Head-Up Crawl
Front crawl with the head up, eyes forward – builds a stronger kick and prepares for water polo, lifesaving and open-water sighting.
- Stages
- Stage 6, Stage 7
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Skills
- Front Kick, Water Safety, Front Crawl
- Equipment
- None, Balls
- Age
- 8–99 years
- Group size
- 1–16 swimmers
- Time
- About 4 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2, Game / Consolidation
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Tiring – keep distances short and allow rests at the side.
What it develops
- Efficient front crawl with rotation and rhythmic breathing
- Apply self-rescue and water safety knowledge
- Efficient front crawl over distance
- Water safety and rescue awareness
How to run it
- Swim front crawl with the chin on the water, looking forward.
- Kick harder to keep the hips up; arms stay in front of the shoulders.
- Swim a width, then a width of normal front crawl.
- Progress: normal front crawl, lifting the eyes forward every six strokes to 'sight' a target.
Teaching cues
- Eyes forward.
- Strong kick.
- Short, quick arms.
- Look, then head down.
Make it easier
- Short bursts of 5 strokes.
- Add a float under one arm.
Make it harder
- Sight a moving target (teacher walking).
- Head-up to a ball, then dribble it (water polo taster).
Common faults
- Legs sinking to a vertical position.
- Arms pushing down instead of back.
Corrections
- Kick faster and keep the stroke short.
- Only lift the eyes, not the whole head, when sighting in normal crawl.
Assistant / L1 role
- Walk along the side as the 'target' and change position so swimmers must look up to find you.