Learn Freestyle Breathing
At least 10 meters of flutter kick with side breathing. One arm is stretched forward, while the other rests alongside the body. Throughout the exercise, side breathing is performed at least three times. Each side breath involves a shoulder rotation. This exercise helps develop proper freestyle breathing technique.
Preparation Exercises
Rotation with pull buoy
The child holds a pull buoy or a kickboard in their hands. The body is fully extended, and propulsion comes from flutter kicks. The child then rotates from a prone position onto their back and, after a few meters, back onto their stomach. The exercise is performed over 10-15 meters with at least four rotations. This exercise trains shoulder rotation, which is a crucial factor for proper side breathing. It can also be performed with a kickboard, which requires even stronger shoulder rotation to turn the entire board, making the exercise even more effective.
Flutter kick in side position
The child lies on their side in the water. The body should be as parallel to the pool wall as possible, not just slightly rotated. One arm is extended forward, while the other arm rests alongside the body. The mouth and nose should remain above the water on the side throughout the exercise, with the head resting on the extended arm. This exercise teaches the correct body position for freestyle breathing. Ensure that your child’s extended hand stays at the water's surface. It’s easy to let the forward arm drop during this exercise, but this is a mistake. The hand must remain as extended as possible at the water's surface.
Freestyle kick
The child swims 25 meters using the freestyle kick with arms resting along their sides, breathing forward as an exception. This exercise focuses on building strength and endurance for the freestyle kick. The kick is crucial for longer distances as it provides stability and rhythm to the swimming technique.
Häufige Fehler
Breathing on the side without rotation.
Many children understand that side breathing is essential for this exercise, but they fail to realize that it requires shoulder rotation. As a result, they attempt to breathe by tilting their head to the side without rotating their body, often lifting their head forward slightly and twisting unnaturally to the side. This posture looks awkward and, over time, can harm the spine. Clear communication is crucial here. If the child has successfully completed the preparatory exercises multiple times, they should already have the ability to rotate their body. For this reason, emphasizing the importance of shoulder rotation cannot be repeated often enough.
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Breathing forward
Many children struggle to understand the need for shoulder rotation. Additionally, they are accustomed to breathing forward from previous exercises, such as the "motorboat" drill. This mistake often stems from poor communication, as children may not grasp that side breathing is the key element of the exercise. For this reason, emphasizing the importance of side breathing cannot be repeated enough. Alternatively, it could simply be that they are unable to perform it correctly yet. In such cases, the previously mentioned exercises can help.
