What it is
A daily drill of 2 × 25 yards: swimmers push off in streamline, then hold Position 11 (arms extended forward, straight, biceps aiming in, palms down, resembling two "1s") for the remainder of each 25.
Essentials
- Position 11: arms extended forward, straight, biceps aiming in, palms down, resembling two "1s."
- Streamline push-off first; hold Position 11 for the rest of the 25.
- Three daily quiz cues: "Keep your arms straight," "Stay at the surface," "Look down (when not breathing)."
- Distance: 2 × 25 yards.
What goes wrong
The source does not list specific common errors or corrections for this drill beyond the three daily quiz cues above.
How you know it worked
Swimmer demonstrates the drill to pass Developmental Swim Team.
How you teach it
The drill's principle is to reinforce streamline as a habit while teaching long arm extension, good neutral body position, and buoyancy control. Because it is a daily drill, the coach quizzes swimmers on the three components every session—"Keep your arms straight," "Stay at the surface," "Look down (when not breathing)"—so the cues become automatic rather than a one-time instruction. The streamline push-off at the start of each 25 keeps the entry into Position 11 clean; if a swimmer's push-off is sloppy, the hold that follows will drift, so the coach can use the first few seconds to confirm the streamline is locked before the swimmer settles into the hold. The "look down" cue is the one that most often gets wrong: swimmers tend to lift their heads to check distance, which drops the hips and breaks the neutral line. Calling it out as a daily quiz item (rather than a one-time correction) keeps it in the swimmer's working memory without the coach having to shout it on every rep.