Sculling for feel of the water

Setup

1. A lifeguard or qualified teacher on deck; three or four swimmers per lane.
2. Put a cone at halfway on each side of the pool.
3. Show the scull standing in chest-deep water: hands flat, sweeping out and in in a small figure of eight, thumbs tilting up on the way out and down on the way in.
4. Swimmers in the same lane go about 5 seconds apart and keep to one side.

How it runs

1. Front scull: lie face down with a pull buoy between the thighs, arms forward, and scull with the hands just in front of the head. Lift or turn the face to breathe when needed. Scull to the cone, then swim freestyle to the wall.
2. Middle scull: same position, but the hands scull under the chest with the elbows bent.
3. Head-first back scull: lie on the back, hands by the hips, and scull so the body travels head first.
4. Each swimmer does two lengths of each scull, then 4 × 25 m easy freestyle, trying to feel the same pressure on the hand during the pull.
5. Rest 15 to 20 seconds at the wall between lengths.

Coaching points

• Small, quick movements of the hands and forearms; the shoulders stay still.
• Feel the water push back on the palms: if there's no pressure, change the angle of the hand.
• Wrists firm, fingers together but relaxed.
• Body long and near the surface; the scull holds the body up, the pull buoy keeps the legs up.

Common mistakes

• Big, slow sweeps from the shoulder that push the swimmer up and down.
• Hands flat with no tilt, so they slice through the water and nothing happens.
• Kicking to move along instead of sculling.
• Hips dropping on the back scull because the chin tucks in.