Developing ‘feel’ for water

The biggest challenge for the adult swimmers we see in our program is developing "feel" for the water.

That's so important, of course, in all facets of swimming. But where it becomes an issue in freestyle is when athletes are unable to develop an effective catch and a solid grip on the water.

I use what I call a Hinge Drill Progression to help swimmers understand the mechanics of "holding water."

We begin with the "double hinge," simply making the initial high elbow catch. We'll place both palms on the deck while in shallow water. Then the athlete rotates the elbow out and up while keeping the fingertips on the deck.

Then, we'll mimic that shape with head down in the water, while standing.

Snorkel and fins are excellent for the next steps:

• Double-arm hinge, slowly moving the arm down and up into and out of the catch shape while kicking with fins for propulsion. You can see Coach Meaghan demonstrating in the video.

• Single-arm hinge, slowly moving only one arm into an early vertical forearm catch and then returning to position 11 before repeating with the other arm. Again, a steady kick is your propulsion.

• Finally, try “stop and pull.” Make a shape as in the single-arm hinge, stop for a second, then complete the pull backward. Alternate from one arm to the other. FINER POINT: Can you feel as the pressure moves from the top of your forearm when it is “stopped,” to the underside of your forearm as you “pull’? You are turning frontal drag into reverse drag, i.e., force!

I also intersperse sculling with the hinge sequence. That helps the swimmer understand what the desired outcome of a strong catch feels like on their palm and forearms.

Try out the sequence if you get a chance!