Freestyle is the fastest and most efficient of the 4 competitive swimming strokes. It is often the first stroke learnt by young children and is used by swimming coaches in practice. Below you will find a variety of videos including a section on understanding freestyle and many different drills you can use in your program.
Understanding Freestyle
It is important for coaches to have a good understanding of all the different aspects of freestyle before moving onto the drills below.
Freestyle Stroke Model
Being able to model perfect technique is an important aspect of stroke development and correction.
Freestyle Drills
Body Position Drills
These body position drills will set swimmers up to have the best chance to swim freestyle efficiently. These should be used regularly throughout a swimmers career regardless of what level they are swimming at.
Freestyle Drill 1 – Push & glide along surface with arms extended
Freestyle Drill 2 – Push & glide along surface with hands by hips
Freestyle Drill 3 – Push & glide along surface with arms extended & freestyle kick
Freestyle Drill 4 – Push & glide along surface with hands by hips & freestyle kick
Freestyle Drill 5 – Kicking with hands by hips with half rotation & hold
Rotation Drills
These drills will assist swimmers to develop the rotation required to swim freestyle effectively. The head should remain still unless it is turning to breathe.
Freestyle Drill 6 – 6 kicks change rotation with hands by hips
Freestyle Drill 7 – 6 kicks hold then rotate with hands by hips
Freestyle Drill 8 – Continuous rotation drill with freestyle kick & hands by hips
Freestyle Drill 9 – Continuous rotation drill breathing every 3rd rotation
Freestyle Drill 10 – Continuous rotation drill breathing every 4th rotation
Single Arm Drills
Single arm drills provide swimmers with the opportunity to focus on one side of their body and to ensure that arm is doing the stroke correctly. These drills will also enable the swimmer to work on breathing at the correct time in relation to their arm stroke.
Freestyle Drill 11 – Single arm with hand entry under board
Freestyle Drill 12 – Single arm with resting arm extended, no breathing
Freestyle Drill 13 – Single arm with resting arm extended, breathing every 2nd stroke
Freestyle Drill 14 – Single arm with resting arm by side, no breathing
Freestyle Drill 15 – Single arm with resting arm by side, breathing every 2nd stroke
Freestyle Drill 16 – Single arm with both arms by side, rotation with half recovery
Freestyle Drill 17 – Single arm with both arms by side, rotation with half recovery 2 times then 1 complete stroke with breath
Combination Drills
These combination drills are quite popular with coaches of high performing swimmers. They are also used for junior and age group swimmers and can help improve technique, timing and coordination.
Freestyle Drill 18 – 4 rotations then 4 strokes, breathing only on the 4th stroke, repeating
Freestyle Drill 19 – Opposite side breathing, 2 single, 2 double combination
Freestyle Drill 20 – 6 kick change with 1 stroke
Freestyle Drill 21 – 6 kick change with 3 strokes, breathing on 3rd stroke
Freestyle Drill 22 – 2 half recoveries then 3 strokes, no breathing
Timing Drills
These drills will help with improving the timing in freestyle.
Freestyle Drill 23 – Opposite arms timing drill
Freestyle Drill 24 – Opposite arms timing drill into freestyle swimming
Freestyle Drill 25 – Fists closed
Freestyle Drill 26 – Fists closed to open
Freestyle Drill 27 – Hand resistance recovery
Connection Drill
These drills will help with improving the connection with the water in freestyle.
Freestyle Drill 28 – 4 strokes with broken wrists then 4 strokes with firm wrists, repeat
Power Drill
These drills will help with improving power in freestyle.
Freestyle Drill 29 – 4 strokes head up, 4 strokes head down, repeat
Common Faults
Freestyle Fault 1 – Crossover on Entry
Freestyle Fault 2 – Hand Entry Too Close to Head
Freestyle Fault 3 – Over-extension Before Hand Entry
Freestyle Fault 4 – Lack of Limb Control for Propulsive Connection
Freestyle Fault 5 – High Head Position
Freestyle Fault 6 – Over-Emphasis on High Elbow Recovery
Freestyle Fault 7 – Lifting Head to Breathe
Freestyle Fault 8 – Poor Arm Timing
Freestyle Fault 9 – Disconnected and Ineffective Kick
Freestyle Fault 10 – Incorrect Arm Timing
Freestyle Fault 11 – Breathing Too Late
Freestyle Fault 12 – Breathing Too Early
Freestyle eBook
Turns
The freestyle tumble turn is the fastest and most common method to turn at the end of each lap in freestyle.
Freestyle Turn – Video & Explanation