Breaststroke is the most technical stroke. Frog kick. Sweep arm pull. Glide. The kick and arms have to work in alternating rhythm: pull-kick-glide. This drill builds each piece separately, then combines them.
What you need: A pool, kickboard, optional pull buoy.
Setup: Swimmer in the shallow end.
How to run it:
- Kick only with kickboard: frog kick. Legs out wide, then snap together. Glide. Repeat.
- Pull only with pull buoy: arms sweep out wide, then in toward the chest, then forward to streamline. Glide.
- Combine: pull, kick, glide. The pull starts. The kick happens during the glide. Long glide between cycles.
- Do 4 lengths with rest.
- Focus on the glide. A short glide means rushed timing.
What to watch: The frog kick. The legs have to come out wide and snap back together (like a frog’s legs). Bicycle kicks don’t generate power.
If they’re struggling: Just do the kick on a kickboard. Build the kick before adding arms.
If they’ve got it: Time the lengths. Or add a flip turn at the end.