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[quote=Anonymous]Usually freestyle or breaststroke is taught first to kids. Freestyle because it's like the mother sauce of strokes - helps kids get a feel for catch, rotation, flutter kick, coordinated breathing etc. Breaststroke because it's technically complicated and harder to learn later.

If kids know how to float, backstroke is an easier stroke to learn because they can breathe however they want.

If your daughter doesn't swim freestyle well, don't you want her to learn? I assume the coaches' goal is for all kids to know freestyle by the end of the summer. They are probably spending so much time on it because it's the stroke that is used for conditioning, warm ups, and cool downs. It's also the stroke that you can swim for longer distances with less exertion.

Hunter Armstrong, a backstroke specialist, recently said that he swims mostly freestyle in practice. I would guess that every year round swim club's practices consist of no less than 75% freestyle. The coaches might be getting the little kids ready for the routine of swim practice, which will be maybe 50-100 yds of warm up, then drills and stroke work (this is when backstroke, breaststroke, fly are taught), and then ending with 50-100 yds of cool down. Warm up and cool down are almost always freestyle or freestyle kick. [/quote]

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