Coach-Ed Swimming
Fault Correction
Breaststroke

Body Position
 

Fault Effect On Stroke Correction
1. Head too high.
  • Hips and legs drop  lower than necessary.
  • Increase in profile drag effect.
  • Head lift synchronised with arm sweep.
  • Minimum amount, in order to inhale.
  • Maintain water-line/hair-line relationship beyond this.
  • Surface prone Push and Glide practices.
  • Float assisted legs-only practices.
  • Extended arm - leg practices with breathing.
  • Full stroke - emphasis on head position.
 
2. Head too low.
  • Feet break the surface.
  • Danger of disqualification in competition.
  • All corrections as above.
3. Bobbing - caused by over-flexing hips, incorrect timing, lifting head excessively.
  • Wastage of energy.
  • Increase in profile drag.
  • Attention to leg kick (see Leg Action faults).
  • Attention to timing/co-ordination.
  • Corrections as in Fault 1.
 
4. Shoulders not parallel with water surface.
  • Tendency towards side stroke.
  • One shoulder dropped.
  • Tendency to screw-kick.
  • Danger of disqualification during competition.
  • Attention to Arm Stroke and its symmetrical movement (see Arm Action faults).
  • Breathing practices: swimmer may be attempting to avoid oncoming waves and turning head (see Breathing faults).
 

Leg Action (Recovery)
 

Fault Effect On Stroke Correction
1. Excessive flexion of hips.
  • Knees move to position vertically below hips, or beyond.
  • Bobbing takes place.
  • Excessive profile drag created.
  • Attention to extent of thigh recovery.
  • Inverted breaststroke legs-only practices with float.
  • Prone legs-only practices with float.
  • Emphasis on knee bend rather than hip flexion.
2. Excessive thigh abduction (knees too wide apart). 
  • Excessive strain on abductor muscles during propulsive phase.
  • Slight increase in profile drag. 
 
  • Emphasis on narrow kick.
  • From behind, thighs making an approx. angle of 60 degrees with each other or knees approx. shoulder width apart.
  • Inverted breaststroke legs-only practices with float.
  • Prone legs-only practices with float.
 
3. Asymmetric movement.
  • Tendency towards asymmetric kick.
  • Disqualification during competition.
 
  • Leg practices at the rail with emphasis on slow symmetrical recovery.
  • Set up circular heel movement at a constant speed.
  • Distinguish between slow recovery and higher-rated kick.
  • Proceed to supine and prone float-assisted practices.
 
4. Failure to rotate the feet outward and dorsi-flex at the end of recovery.
  • Failure to develop the sculling action with the soles of the feet.
  • Visual demonstration.
  • Partner assistance at the rail: partner holds swimmer's feet and positions them correctly, i.e., rotates both feet outward and presses them towards the related shin.
  • Handrail leg practices by numbers, then continual emphasis of the 'preparation-for-kick' position.
  • Float-assisted leg practices supine/prone.
 
5. Insufficient recovery, i.e., failure to position the heels near enough to the seat prior to the kick.
  • Loss of power.
  • Poolside sitting exercises: emphasis on bringing the heels near to the seat during recovery.
  • Handrail exercises, partner-assisted or free moving.
  • Proceed through the logical leg-action practice sequences.
 
6. Feet breaking water surface.
  • Loss of power.
  • Float assisted practices with emphasis on the body position, and keeping feet submerged.
  • Full-stroke practices keeping head elevated  sufficiently to enable feet to remain submerged.
 
7. Asymmetric recovery: legs not recovering together or in the same lateral plane.*
  • Creating screw-kick.
  • Loss of power.
  • Danger of disqualification during competition.
  • Handrail practices slowly and rhythmically, then gradually speeding up the practices.
  • Partner assistance by holding and manipulating both feet correctly.
  • Proceed through logical sequence of leg practices, returning to handrail practices if necessary.

*Rectification of this particular fault requires considerable patience, dedication and concentration from both the teacher and the pupil-swimmer.

Leg Action (Propulsion)
 

Fault Effect On Stroke Correction
1. Asymmetric movement (screw-kick).
  • Loss of propulsion.
  • Danger of disqualification from competition.

    •  
  • All as corrections for Leg Action (Recovery) Fault 7.
Bear in mind that the fault is sometimes impossible to cure in the time available.
2. Pushing feet directly backwards with an inward and circular whip. 
  • Considerable loss of propulsion.
  • Movement too rapid - swimmer tends to jerk.
  • Demonstrate the effectiveness of pushing feet directly backwards as compared with whipping action.
  • All as corrections for Leg Action (Recovery) Fault 7.
3. Allowing the feet to drop too low in the water.
  • Decreased effectiveness of the leg kick.
  • Closely allied with previous faults.
  • As above.
4. Failure to dorsi-flex the feet - usually an adult beginner method of kick due to lack of flexibility.
  • Loss of propulsion.
  • Propulsion developed by fronts of feet instead of soles.
  • All as corrections for Leg Action (Recovery) Fault 4.
5. Straightening the legs before they are abducted.
  • Loss of propulsion.
  • Demonstration and explanation of whip-kick theory and ineffectiveness of wedge-kick.
  • Logical sequence of float-assisted practices to full-stroke movements.
 
6. Failure to close legs together and attain fully stretched position.
  • Loss of streamlining.
  • Increase in resistance to forward momentum.
  • Legs-only float-assisted practices concentrating on streamlining aspect.

Arm Action (Catch) 'Outsweep-Catch'
 

Fault Effect On Stroke Correction
1. Hands directed sideways.
  • Catch is effective (ie, pressure is built up on hand and lower arm),but in being directed sideways the propulsive is ineffective.
  • Wrists must commence movement by being slightly flexed.
  • Movement must be side/back and down.
  • Arm practices in shallow end, emphasis on initial movement.
2. Hands directed directly downwards.
  • As above but directed downwards.
  • Head and shoulders tend to bob up and down.
  • As above.
3. Hands too near surface to begin with.
  • Excessive water disturbance and turbulent drag.
  • Loss of power.
  • Commence catch with hands approx. 75mm below water surface.
  • Practice as above.
4. Fingers apart: this fault and correction is applicable throughout the propulsive movement phase.
  • Catch will be ineffective and prolonged.
  • Subsequent arm movement will be less effective.
  • Shallow-water practices with emphasis on fingers together.
  • On to full-stroke practices.

Arm Action (Propulsion) 'Downsweep-insweep'
 

  • Fault
    		•  Effect On Stroke Correction
    1. Hands directed sideways and parallel with water surface.
    • Sweep becomes shorter.
    • Increased profile drag at the end of the sweep.
    • Probable water-surface disturbance - wasted energy.
    • Failure to lift the body and head for breathing cycle.
    • Sweep probably beyond the shoulder plane.
    • Sweep directed excessively sideways rather than back.

      •  
    • Shallow water practices: concentration on correct outwards, downwards and backwards movement.
    • To full-stroke practices.
    2. Sweeping too steeply, continuation of Catch(2).
    • Head-and-shoulders bobbing motion.
    • Shortened sweep.
    • Correction as above.
    3. Elbows dropped.
    • Sweep ineffective.
    • Loss of power due to slipping.
    • Correction as for Fault 1.
    • Elbows should always be above the hands.
    • Emphasis on sweep with flexed wrists.
    4. Sweeping beyond the shoulder plane.
    • Longer sweep, but recovery is subsequently longer and more resistive.
    • Removal of forward body balancing forces, hence head and shoulders drop.
    • Rhythm of stroke disturbed.
    • Overall loss of power.
    • Shallow-water practices, emphasis on keeping hands in front of shoulders at the end of the sweep:'keep hands in sight all the time'.
    • Full-stroke practices: speed up whole movement so as not to allow the longer sweep to take place.
    5. Uneven sweep (tendency towards side-stroking action) usually associated with fear of facing forward and incorrect breathing technique.
    • Swimmer tends to swim slightly on the side rather than on the front.
    • One shoulder drops - interference with leg movement.
    • Danger of disqualification during competition.
    • Shallow-water practices, introducing breathing sequence.
    • Full-stroke practices with breathing and a glide.
    • Emphasis on keeping shoulders square and sweep symmetrical.

    Arm Action (Recovery)
     

    Fault Effect On Stroke Correction
    1. Elbows too wide.
    • Increased profile drag and consequent wastage of energy.
    • Shallow-water practices with emphasis on tucking the elbows in at the end of the sweep.
    • Full-stroke practices.
    2. Hands not directed forward i.e., inclined upwards rather than flat and streamlined, sometimes on the water surface.
    • Increased (dynamic) drag and consequent wastage of energy.
    • Usually accompanied by forward-directed splash.
    • Full-stroke practices with hands in a flat and forward-directed mode during recovery.
    • No water disturbance; hands below surface throughout.
    3. Hands too wide (shoulder-width) when being swept forward and when recovery is completed.
    • Disturbs the streamlining effects which are present when the thumbs are together.
    • Full-stroke practices with emphasis on 'thumb touching'recovery.
    • Emphasise glide in streamlined position.
    4. Recovery not fully completed and too low.
    • Usually a circular or 'beginners' arm action with no forward stretch.
    • When too low, swimmer tends to sweep up and back rather than down and back. Tends to sink shoulders rather than lift them.
    • Shallow-water practices with emphasis on recovery just below water surface into fully stretched position.
    • Full-stroke practices starting the catch higher in the water.

    Breathing
     

    Fault Effect On Stroke Correction
    1. Breath-holding - may be due to fear of the water.
    • Swimmer quickly fatigued.
    • Breathing discipline to be adopted: in through the mouth, out through the mouth and nose.
    • Return to shallow-water and float-assisted practices.
    2. Failure to breathe owing to head being held too low or tilted forward(allied to Fault 1).
     
    • As above.
    • As above.

    Further Reading

    Coach-Ed.

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