Progressions: Side Breaths

Progressions: Side Breaths (progression)

Definition: Breathing to the side in Front Crawl or Freestyle, practiced repeatedly in a way that develops good habits, avoiding sloppy or tilted breathing.

Core cues:

1. "The head should be aiming down when not breathing."
2. "To breathe, turn the head and the hip to the side towards the surface."
3. "Stop turning when enough of the face is over the water line; roughly 2/3 of the face."
4. "After the breath, return the face down, into the water with a twist of the head and hip."
5. "Turn the head, and turn the hips with it."
6. "Practice putting face in the water, then turning head to the side so that half the face exits the water."
7. "Breath to side with ½ step back keep ear, eye, and lip touching water."
8. "Head turns with the hip"
9. "The head doesn't turn alone. The same side hip rotates with the chin and face."
10. "Head turns to the right; right hip rises with it. The same side arm (right) recovers over the water."
11. "The breath should be finished by the time the recovering arm reaches the face."
12. "The face should rotate back underwater as the recovering arm crosses the head and returns to position 11."
13. "SL + Position 1 + side breath + look down."
14. "SL + lay on side + breath to sky + look down."

Coach interpretation:

• "The head should be aiming down when not breathing": Watch that the face returns fully down into the water after each breath.
• "Stop turning when enough of the face is over the water line; roughly 2/3 of the face": Watch for over-rotation; the turn stops at roughly 2/3 of the face over the water line.
• "Good breath: body in line": Watch that the body stays in line during the breath.
• "Good breath: face still touching water": Watch that the face remains touching the water during the breath.
• "Head turns with the hip": Watch that the same side hip rotates up to the surface as the head turns.
• "The breath should be finished by the time the recovering arm reaches the face": Time the breath to finish as the recovering arm reaches the face.
• "The face should rotate back underwater as the recovering arm crosses the head and returns to position 11": Watch the face rotate back underwater as the recovering arm crosses the head.
• "Body rotation connected to the arms, hips, and face should be a primary focus for new Front Crawl breathing learners": Make body rotation connected to arms, hips, and face the primary focus.

Teaching strategy:

Create good breathing habits before asking learners to swim longer distances. Remove fear and struggle by keeping distances short. Practice turning the head. Turn the head, and turn the hips with it. Practice putting face in the water, then turning head to the side so that half the face exits the water. Sneak in a single breath during a short swim like 3xSL + 5 FR + 1 breath on stroke #2, 3, or 4. Repeat this step extensively. Long distance swims with support; kick boards, etc. Do many short distance drills; Position 1, Position 11 + arm, etc. Standing breaths to the side: face in water, turn and breath to side with ½ step back keep ear, eye, and lip touching water. Limit breaths during short swims of 3-5 strokes; about 10 yards max. Aim for good breaths. Position 1 with a breath: Streamline first, do 10 kicks in Position 1. Continue kicking and do 1 breath to the side. After the breath, return to Position 1 with the face down. Side kicking with a breath: Streamline first. Do 10 kicks in side glide (Position 1 laying on your side) with learner's nose inside their stinky armpit. Take a breath to the sky (exaggerate the head turn) while continuing to kick. Keep kicking and look down again.

Common errors and corrections:

• "head bending": Avoid letting learners create sloppy or tilted breathing; aim for a good breath with the body in line and the face still touching water.

Progression:

Practice turning the head; turn the head, and turn the hips with it; practice putting face in the water, then turning head to the side so that half the face exits the water; sneak in a single breath during a short swim like 3xSL + 5 FR + 1 breath on stroke #2, 3, or 4; repeat this step extensively; long distance swims with support; kick boards, etc.; do many short distance drills; Position 1, Position 11 + arm, etc. Standing breaths to the side. Position 1 with a breath: SL + Position 1 + side breath + look down. Side kicking with a breath: SL + lay on side + breath to sky + look down.