Front crawl 20 meters w/ bilateral breathing

Front crawl 20 meters w/ bilateral breathing (skill)

Definition: A Level 4 testable skill: front crawl 20 meters with bilateral breaths. The swimmer can breathe to the side on front crawl, look down without looking forward, and continue swimming while maintaining a long, straight body line.

Core cues:

1. Head down when not breathing. Head turns to side during arm stroke.
2. No interruption of arms and kick when breathing.
3. Kick remains steady, rumble kick continues through arms and breaths.
4. Body rotates with arm strokes no more than 45°. Hips swing with arm stroke to pull water using torso.
5. Arms return to position 11, not X. Hands catch water early.

Coach interpretation:

• Head down when not breathing: watch that the swimmer looks down without looking forward between breaths.
• Head turns to side during arm stroke: the side breath must be timed to the arm stroke, not a lift of the head.
• No interruption of arms and kick when breathing: arms and kick must not pause or stall during the breath.
• Kick remains steady, rumble kick continues through arms and breaths: the kick tempo stays constant through the arm cycle and the breath.
• Body rotates with arm strokes no more than 45°: watch the rotation does not exceed 45°.
• Hips swing with arm stroke to pull water using torso: the hips swing with the arm stroke so the torso pulls water.
• Arms return to position 11, not X: on recovery the arms return to position 11 rather than crossing into an X.
• Hands catch water early: watch for an early catch.

Teaching strategy:

Remember short distances for maximum learning. Even though swimmers “can” swim longer distances avoid only doing long swims. Continue using short distance skill training like 3 x SL + 5 Free + 1 breath + flip. Build up skills with short distance 3x [skill] format. Exp: 3 x SL + 3 HLBwR. Then swim longer distance using the skills you just practiced. Exp: HLBwR works on hip rotation, swim 4 x 25 odds FR even BK and focus on rotating hips 45° to surface. Removing distance, removing breathing, and removing movement allows for better focus and skill acquisition. Instructors should get in the water when necessary to help teach important swim skills. Avoid putting novice instructors in Level 4; experienced instructors are best. Provide excellent feedback specific to the participant’s actions; lazy feedback leads to poor form. Keep swimmers moving! Don’t let instructors deviate from the format.

Common errors and corrections:

• Head up: Head down when not breathing. Head turns to side during arm stroke.
• Arms X’d on recovery: Arms return to position 11, not X.
• Late catch: Hands catch water early.
• Interrupted kick or arms during the breath: No interruption of arms and kick when breathing; kick remains steady, rumble kick continues through arms and breaths.
• Over-rotation: Body rotates with arm strokes no more than 45°.

Progression:

Level 4 testable skills include Front crawl 20 meters with bilateral breaths; Back crawl 20 meters with body in soldier; 3 times, streamline with no kick and do 1x (11, eat, 11) then, 1x (BR kick in position 11); Streamline + 2 strokes FLY w/ breath on #2; Swim 50 meters Front of Back crawl. Instructors should know front crawl bilateral (both sides) breathing, hip rotation, head position, early catch, elbows higher than hands on recovery, returning to position 11.

⚠ 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:

• “Can swimmer breathe to the side on front crawl, look down without looking forward, and continue swimming while maintaining long, straight body line.”
• “Front crawl bilateral (both sides) breathing, hip rotation, head position, early catch, elbows higher than hands on recovery, returning to position 11”
• “Remember short distances for maximum learning:”
• “Even though swimmers “can” swim longer distances avoid only doing long swims. Continue using short distance skill training like 3 x SL + 5 Free + 1 breath + flip.”
• “Swim longer distance using the skills you just practiced. Exp: HLBwR works on hip rotation, swim 4 x 25 odds FR even BK and focus on rotating hips 45° to surface.”
• “Instructors should get in the water when necessary to help teach important swim skills.”