Underwater dolphin kick off the walls

Setup

1. Backstroke flags or deck cones mark 5 m from the start wall: the target for surfacing.
2. One swimmer per lane at a time, so the coach can watch every swimmer push off and surface.
3. Brief the group: breathe normally before pushing off, no deep breathing or hyperventilating, and come up at once if anything feels uncomfortable.

How it runs

1. Push off the wall on the front in a tight streamline, arms squeezed behind the ears.
2. Take a few quick, small dolphin kicks, then surface by the flags with the first arm stroke. The kick stays short; this is about quality, not distance.
3. Swim easy freestyle to the far wall and rest there until breathing is completely back to normal.
4. 6 to 8 goes, alternating front, on the side and on the back push-offs.
5. The flags are the limit for this drill. Swimmers never go further underwater to beat anyone, and there is no counting how far they can get.

Coaching points

• Kick from the chest and hips; the knees bend a little, they don't drive it.
• Equal kick down and up, so the body doesn't snake up and down.
• Small and fast beats big and slow off the wall.
• First stroke starts just before the head breaks the surface, so speed carries into the swim.

Common mistakes

• Huge, slow kicks that push the body up and down instead of forward.
• Arms separating or the head lifting, which breaks the streamline.
• Staying down to win a 'who goes furthest' contest: never allowed.
• Pushing off again before the swimmer has fully recovered.