Eliminating Excessive Head Rotation in Freestyle with Champagne

Too much head rotation when you are doing either Freestyle or Backstroke is a very common fault that can cause all sorts of issues when you are swimming; inexperienced swimmers as well as beginners. Unfortunately, it can also be very persistent and sometimes difficult to eliminate.

Too Much Head Roll by Feel For The Water

I am always on the lookout for different methods to help swimmers recognize what they are doing and eliminate the fault.

It's a little easier to fix in backstroke as all you have to do is get the swimmer to swim with a half-full plastic or polystyrene cup on their heads. It's not the easiest thing to do but it is fun and when mastered tends to fix a number of backstroke faults. This solution, however, does not work with freestyle.

Wait... Get Your Lesson Plans Here

With freestyle, unlike backstroke, there is no flat surface, like the forehead, to rest the cup on. Not to mention the cap or hair or goggles or snorkel getting in the way. So you have to visualize. That is, you have to imagine the cup being there.

This article gives a clear description of the process. Using champagne of all things.

Enjoy
   Richard