They did great
and the cool thing about breathing is that it's actually easier to breathe
right
than it is to breathe wrong. Kids that are breathing wrong, they use more
energy and they have less control and when they learn how to breathe
proper
it's actually easier so they love it. Alright guys today
at practice we started working on breathing. Now an important thing to know
about breathing and this is with most strokes
is that it actually slows you down. You have to add breathing in
freestyle & butterfly
you have to add that in-- it's an extra motion. So you have to make sure that you do it right
So the first thing that I always like to talk about is making sure
that the kids were able to breath out when they're underwater
That's a skill that can be a little bit tricky for some, it sounds like common
sense
until you actually try it and then you realize that you're out of your
element
So when you go underwater your body instinctually wants to hold
onto the air
So it's a little bit hard to 'let it out' for some people. So we start off by
everybody going underwater
breathing out all of the air in their lungs and with the little kids we go down
and sit on the bottom of the pool
and with the bigger kids we'll do it in the deep end
It's real important to have that skill in place if you can be comfortable
taking a full breath and then letting out all of that
air---- while you're underneath the water
then you've got a huge step forward as far as the breathing process
Now the big thing that I like to tell them is to make sure that they have
a sideward motion because the initial response from a lot of
developing swimmers
because it's just the way they've always breathed is that when they go to take their
breath
they'll lift her head forward and that's a big 'No No' when you're talking
about competitive swimming
it actually slows the stroke down tremendously, especially like freestyle
because it's an awkward motion and you're causing an
up-and-down motion when you should be moving forward is rolling to the side
with that breath
So it's a big 'No No' with freestyle with the front crawl
to lift the head forward. So we got rid of that by having them put
their hands on step
and then they were just rolling their head to the side trying to keep
one goggle and one ear in the water
when they take their breath. When their head goes down they're letting out
all of the air in their lungs then they turn their head to the side
take that quick breath
This one is pretty intense
Are you ready? Jordan: MmmHmm
Why didn't the shrimp want to share
his treasure? Jordan: Because he's shellfish
Oohhh...she got it. Oh my gosh!
Did you already know that one? Jordan: Yea Oh that's terrible!
Now the next thing we worked on was with the kickboard. We put them on a kickboard
and a lot of people have probably seen and/or used this
where they have the kick board out in front (you know and they're kicking)
make sure they grab the kick board
by the bottom, on the sides. I know I said in another lesson not to
grab it on the bottom--not like this, you want to grab it on the sides but towards the bottom
so there's enough headspace there. And while kicking
doing 25's, they were working on rolling their
head to the side. It's important with the younger athletes to
make sure you give them something to do
like keeping their ear or one goggle in the water while they're doing this
rather than saying 'Just roll your head to the side' because
there's a lot of gray area in that. While breathing, the more
advanced swimmers
because they're breathing out--all they want to do is when they turn their head
they want actually breathe in. What you don't want to do
is get caught holding your breath in the water. if you're holding your breath when
your head rolls to take that breath inward
you actually will breath out and in
during the same breathing motion and that actually BAD.
Not just is it bad form it will wear your lungs out really quickly
Here's another thing that goes into breathing.
We're talking about just freestyle like front crawl right now. Your head
actually stays still. When you're not taking a breath
you're actually using more energy in order to keep your head still
as your body rolls from side-to-side
while you're doing the stroke. Your head is NOT moving
Right? and the rest of your body is rolling from side-to-side
When you take a breath, all you do is, instead of holding your head still
you're just allowing your head to roll
with your body in order to take a breath. So it's actually easier
to breathe that way and it's faster and more efficient
A big question that some swimmers will have is
'How I breathe in, breathing the fast air?'
that I like to call it, the air that's about it inch to the surface of the water
'How do I breathe that air so close to the water without water going in my mouth?'
Well there's a little bit of physics that goes on behind it. As you're moving
forward
through the water the water is going to be moving past you backwards...right?
But the water is actually lower than you think that it is
when you're moving forward because it bends around your head. It creates a cusp
at the bottom
So the fast air that the fast swimmers
actually breathe is much lower. It's low and it's close to the surface of the water
it's at the bottom of that cusp
that's bending around their head. So it's right here
The fastest swimmers usually only expose half to
a third of their mouth..that's it. That's all they expose and they bring that quick
breath inward
and then they're right back into form with their head down. Those are the faster swimmers
So for developing swimmers it's more of a mental game then it is a physical game
trying to get them to trust where the fast air is that they're trying to
breathe
It's one of those realization things and it's kinda cool when they
realize that because they go from a big head turn
all of a sudden they have a nice little roll that just goes with their body
and they're catching their breath with the side of their mouth. Keeps them in form
and keeps them fast. So that's what we did today
I hope you guys had a great day at your practice
and remember, stay smooth and stay calm
in the water and swimming is not as difficult as it seems or as it looks
I promise you it's not. Once you learn to calm yourself down and accept the
motions
So I hope you guys did good at your practice
If you have any questions or comments please leave those below. If you have any
jokes
that you want me to try on the other coaches, leave one of those below and I'll see how
well it goes
So I will catch you guys tomorrow...BYE
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Good Luck everybody... Take Care