Butterfly Stroke, Starts, Turns, Tactics, Finish, Workouts
Pete Snyder, Ph.D. Swimming & Water Polo Coach, Assistant A.D., Fullerton College
Breakdown of Stroke Phases 他
Entry and stretch
他
Outsweep
他
Catch
Maglisco, Ernest. Swimming Fastest. Chapter 5
Butterfly Stroke Phases (con’t.) ¾ Insweep ¾ Upsweep ¾ Release and exit
Maglisco, Ernest. Swimming Fastest. Chapter 5
Variations of Armstroke ¾ Keyhole versus wide-pull: swimmer’s anatomy, strength, age, distance of event.
¾ Force application and physical laws: Newton’s first and third laws as applied to armstroke.
¾ Release and recovery: Exit point of hand, stroke rate. Up, out, and forward. Straight versus bent arm recovery.
Common Armstroke Mistakes ¾ Dropping Elbows on entry. ¾ Pulling out too forcefully on outsweep. ¾ Recovering arms too high or through the
water. ¾ Lack of finish and exit – lifting up rather than pushing back; extending arms too soon before finish & follow through. (the piano)
Kick and lower body ¾ Dolphin mechanics, technique. Upbeat, downbeat, hip flexion, extension, hyperextension. How much knee bend in relation to the hips and torso.
¾ Timing, emphasis. First and second kick – Strong, small; Small, strong; equal
¾ Coordination of hips and legs. Downbeat of the first kick simultaneous with entry of arms.
¾ Breathing in conjunction with kick. When to “fit” it in.
Maglisco, Ernest. Swimming Fastest. Chapter 5
Breathing 他 Technique of head, neck and upper body. Higher versus lower head position. Side breath?
他 Coordination with stroke. Hip, back, hand and body position in relation to neck flexion and extension.
他 Pattern and frequency, exhalation process. Three, two, and one breath patterns. Velocity versus oxygen.
Full Stroke Coordination 他 Timing and emphases of kicks in relation
to armstroke. Undulation.
Maglisco, Ernest. Swimming Fastest. Chapter 5
Full stroke (con’t.) ¾
Timing of breathing in relation to kicks & armstroke.
Maglisco, Ernest. Swimming Fastest. Chapter 5
¾
Timing of armstroke when approaching turns & finish. Relay takeoffs.
¾
Timing as related to distance of event and anatomy of swimmer.
Full Stroke Mistakes ¾ Timing: Kicking too early during recovery. Gliding too long after entry. Kicking once per stroke cycle.
¾ Body position mistakes: Hip position and undulation of body. Head position – coming up too high for breath. Breathing too early or too late (hitch in stroke).
Starts 他 Takeoff and entry into the water. 他 Breakout.
Hannula, Dick & Nort Thornton. The Swim Coaching Bible, Trembly,Fielder, Ch.15
Turns 他 Strokes and breath to the wall. Timing of strokes so as to reach maximal arm extension on contact.
他 Hand contact with the wall. 他 Body pivot and leg tuck. Hip and leg position.
Hannula, Dick & Nort Thornton. The Swim Coaching Bible, Trembly,Fielder, Ch.15
Turns (con’t.) ¾ Arm throw, hand split and push off. Salute hand position. Downward angle @ push off; angle up to surface.
¾ Underwater streamline and dolphin. Three to four kicks quick tempo as ascend to conserve momentum.
¾ Breakout. No breath on first stroke of breakout.
¾ One vs. 3 vs. 7 turn race.
Finishes ¾ Breathing to wall. ¾ Timing of strokes – full extension. Body and head position for last strokes to the wall.
¾ Drill on finishes – 12.5 yards.
Drills ¾ Kicking with hands in front, behind,
monofin. ¾ Underwater dolphin – alternate under and on top per 25; streamline position. ¾ Dolphin kick on back. ¾ Freestyle – one right, one left, one both. ¾ Three down, two up kicking drill – two stroke cycles after three dolphin kicks underwater.
Sample Workouts ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾
Butterfly/freestyle sets – 25%-75% butterfly, the remainder freestyle, alternate strokes. Broken series – 200’s broken @ 100 and 50. Straight sets – 50’s; 75’s Mid-pools – 50’s working on turns. 12.5’s from dive – work on starts, breakouts. Kicking sets – sprint 100’s; 50’s; 25’s working on tempo and rhythm. Individual medleys. Vertical kicking.
Final Thoughts ¾ Simplify. No paralysis by analysis –
progressions to assist the whole versus the parts. ¾ Rhythmic body movement. Thinking of “beats.” ¾ Hold stroke coordination as maximum objective. ¾ Have fun with stroke.
References Colwin, Cecil. Cecil Colwin on Swimming. London, England: Pelham Books, 1969 Counsilman, James E. Science of Swimming. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall,1968 Hannula, Richard and Thornton, Nort. The Swim Coaching Bible. Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics, 2001 Maglisco, Ernest. Swimming Fastest. Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics, 2003