How to Teach Butterfly Timing to an Age Group Swimmer
Welcome back! I had a great swim lesson the other day, where I came up with a new phrase to describe Butterfly Timing to an Age Group Swimmer and I immediately felt like I needed to share it with y’all. As swim coaches, we know that teaching Butterfly to Age Group Swimmers can be extremely challenging. The Butterfly stroke requires a lot of strength and endurance to complete, but that doesn’t make it impossible. Let’s break down how to teach Butterfly Timing to an Age Group Swimmer now!
Let’s get started!
Traditionally, I always talk about the two kicks required in the Butterfly stroke. I’ve heard plenty of coaches describe those kicks and their timing as, ‘kick the hands in’ and ‘kick the hands out’. While this is a good place to start, it’s not entirely true about where the second kick is placed. The second kick should happen right before the elbows start to extend and as the hands pass by a swimmer’s belly button.
We’ve all seen that Butterfly where the components are there, but the timing is just not right. The stroke itself looks a little funky and that’s because the second kick’s timing if off. Check it out below:
The incorrect timing of the second kick causes what truly is more of a ‘hiccup’ in the Butterfly stroke and takes away some of the flow.
Swimmers can also have the complete opposite of this as well, which is little to no second kick visible. This is one of the most common mistakes I’ve seen in Butterfly and ironically, it’s way more common with female athletes than males too! Check it out below:
The timing of these kicks are super important for all swimmers, because it keeps the beat of their Butterfly stroke going. They need to have efficient and fast kicks to propel their body forward – without them, this stroke gets tiring really fast.
How Do We Fix Incorrect Butterfly Timing?
This is where my new coaching cue comes in! I started saying the other day to the first athlete above, that it is a kick and then, a pull + kick. They always kick first, pull second, and kick third. The goal being the time between the kick and pull + kick pieces are like books stacked on a bookshelf – right beside each other.
The key component that this coaching cue does is it puts the pull happening before the second kick. This also helps swimmers avoid taking two kicks at the top of the stroke and then, pulling and recovering their body with no help of their legs.
And guess what? This cue works. I did it with two athletes back to back – both with different timing issues and BAM, they were golden.
Conclusion:
Next time you’re at the pool try it out with one of your athletes and let us know how it goes. I may end up making a youtube video on this as well – describing this concept how I would to an athlete. And as a heads up, we have a great course on Butterfly for coaches and a training plan for swimmers on Butterfly – if you’re looking for more help!
Happy Training!
Sincerely,
Abbie Fish