Butterfly Quality Ladder
Swim 3, 5, then 7 strokes of butterfly, moving up only when the strokes still look good – quality over quantity.
- Stages
- Swimming – Stage 10
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Skills
- Butterfly, Stroke Efficiency
- Equipment
- None, Short Fins
- Age
- 9–99 years
- Group size
- 2–16 swimmers
- Time
- About 6 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2, Game / Consolidation
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Allow rests between goes; butterfly fatigue can make swimmers swallow water.
What it develops
- Butterfly with consistent rhythm and breathing
How to run it
- Swimmers swim three strokes of butterfly, then easy front crawl or backstroke to finish the width.
- If the three strokes kept two kicks, a low breath and a clear recovery, they move up to five strokes.
- Then seven strokes – or stay at the current rung and improve it.
- Partners judge each go with a simple thumbs-up or 'not yet'.
Teaching cues
- Every stroke the same.
- Two kicks per stroke.
- Stop at good, not at tired.
Make it easier
- Start the ladder at two strokes; use short fins if your pool allows.
Make it harder
- Add a turn at the wall and keep the rhythm into the next length.
- Breathe every two strokes on the top rung.
Common faults
- Stroke falls apart in the last two strokes.
- Kick count drops to one.
Corrections
- 'Stay on the rung that looks good – that's progress.'
- 'Kick in, kick out.'
Assistant / L1 role
- Act as judge for one lane, giving only 'thumbs up' or 'not yet' as agreed, and tell the teacher who moved up a rung.