Breaststroke kick or Frog kick The kick for breaststroke requires the feet to turn out like a duck. This can be hard for some children to perfect especially if they find this hard to turn their feet out on land. The correct breaststroke kick is feet to bottom, feet turn out and legs then ‘whip’ around to complete the kick. The amazing Aquatots team has come up with their hottest tips on how to help your child with their breaststroke kick. Some of these tips do not require your child to be in the water and the more practice they can get at home the faster they will learn. • Lay your child on the floor and manipulate their legs and feet in the action you want. Feet to bottom, feet turn out, lower leg ‘whips’ around to complete the kick • Have your child walk around the house like a duck or a penguin. To make the drill harder put a book on their head so they master it without looking at their feet • Sit your child on a chair and get them to turn their feet out to hook them around the legs or the chair • When your child is practicing the kick in the water your best bet is to slow it down. Ensure they are completing the kick by bringing their legs back together. Once the legs are back together we usually add a 1, 2 count before they start the kick again. • For squad swimmers to get that frog kick strong and powerful, jump squats are the best training for explosive breaststroke kick     Breaststroke pull or Scooping arms The pull phase of breaststroke is also started at the beginning of learn to swim but is usually taught as scooping arms. Ensure your child has strong paddle hands when trying their scooping or breaststroke arms. The way you know your child’s pull through the water is effective you need to isolate the arms (stop the kick) if they are moving through the water you are half way there. A breaststroke pull is started with arms stretched out in front with their head down, the hands then pull around until the arms are in a ‘scarecrow’ position. The hands need to then come around and ‘shoot’ back to the glide position. Some tips on getting a perfect breaststroke pull One of the most common faults for the pull would be pulling past the body. To stop this place a pool noodle under your child’s arm pits, this way they are unable to come all the way back with their arms. • Use your child’s imagination, we pretend to scoop ice cream then lick it off our hands then place it back in the freezer. This is also a great way to get the children to keep their arms in front of their body. • Ensure your child is finishing in a glide position. We usually add a count of 2 to hold the position and let them think about what needs to happen next • Having children lay on the coffee table or dining table at home with their arms and head off the end and get them to perform the action. The table will ensure their arms can not come all the way back Breaststroke timing Breaststroke timing is probably the hardest bit of the stroke to master. The correct timing for learn to swim breaststroke is Glide, Arms, Breath, Kick, Glide. The breath needs to start as soon as the arms do. The kick happens when the arms get to ‘scarecrow’ then the head needs to be back down before the arms get around for the glide Some tips on breaststroke timing • Have your child repeat the pattern out loud and in their head. Arms, Breath, Kick, Glide -Arms, Breath, Kick, Glide the repetitive song in their head will help them get the actions in the right spots • Slow the whole stroke down and only do one whole stroke. Have the children push from the wall and start with a 3 count glide this way they have a chance to think about what goes first. Then talk them through the actions and stop after the 2nd 3 count glide • Put a noodle under their mid section to help them stay afloat. This will eliminate any sinking feeling when they are doing the timing and will stop any extra frog kicks or freestyle kick • Use different combinations so that they have a chance to think about when the breath needs to come. Some examples of this would be breath every 2nd stroke, 2 arms and 1 kick breathing on the 2nd arm or 2 kicks and 1 arm ensuring the breath comes when the arms go If you have a natural breaststroker it is important that you encourage them to learn breaststroke rather than force the other strokes on them.  Still teach them the other strokes but understand the hardest stroke to learn comes natural to them and for progressions sake it will be best to go with mainly Breaststroke as this is what they will be good at. If your child is not a natural breaststroker starting the elements of breaststroke from the beginning of their learn to swim will help them master the stroke earlier in their swimming career. We hope you have found some of the information helpful. If you have any specific questions regarding your child’s breaststroke progression please feel free to contact us enquiries@aquatots.com.au Or you can join in our next learn to swim/baby swim forum on our Facebook page. These are held the first Thursday of each month. We have our awesome team on hand to answer any questions you may have. Alena Sarri manager Aquatots Swim School Tips and tricks supplied by the award winning team at Aquatots LIKE us on FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/aquatotscanberra VISIT our WEBSITE http://www.aquatots.com.au]]>