Aquajets - Head Games

This week, visiting Aquajets in Minnesota, we got a glimpse of how they work on stable head position by limited drills.

Why do it:
We all know that a stable head makes for a better body position and an equal degree of rotation for freestyle and backstroke.

How to do it:
1 – Rather than stopping and doing drills, the Aquajets incorporate tools during sets to add a bit of challenge.  For freestyle, take a hand paddle and stick it on your head.  Yep… just grab the paddle and push it down the pool.
2 – When you get to the wall, try to do a flip, and if it drops off, grab it, push off, and put it back on your forehead.  The goal is simply to keep going.
3 – For backstroke, the paddle on head can still be used, but for the whole team, grab your water-bottles.
4 – While we’ve seen this many times before, this is just a regular set, which the swimmers grab the bottle prior to the turns, and then, after the turn, put it back on your head an keep going… no stopping.

How to do it really well (the fine points):
Like other things at the Aquajets, certain things have various benefits.  How one interacts with the water and knows how the water works is important.  These swimmers build an additional level of awareness when the paddle, or bottle, drops off.  It’s also a great habit to build in that no matter how many times it drops off, you just grab it and keep going.  No excuses or reasons to stop.

It’s also has a nice competitive aspect to it.  Like video horse racing… you never know who’s really going to win a race, as at any moment… someone may lose a bottle, or paddle, and have to regroup.  Leaders change, but everyone keeps going.