Forward and backstroke start drills

A lot of young swimmers have difficulty in learning how to make a proper start, they usually make a flat entry in the water or they are not as streamlined as they could. The same applies for the backstroke start as well. Many studies have reported that the entry and the underwater portions of the start make a huge difference and separate the fast starters from those who are not fast. As evidence, some of the best starting drills for forward starts focus on those aspects. These drills are:

Over and under dives

In this drill, swimmers dive off the side of the pool, over the nearest lane line, and they kick under the next two lane lines, surfacing before they come to the fourth lane line. This is a good drill for teaching swimmers to enter the water correctly and change their velocity from downward to forward quickly.

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