Backstroke - Topher Drill

Originally published in 2006

Revisiting one of the original Drill of the Week videos.  This takes us way back, to working with a very specific young swimmer named Christopher.  Christopher had a problem of using a straight arm backstroke pull, and through the process of trying to fix it, we came up with this little process.

Why do it:
While you’ll lose connection with the water, this drill is more about correcting pull pattern than making that connection.  It’s a quick way to get young swimmers to bend their arms more.

How to do it:
1) Swim backstroke, only, the swimmer is encouraged to throw the water OUT as they go to complete the pull.  Yep… that’s it.

How to do it really well (the fine points):
It feels strange to let go of the water if you’re an accomplished swimmer, so remember, this is a fix for young swimmers just learning.  When they get the understanding of the drill, have them simply lower the fingers back in to the water, and have the arm move in the same pattern.