It is important to develop good timing, technique and rhythm in butterfly over shorter distances before attempting any longer swims.
To swim BUTTERFLY fast you need to start with the correct technique.
QUESTION: Hi Gary, What is the best way to improve my daughters reaction time off the blocks, she is 10yrs old and seems to be overly cautious when doing her starts Regards Diane ANSWER: Hi Diane, There are a number of different ways that children can improve their starts. The first way is […]
QUESTION: Dear Gary, Could you please tell me why the flip-turn is not used in the breaststroke and butterfly? It seems strange to me, because the flip-turn seems more fluid and more fun to watch. Thanks… Wayne ANSWER: Hi Wayne, What a great question. I agree with your suggestion and have no doubt that sometime […]
QUESTION: Gary, Fantastic site, thanks for all your tips. Both my 10yr old boy and 5yr old girl practice fly using your stages technique. I have a question. My 10yr old boy wants to enter a 400IM at his County Championships in March 2014. He can swim a 200IM in 3:25 and 100IM in 1:28. […]
QUESTION: Hi Gary Can you please explain the reason why you use flippers when training? And is it better with flippers or with out? Anne ANSWER: Hi Anne, There are many reasons why flippers are used in swimming. These can be summarised as follows: Using flippers will improve a swimmers body position and their technique. When […]
QUESTION: Hi there! Please can you share your opinion of the age at which a child should start training in the Butterfly stroke. We have heard of children suffering from back problems later in life due to the fact that their little bodies are not able to adjust to a strong stroke like Butterfly during […]
QUESTION: Hi, I have a 10 year old boy who is quite a strong swimmer. In training he can easily complete 100m butterfly but he refuses to do it in competition. The 100m fly was on the club night program this week and he refused to swim it. We are not sure how to approach […]
Now I am going to disclose that I know Ian Pope quite well and in fact was his roomie at the Trials when he made his first Olympic Swim Team as a coach in 2000 for the Sydney Olympics. It was a very exciting time for Ian. I have admired Ian’s ability to work with […]
QUESTION: Hi Gary, I have learnt both breaststroke and freestyle for recreational and health reasons since 2010. In fact, swimming is a very effective sport to cure my knee pain and arthritis. I am 50 years old and have intention to learn butterfly. What is your advice and how should I do it progressively? Regards, […]
QUESTION: Hi Gary, My daughter 13 years old swims regularly for 6 sessions for 2 hours each session. Mostly the coach gives her sprints in freestyle to develop her speed. Her main stroke is butterfly. She does as drill once a week. During competitions she could not give best time in Butterfly. For the past one […]
I was talking with 12 year old boy swimmer about 4 weeks ago and he was explaining to me how he had been getting really frustrated. He felt that he trained harder than some of their team mates however they always seemed to swim faster. I asked him to send me a video of himself swimming each stroke for me […]
