Lessons

Browse through our thousands of Lessons to gain a deeper understanding of swimming. Use our search bar located above or, if you're new to the site, use the Guided View to help narrow down the Lessons presented to you. If you use the Guided View, you’ll also be able to add your Expertise Level as an additional filter.

Select Category

Designate Expertise

Select Fine Point

Backstroke Positioning Techniques

Backstroke Body Position To teach the correct body position for backstroke, I start by having the swimmer float with a relaxed body, with ears in the water. The head should rest in the water with the water line near the edge of the goggles. There should be no tension in the neck, and it’s important that her body is not stiff. The legs should be soft with the toes under water. Backstroke Kick To teach the backstroke kick,I use a 4-step process. For the first step, I have the swimmer sit on the edge and I stand directly in front of her and hold her legs here – with one hand under each ankle. Even though my hands are at her ankles we want the kick to come from the top of the legs, from the thighs. I hold her ankles to make the feet loose and floppy. We want long legs, loose ankles, and an emphasis on pressing down with the kick. Watch her touch the bottom of her feet to my hand that is under water For step two in teaching the backstroke kick, I use a board. The swimmer’s hands should be close together, which makes the shoulders roll in and puts them in the “canoe” position. It’s important to keep the arms straight and you can make this happen by having the swimmer hold the board over her legs. The legs should be near the board but you don’t want her to kick the board up with her knees. In step three, the swimmer progresses to kicking without a board. I’ll have her in the “canoe” position (hands near the top of the legs) and with sculling (hands near the sides). I stand close to her head and hold the head to help her establish a correct body position. I move with her as she kicks, making sure she maintains the correct body position. In step four, I teach backstroke kick with rotation. I stand directly behind the swimmer’s head and hold it gently from underneath. My hand is flat and I simply roll the right side up from the backside of the shoulder, pause, and then roll the right side down from the top of the shoulder. By standing here and guiding the swimmer’s rotation, I make sure that she never pauses while flat on the water. Backstroke Pull When I teach backstroke pull, I start with single-arm backstroke so that I can guide the pull and set the timing. I have her start with the recovery by bringing the thumb side of the hand out of the water first. I lock out her elbows and let gravity shape her hand. I bring her arm directly up over the side of her body and over her shoulder. She should be able to see her hand as it passes directly above her eye. I position myself at the swimmer’s side so I can control her recovery and entry. I’ve found it’s effective to have the swimmer brush her arm along the side of the head as the hand drops back into the entry. I’m slightly flexing her wrist on entry. I drop the arm down, direct the arm out a bit and then set the hand and forearm up for a pull. Now I will put my hand on hers so she can feel what it’s like to catch the water. I hold the swimmer’s head so that her eyes are straight up and her shoulders and arms are like this -- rotated on one side with one arm extended and the other arm at her side with the hand on the side of the leg. I keep the head and the extended arm straight. Once she’s in the correct position, I have her kick for 6 kicks with the arm extended. Then she pulls, pauses, and kicks for 6 kicks with the arm at her side -- and I make sure that her shoulder is up and her body is rotated and ready for the arm to recover. My job is to make sure she keeps the extended arm straight and that she rotates rather than goes flat. By standing here and guiding her body, I can also help her establish a rhythm. When the swimmer can do single-arm backstroke with the left arm and the right arm, with good rotation... ... they’re ready to try backstroke with both arms, and they usually go right into a true backstroke with good rhythm and timing. Putting It All Together (and Preventing Crossover) When the swimmer is ready to put all the parts together, I stand above the swimmer and hold the head like this to give only as much help as she needs to do the stroke correctly... and to prevent crossover. If her arms touch mine, she knows to enter wider. I can also direct or correct the entry like this, by holding her head with one hand and helping the entry with the other. I change hands with every stroke. You’ve got to be quick, but this is a highly effective teaching trick.  

Mistake #4 - Improper Hand Entry

Common Backstroke Mistakes and How to Fix Them Mistake 4: Improper Hand Entry The five most common hand-entry mistakes are over-reaching… …entering the hands too wide… …waitress hands (extension of hand)… …collapsing the elbow… …and pausing on entry. The Fix: Positioning techniques All of these mistakes can be cured by using positioning techniques, mirrors, and drills. Notice how I lock out the elbow as the recovery begins. Here, I guide the arm so that it enters directly behind the shoulder, elbow locked, with the wrist slightly flexed and the hand entering on the little-finger side. A common technique to fix over-reaching or wide entry is to tell the swimmer they are lying on the face of a clock with their feet pointing at 6 and their head at 12. Tell them that their right hand should enter at 11 o’clock and the left hand at 1 o’clock. Sometimes you may need to over-correct and say 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock. The Fix: Mirrors Hold a mirror over the swimmer to give them immediate visual feedback. Use a small mirror when teaching in the water so they can see where their hands enter. Or hold a mirror over them as they swim alongside a wall. The Fix: Double-arm backstroke For swimmers who over-reach, double-arm backstroke is an excellent drill to help them learn to feel a wider placement of the arms. The arms should recover simultaneously straight up and enter directly in front of the shoulders. If the swimmer keeps their elbows locked and recovers in a straight over-the-top line, they will not over-reach. By taking the rotation out of the backstroke, the swimmer can simplify the movement. When the swimmer returns to full-stroke swimming, the coach must remind the swimmer to begin rotating the body down toward the entering arm as the arm passes the mid-point in the recovery. The Fix: Paddles The best fix for waitress hands is hand paddles. Instruct the swimmer to dig the lower end of the hand paddle into the skin on the underside of the wrist. Keep this position throughout the recovery and especially on the entry. Tell the swimmer to feel the edge of the paddle throughout the recovery and into the entry. Have the swimmer enter with the side of the paddle…the little-finger side. Once the hand enters the water, the swimmer can relax the hand-paddle pressure on the wrist and complete a regular arm stroke. The Fix: One-pound weights One fix that targets swimmers with an entry pause and over-reaching is to use one-pound weights and swim single-arm backstroke. I have the swimmer hold the weight like this and recover the arm straight up over her shoulder. drop down, but the swimmer holds the weight firmly enough so that is doesn’t fall out of her hand. She lifts from her shoulder, and not from her hand, as she recovers. As the arm drops back into the water it accelerates, and drops down into the water without any hesitation. This helps cure over-reaching, too, because the arm enters before it has time to reach back. Another benefit is that when the swimmer pulls she will need to use her forearm because the hand is grasping the weight. She swims a length with the right arm… and then a length with the left. When she swims without the weight, she has the muscle memory of entering the water without hesitation and without over-reaching.

Mirrors for Backstroke

Mirrors are great for fixing one of the most common stroke problems in backstroke: over-reaching. To fix this, stand at the end of the lane and hold a mirror so the swimmer can see into it as they swim. They may need to tilt their head forward a bit to see the mirror, but what they see will usually amaze them. Most swimmers don’t believe they are over-reaching, but when you can prove it to them with a mirror, it makes a big impression. If you have a smaller mirror, you can hold it over the top of the swimmer as they swim along the edge of the pool. Just be careful about falling in. Every coach and swim instructor needs at least one mirror. They may seem a bit odd at first, but I guarantee that once you start using them, you’ll wish you could cover your entire pool with them. Mirrors are the most effective tool you can use in teaching kids and adults...and getting them to learn things fast. We store our mirrors in a sheetrock rack that was donated to us by a construction worker. He painted it and put some padding on it, and we stack them up. You can also lean the mirrors against a wall, but mainly you will want them in the pool as part of every lesson or practice.