Learn How To Crawl
15 meters crawl with correct side breathing. You must breathe at least once on both sides over the 15 meters. The interchangeable impact is clearly visible for the entire 15 meters and contributes to the overall drive. The crawl style learned in this exercise is still an initial form and will be constantly improved in the upcoming courses.
Prerequisite exercises:
Please read the Safety notes before you start.
Preparatory exercises
shark fin
The shark exercise is similar to the swordfish. The only difference is that the back arm is set up like a shark fin with every breath (see picture). As soon as the face is back in the water, the arm is also back in its previous position.
This exercise trains the coordination between crawl and breathing. When crawling, the lateral breath starts as soon as the arm leaves the water at the back and is finished when the arm dives in front.
dog paddling
The child swims with straight arms and a change of impact as a stimulus. The hands are not one above the other but shoulder-width apart. Then the forearm of the left arm moves to the chest. The upper arm and elbow remain in their previous position and the other arm remains extended. On the way to the chest, the palm is directed backwards so that the water can be displaced backwards. The forearm then returns to its old extended position and the other arm does the same. This is always done alternately for at least ten meters.
In this exercise, the elbow position is practiced for crawling. When an arm dives forward during crawl removal, only the forearm bends backwards at first and the elbow stays in place. Only when the forearm is at right angles to the upper arm does it also descend. Alternatively, you could pull with an extended arm. However, this would result in all the force and water displacement going downwards and not backwards at the beginning of the underwater phase. This creates no drive and a lot of power is wasted. Elbow rest isn't incredibly important at this level, but it's good if the kids have dealt with it before.
Crawl with Pull Buoy
The child gets a pull buoy or a board between the legs and then crawls at least ten meters without hitting the leg.
With the Pull Buoy, the child can focus on the arm pull and find out exactly how to position the arm and hand in order to move as quickly as possible in the water.
Common mistakes
Breathing forward
Unfortunately, you experience time and time again that, despite all preparation, your breathing is still moving forward. If your child is still making this mistake, you should first make sure that they understand that they should breathe on their side. If the problem is definitely not due to communication, you should repeat the swordfish again and then perform the “shark fin” exercise listed above.
Too hectic
Some children tend to row their arms wildly. This usually destroys the water situation and arm pull/respiratory coordination. One possible exercise would be slow-motion swimming. Tell your child to only move their arms very slowly and put all their energy into blowing their legs. Alternatively, you can also deprive the child of his energy by letting him swim far beforehand. That sounds a bit mean, but sometimes tired swimmers are better swimmers. When they run out of strength, they have to be a force efficient. Of course, it is important to find the right mediocrity.
