QUESTION:
My daughter is 11 years old. She has been swimming competitively for three years. She recently started bobbing extremely doing her backstroke. (Her head goes under) I don`t know what suggestions to give her. I know it is slowing her down in her times. She is frustrated.
Thank you
Chantal
ANSWER:
Hi Chantal,
Generally if a swimmer is bobbing up and down in backstroke, it means that they are pushing their hand down towards the bottom of the pool when they begin pulling through and then their body drops back down into the water until the next arm stroke pushes the body high again and then they drop down again. This results in an up and down motion.
To reduce the amount of bobbing up and down, your daughter needs to make sure that she is pulling around the side of her body a bit more and that the back of her hand faces in the direction she wants to swim… forwards. This will reduce the up and down motion and the bobbing.
Let me know how she goes?
Regards
Gary
The Swimming Expert
Try getting her daughter to put the top of her drinks bottle balanced on her forehead.
And try to keep it on. This helps keep the head steady