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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am new to our neighborhood pool so I am too afraid to ask the swim team rep, but what is the reasoning and thought process as to how and why the (teenage) lane coaches teach the Lane 6 kids freestyle.  My kid has been working on freestyle for 2 straight weeks now with the exception of one day last Friday when the lane coach, seemingly randomly, had the kids do backstroke for swim practice. My kid - who absolutely struggles and hates freestyle (water in her face, can't seem to get the hang of breathing, hates having to dive in, etc.) - just loved the backstroke. Did super well the whole practice and even practiced it on her own over the weekend during family pool time.

So, why do the lane coaches not switch up the strokes? Why don't they try out different strokes for different kids? Why has it been 2 solid weeks of the same old freestyle that hasn't really clicked with my kid (and a whole bunch of other kids judging from observation during practice and during Saturday's time trials)?

Isn't backstroke fundamentally easier anyway?   ANd isn't the  backstroke a natural go-to if freestyle is just too difficult to get the hang of?

Wanted to ask one more thing: Does your swim team play fun water games or fun swimming games? All the kids ever seem to do is laps and kick board? Isn't there a way to make swim practice not so mundane?  A bit more fun (at least maybe for the last 15 minutes of practice)?

I don't mean to sound ignorant. We're new to swim. New to the team. I don't know what is considered "normal" for swim team practice. I don't know how this, I admit limited, swim team practice experience compares.

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If you follow either water safety or basic swim lesson plans it actually is backstroke that should be taught first. It’s easier to float on the back than the stomach. So you teach the buoyancy on the back. Add the kid then the arms. Move to the front. Float kick arms, breathing. [/quote]

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