Nod and Glide
A small nod to breathe, then the eyes return down for the glide – keeps breaststroke flat and streamlined.
- Stages
- Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Breaststroke, Body Position
- Equipment
- None, Sinkers
- Age
- 7–99 years
- Group size
- 1–14 swimmers
- Time
- About 4 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
What it develops
- Breaststroke with effective kick, glide and timing
- Breaststroke with strong propulsion and controlled glide
- Efficient breaststroke over distance
How to run it
- Swim breaststroke slowly.
- Breathe with a small forward nod as the hands sweep in.
- Return the eyes to the floor as the arms shoot forward.
- Hold the glide with the head between the arms.
Teaching cues
- Small nod.
- Eyes down in the glide.
- Head between your arms.
Make it easier
- Pull and Peek with a pull buoy.
- Kick-glide with face down.
Make it harder
- Hold the flat glide at a steady pace for a length.
Common faults
- Head lifts high and stays up.
- Looking forward in the glide.
Corrections
- 'Breathe, then hide your head.'
- Place a sinker below to look at in each glide.
Assistant / L1 role
- Watch from the side: is the head down in each glide? Give one comment per width.