Release Points

Yesterday I talked to the swimmers about releasing the water. I emphasized the finish of the stroke for awhile now because of the lack of extension in the arm, but now I talked about that once you have pushed the water past the hips, you don't keep trying to push, but release the water and rise the elbow with the arm relaxed.

We did a drill where the swimmer will pull one hand back and end up in a side kick position, then they will rise the elbow without forcing the hand. They will stop in a shark fin position, and then the elbow will go back down, so the arm is back to a side kick position. The elbow will rise again, but this time they will continue to rotate the elbow forward and extend the hand as the lead hand pulls back and repeats what the previous arm did. I called it up-back-and full drill. The concentrate is to relax the arm during the recovery. They need to be able to release the water at the arm extension and relax.

Backstroke finish is done with a down press, like the swimmer is going to throw a ball to the bottom of the pool. There is then a release of the water and relax in the forearm, as the hand turns slightly, the shoulder will rise the arm out of the water relaxed. This release will help relax the arm so the shoulder rises the arm up quickly.

Butterfly is the one I emphasize all the time, as the force of the finish messes with timing so much. I normally talk about slicing out from the belly button, but in reality it is a release of the water and the force is to get the arms just above the surface and not to bring the water up with the hands. This release technique I emphasize a lot, and I have seen great progression in my flyers, so I am hoping emphasizing the the release on the other strokes will develop these strokes as much as I have seen from butterfly in my group.