teaching/coaching of breastroke legs

[Unfit]

for several years i've taught beginners breastroke legs and always found that to get the best kick i need to teach them to bring their feet up-out-together. however i don't tell them what to do with their knees (out or in) just let them find what's comfortable. (i get them to do it on the poolside lying on their back, then on their back in the water with a float then on their front etc)

anyway - i now coach some level 7 swimmers and have been told that i need to teach them "up-round" not "up-out-together" as the former makes the timing easier for them to get and results in a more efficent kick.

i'd love some comment from how other teachers/coaches teach breastroke legs.

[Bazza]

I must admit that I remember being taught using the up, out, together method! :D
I don't think it's done me any harm, although I can't comment from a teaching/coaching point of view which is best.

I was horrified when at the pool the other day to see a child being taught breaststroke with a woggle under her armpits. It was obviously to help her stay afloat, but simply resulted in her hips/legs sinking. As a result she was rushing the stroke so as not to disappear under the water altogether. But the teacher seemed more interested in making sure the childs hands were just under the surface, as dropping the hands would cause her to sink. I couldn't help but think to myself that it was probably being done to try and gain some sort of balance.:rolleyes:

Surely this isn't right?

[Unfit]

i agree. that's why i teach them on their back first because they're much more stable and are able to take their time thinking about what their legs are doing rather than staying afloat!

[mammamedley]

I like teaching breaststroke! I first have the swimmers sitting right on the edge of the pool with their hands supporting behind them. Their feet are dangling in the water. I say 'feet to your bum, turn them out and whip together'. I never mention the knees so they don't think to move them and their knees become stable within the whip kick. Using a woggle on their backs is good again using the 'saying' all the time. I also get the swimmers to do vertical breaststroke kick and if they face a wall it can stabalize the knees (they cannot pull their knees up).

I do use a woggle on their front to stop their arms from pulling too far below their chest.

Our biggest problem in our area is local lessons teaching only breaststroke with a wedge kick. We get many children joining our lessons that may swim 50m breaststroke with their head up but cannot go underwater or float on their backs. However this area has produced some fast young breaststrokers!