Fingertip Drag
Fingertips trail along the surface during the recovery – encourages a relaxed, high-elbow recovery close to the body.
- Stages
- Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Front Crawl Arms, Stroke Efficiency
- Equipment
- None, Float
- Age
- 7–99 years
- Group size
- 1–14 swimmers
- Time
- About 5 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
What it develops
- Front crawl with breathing timed to the arm action
- Swim with fewer, longer strokes
- Efficient front crawl with rotation and rhythmic breathing
- Improve stroke efficiency on all strokes
- Efficient front crawl over distance
- Keep technique and stroke count as distance increases
How to run it
- Swim front crawl slowly.
- On the recovery, let the fingertips drag along the top of the water from hip to head.
- The elbow leads, higher than the hand.
- Enter the hand in front of the shoulder and reach forward.
Teaching cues
- Elbow high, hand low.
- Tickle the water.
- Relaxed hand.
- Close to your body.
Make it easier
- Single-arm version with a float.
- Stand in the water and practise the movement.
Make it harder
- Drag, then 'zip up' the thumb along the side of the body.
- Full stroke with a normal recovery – keep the elbow high.
Common faults
- Wide, swinging straight-arm recovery.
- Hand lifting higher than the elbow.
- Rushing the drill so it becomes a splash.
Corrections
- 'Draw a line on the water with your fingers.'
- Slow the stroke down; it's a feeling drill.
- Pair with Single-Arm Front Crawl first.
Assistant / L1 role
- Watch the recovery from the end of the lane and tell each swimmer whether the elbow was above the hand.