LTS Staff Training # 5 Teaching Freestyle/Freestyle positioning Techniques LTS Instructor Assessment Teacher Questionnaire Part 1 From the DVD Positioning Techniques by Steve Haufler Instructor: Date: Note to teacher: This series of dvd s we are using are not EXACTLY how we do things at H 2 O, however, the techniques Steve uses are EXACTLY how Anita teaches and wants all of our teachers to adopt these methods so we are teaching consistently. We have a reputation for great teaching and adopting all of these methods will elevate you and our swim school to an even higher level. In the introduction, Steve makes a comment that forms the basis of my teaching philosophy and that should be yours. That is, with correct hands on holding, stabilizing and manipulating, (Kinesthetic teaching) the swimmer should only experience the CORRECT way of doing and feeling activities so no bad habits develop. This speeds up the learning process. In other words, the more you allow a swimmer to practice uncorrected, the more bad habits they pick up and the longer it will take each successive teacher in the programme to teach that swimmer as invariably they will need to CORRECT errors, rather than just simply teach. Steve uses a 3 step process for each of the fundamentals that underpin the strokes. These fundamentals include A balanced body position Kicking and Breathing To develop balance, swimmers first need to learn to float. The easiest float for learners to master is a wide shaped starfish float which we use in our beginner levels. Like a barge, a wide shape is more stable as it spreads distributes weight over a greater surface area. However, it also has the downside of being highly resistant hence, like a barge, is not an efficient or fast way to move through water. We want to develop body shapes that act more like a super maxi yacht, like those that race in the America s Cup. The longer and sleeker the vessel, the faster it goes, however it becomes less stable and tips over more easily, unless it is balanced and in the sweet spot. Body shape (vessel shaping) then, is EVERYTHING in developing efficient, relaxed swimmers. This is why I am so fanatical on perfecting the art of the streamline. Ideal Horizontal Aquatic Posture (toes pointed) Vertical Arrow indicates direction of eyes Horizontal Blue Line represents water surface and unicorn horn image indicating direction of travel Current swimming theory relies heavily on aligning the spine in what is known as the correct Aquatic Body Posture which differs slightly from land based posture. On land, our natural posture gives our spine a gentle curve or lordosis (back arch) and kyphosis (rounding). However in water, we want the top line of the swimmer to be flatter. ALL 4 strokes therefore require what is known as a neutral head position, which aligns the neck with the spine. When correcting strokes, head position is THE single most important aspect to get right before anything else can work properly. What s more, over years of swimming potentially over a lifetime, swimming with the head even slightly out of alignment can result in neck and shoulder injuries in years to come. Teachers rarely see the net result of incorrect technique as they usually don t have swimmers for any real length of time. It is not usually until a swimmer has progressed into squad that these issues start developing. To prevent this from happening and with a duty of care to our students, we MUST perfect correct head position. 1
Teacher Questionnaire #5 Q #1 What does Steve consider to be the single more important concept in the teaching of swimming? Q #2. Give an example from the DVD. Q#3 What is Steve s Goal in Teaching and why? Q#4 What is this style of teaching called? Q#5 What does he do to ensure success? 2
Q#6 Steve cites his 10 habits of effective teaching that he tries to apply to every student at every lesson. His first habit is to teach one-on-one as swimmers learn better and faster with your undivided attention. In the H 2 O program what strategies can you employ to ensure each child gets individual attention within a group setting? Q#7 List the remaining 9 habits and explain why each is important Q #8. In the above diagram, where should a swimmer s eyes look to get the head into a neutral position?. Q #9. Describe the ideal Aquatic Body Posture position as shown with the little girl in the in this video. (Note slight difference, at H2O please have them pointing straight ahead!) Q#10. Describe the 3 step process Steve uses to teach the kick. Make sure you say what Cue Words he also uses 3
TEACHING TIP #1 In the above sequence in the first step the swimmer was kicking holding the wall. If the child s body drifts sideways it is because the lower hand needs to be directly beneath the top hand. Children who struggle with this can use a back bubble with both hands holding the edge instead. Holding the edge as if they were holding a kickboard allows the teacher to perfect arms, body, head and breathing technique keeping close control on the technique, prior to working on the propulsive aspect on the kickboard. Q #11. Notice in stage 1, kick on the wall he limits the range of motion (ROM), the depth of the kick and the amount of separation of the legs. How? Q #12. Steve uses a 3 step sequence to teach breathing. Prior to a swimmer being as competent as in the DVD, we would use a variety of bubble blowing drills all leading to a swimmer having great breath control. Steve believes there is one main skill in breathing that kids should master so swimming is enjoyable and not unpleasant. What is it? Q #13. Describe in as much detail as possible the first and second step breathing drill he shows. Include his positioning technique and any cue words used. 4
Q #14 At what level will you be teaching this series of exercises in our programme? TEACHING TIP #2 Note at H2O we teach all swimmers to breathe to the right side in Beginner C as they will learn to breathe to the left as part of their drill progressions at the higher levels and will ultimately be taught Bilateral breathing as the preferred method for balancing muscle development and to develop an even stroke. We aim to perfect one side first. Q #15 He then reviews his 2 step progression to teach the breathing with the arm pull. He was very specific about not letting the pulling arm start by holding the board, rather off to the side. Why? Q #16. In this sequence he begins to teach a bent arm pull which we teach later on in our levels. At what level, in the H2O progression, would this drill be appropriate? His method for teaching no breath Freestyle that also corrects arm crossover is a GREAT drill and one I use all the time on both Freestyle and Backstroke but at higher levels. I would question using this with our lower levels as it looks like you are preventing the kids from taking a breath. It does promote a very still head position as well, so should be used with caution. Q #17 What do you think you might need to be aware of, to ensure it is successfully applied, and at what levels? The Next Module will cover Backstroke Positioning Techniques. 5