Reply to Why do lane coaches teach freestyle first?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] Swimmers that can't do freestyle don't really exist on swim teams.[/quote]

Oddly enough, our daughter is completed uncoordinated and slow at freestyle, but an A meet swimmer at breaststroke (and much faster at breast than at free).  Hard to believe but it does happen.[/quote]

How old?  I've seen this happen with youngsters and beginners but by the time they get some swim experience the freestyle comes around just from exposure in warm-ups, etc.  [/quote]

8&U.  She's far from a beginner, but breaststroke is much more natural for her than free.  That will change with time, of course.[/quote]

LOL. You have no idea the mechanics of breaststroke. It is *the most* DQ'd stroke because every kid thinks they can do it. It is VERY technical.

- stroke and turn judge[/quote]

This is her second year swimming breast at A Meets and she didn't DQ once last year.  She's really good at breast.  But equally awful at free.[/quote]

Then you could have put her in swim lessons from Sept to May if you wanted her to learn.[/quote]

She does swim lessons every winter and spring.  That's why she's good (and legal) at breast.  Any other questions?[/quote]

This is starting to sound more and more like a case where the focus of early lessons and training has been on "making the A meet" as opposed to overall, well-rounded development.  Kid is still a novice though so there's time to change course.  Get her in some good lessons this winter and she'll be much better before you know it.[/quote]

This back-and-forth has gotten far from my original point, which that there are at least some kids who naturally learn breast more easily than free.  Our daughter (and us) couldn't care less about A Meets vs. B Meets.  Our team is small enough that most 8&U kids swim A Meets by the time they are 8 regardless.  She takes lessons with a good program and doesn't focus on a particular stroke.  She just gets the rhytym of breast far more easily than free.  I don't see it as a problem . . . as I wrote above, that will change with time.  She isn't going to be faster at breast than free for her entire life.[/quote]

Well, if you are the OP, the original point was about backstroke. Also, curious how you know your child's breaststroke is legal if this is their first year on a swim team. Swim teachers are about swimming - not legal strokes since the majority of kids in lessons don't swim for a team and hence don't need to be legal - unless your child is in a stroke and development program - which is much different than swim lessons.  In fact, how swim lessons generally teach breaststroke isn't the legal way to do it for competition (hence why all the little (and some big) kids DQ - they have to unlearn what they have been taught in lessons.

But soldier on and have a great summer. Summer swim team is the best.

- the S&T judge, 15y swim parent[/quote]

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