  

You can see that if she crosses over on her entry, she will hit my arms.  

She must enter her hands outside my arms and ideally right in front of her same-side shoulder.   

Once they know what a correct stroke feels like, with you guiding the breathing, you can let go and have them breathe whenever they need air.


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Freestyle Positioning Techniques