Welcome to the “Swim Drill of the Week”. Swimming World will be bringing you a drill, concept, or tip that you can 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), Drill Of The Week excerpts are meant to be flexible for your needs and inclusive for all levels of swimming.
This week’s drill is Kickboard Backstroke, a drill that is meant to develop a strong catch and underwater pull. While this drill does use a kickboard, it is probably not in the way most swimmers are accustomed to.
Swimmers will actually use two kickboard (smaller or “half” kickboards work better than full size boards, especially for smaller swimmers) and hold each one along their forearm. Make sure the board is in line with their arm, and from there the challenge is to swim down the length of the pool while holding onto the kickboards. The idea is that the kickboard creates a large surface area to get contact with the water. This gives swimmers the “feel” of holding onto the water during their pull, as a larger surface area of contact with the water creates a stronger pull and more propulsion.
The other advantage of this drill is that it forces swimmers into a catch position during their pull phase, which helps to prevent them from slipping or dropping their elbow. In order to hold onto the kickboard, swimmers will need to keep their arms extended shallow and perpendicular to their torso during the pull and also finish their stroke. If they don’t, they’ll either lose momentum or lose the kickboard.
One major drawback to this drill is that is makes the entry at the top of the stroke a little difficult. Because kickboards float, swimmers will have to enter the water with some force to get into the pull phase of the stroke. While this is helpful for emphasizing speed into the catch, it is also easy to forget about thinking about a clean entry. Make sure when transitioning back to full stroke backstroke that you remind your athletes about correct hand entries before beginning their pull. Happy swimming!
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.
Alejandro Salinas Alarcon