Welcome to the “FINIS Tip of the Week.” Swimming World will be bringing you a topic that we’ll explore with drills and concepts for you to implement with your team on a regular basis. While certain weeks may be more appropriate for specific levels of swimming (club, high school, college, or masters), each tip is meant to be flexible for your needs and inclusive for all levels of swimming.
This week’s drill is butterfly with flutter kick. The purpose of this drill is to help emphasize the drive forward you should feel at the end of the recovery phase in butterfly. Two movements, the forward motion of the breath and the recovery of the arms, work to propel the body forward at the end of each cycle.
Taking out the dolphin kick from the stroke gives swimmers more awareness of how they are surging forward at the end of each stroke and whether they are able to hold on to that propulsion through an entire length of the pool. Similar to breaststroke pull with flutter kick, having a consistent flutter kick will give swimmers a better sense of the propulsion they get from their upper body with each stroke.
This can be a difficult drill, particularly for beginners, so adding fins is a great way to help get significant propulsion from the legs so your athletes can focus on the forward drive they should feel in every stroke. Ultimately, this drill will enhance your athlete’s sense of when they are driving forward in their stroke and the importance in timing the breath and forward surge well with their dolphin kicks.
All swimming and dryland training and instruction should be performed under the supervision of a qualified coach or instructor, and in circumstances that ensure the safety of participants.