(1.) BREASTSTROKE PULL – FLUTTER KICK – The swimmers should pull breaststroke while doing a rapid flutter kick. This drill is good for increasing turnover. The swimmers should emphasize fast hands and fast feet.
(2.) ELBOW SQUEEZE DRILL – The swimmers should swim 25s concentrating on squeezing their elbows together in front of their chests. They should shrug their shoulders in order to lift the body high out of the water and to speed up recovery.
(3.) HALF-PULL BREASTSTROKE – The swimmers do a half pull so that their arms stay in front and are fast from the end of the up sweep to the end of recovery. This is a good drill to prevent over-pulling.
(4.) HAND SPEED DRILL – Have the swimmers swim with their hands laced together and fully extended. They should bounce their hands off their chests and recover as quickly as possible. The swimmers should bounce their hands off their chests three times along with doing one kick with a two-count glide. The fourth time they should pull, kick, and glide to a count of two.
(5.) SCULLING PROGRESSION DRILL – The first step is to have the swimmers scull while upright in deep water. Next, have them scull on their stomachs with their hands out in front. They should start narrow and progress to wider sculling. Then, while still on their stomachs and with their elbows up and forward, they should scull their hands in and out quickly and up underneath their chin. The sculling should resemble windshield wipers. This drill can be used to help the swimmers feel the sculling action of the stroke. (Kathy McKee – D.S.C.)
(6.) 3 PULLS/1 KICK or 2 PULLS/1 KICK – The swimmers legs should remain straight during the pulls. They should concentrate on a strong pull. (Edinboro University)
(7.) 3 PULLS – 3 WHOLE STROKES – During the three pulls, the swimmers should not kick at all, letting their legs drag behind them. This drill helps to reinforce the carry-over between drills and the whole stroke. (Edinboro University)
(8.) 4 KICKS UNDERWATER/1 ON TOP – The swimmers should take four kicks underwater before surfacing to take one kick on top of the water. The swimmers should maintain a tight streamline position during the entire drill. They should take a breath when they come to the surface for the one kick on top.
(9.) KICKING ON YOUR BACK – Have the swimmers kick on their backs with their hands either at their side or extended in a streamline position. Their knees should remain underwater throughout the kick and they should concentrate on a good glide. This drill allows the swimmers to quickly realize if they are pulling their knees up instead of pulling their feet back to their rear-ends. This is also a good stretch for the upper quads after a hard set.
(10.) MULTIPLES DRILL – Have the swimmers take two or three pullouts off of each wall. This drill is great for fast 25s or 50s or as a part of longer sets.
