Backstroke Arms

Backstroke Arms (skill)

Definition: Arms exit near the hips, straighten and travel in a rainbow arch into Position 11. Underwater arms are initially straight elbow pushing and begin bending at the elbow as mastery increases. Thumb exits, twist palm out at apex, enter water with the pinky.

Core cues:

1. "Thumb, Hi, Pinky"
2. "Lock your thumb. Squeeze your ears. Look down."
3. "boil the water"

Coach interpretation:

• Thumb, Hi, Pinky: Hand should lead with the thumb, then rotate to "hi" by twisting out so palm faces away from the body; at Position 11 "enter" the water with the pinky finger and push down while bending the elbow to clap the palm on the same side thigh.
• Lock your thumb. Squeeze your ears. Look down.: Three things for streamline; each is a concise command targeting a specific action and behavior.
• boil the water: Encourage swimmers to "boil the water" near the surface with their flutter kicks to keep feet near the surface and maintain that good long body line and posture so that the body can rotate well.
• Hips rotate with the arms: Recovering arm side hip rotates up; pushing arm side rotates down.
• Body posture: Body should be mostly flat or neutral at the surface from chin to toes; rotate on the spinal axis; chin slightly tucked; avoid banana body.
• Arms travel through Position 11 but do not pause; any pauses should be minimal and in "soldier" or at the hips.
• Hand exits the water with the thumb up, at apex of the arm stroke (90° to water) rotate palm out, then the pinky finger enters the water in Position 11.
• Maintain a constant flutter kick.

Teaching strategy:

Practice on deck first. Go slow. Start in soldier: Under water push: anchor palm with elbow and push. From soldier position, raise the hand directly in front of the arm and raise to Position 11. Move 1 arm at a time. Hand should lead with the thumb, then rotate to "hi" by twisting out so palm faces away from the body. At Position 11 "enter" the water with the pinky finger and push down while bending the elbow to clap the palm on the same side thigh. Practice arms on deck: Bend elbow and clap the thighs with palm. Focus on body posture first; a long flat body held neutrally at surface. Add hip and shoulder rotation drills later as basic body line and balance is mastered. Focus feedback to learners on long reaching arms and hip rotation after the body line is mastered.

Common errors and corrections:

• Dangling Feet: A weak kick, no movement in the legs, or distraction causes the feet to sink. Fix by asking swimmers to kick, squeeze their tummy gently, and slightly tuck their chins.
• Vampire Neck: Tilting the chin too far away from the chest leads to "vampire neck" (an exposed neck perfect for a vampire to bite). Fix by slightly tucking the chin into the chest. It should be a very SLIGHT tuck.
• Wiggle Hips: When the hips and spine are curved like a banana the body will wiggle while swimmers move their arms. Correct "wiggle hips" by enforcing a straight narrow line of the spine from the chin through the toes. Focus on good long body posture to fix.

Progression:

Before: soldier position, Position 11, streamline. After: hip and shoulder rotation drills, bent elbow push underwater as mastery increases.

⚠ Language below was not found in the source — do not publish as-is. Most often this means the original sits inside a table or a multi-column layout that extraction could not read cleanly:

• “Practice arms on deck: Bend elbow and clap the thighs with palm”

Short verified cues (confirmed present; check by eye): “thumb, hi, pinky”, “Move 1 arm at a time.”