Head-Up Crawl Spotting
Head-up front crawl while watching the teacher's hand signals – swimmers must keep their eyes up to see which way to go, just like watching the ball in a game.
- Stages
- Water Polo – Stage 8, Water Polo – Stage 9
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Front Crawl, Head-Up Swimming, Water Polo Movement
- Equipment
- None, Short Fins
- Age
- 8–99 years
- Group size
- 2–16 swimmers
- Time
- About 5 minutes
- In a lesson
- Introduction / Warm-up, Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Swimmers must be able to see where they're going – swim widths in one direction with space between swimmers.
What it develops
- Head-up front crawl with a strong kick
- Swim with the ball under control
How to run it
- Swimmers swim head-up front crawl across the width, chin on the water and eyes forward.
- The teacher stands at the far side and holds up a number of fingers or points left or right.
- Swimmers call out the number or change direction to follow the point.
- Keep the kick strong and the arms short and quick so the hips stay up.
Teaching cues
- Chin on the water, eyes up.
- Short, quick arms.
- Strong kick keeps your hips up.
- Look, then react.
Make it easier
- Head-up breaststroke instead of front crawl.
- Short fins (if your pool allows) to help the legs.
Make it harder
- Signals change faster.
- Add a ball pushed in front (see Ball Push Dribble).
Common faults
- Head drops back into the water.
- Long, slow strokes that make the head bob.
- Hips and legs sink.
Corrections
- 'Pretend you're watching a pass coming to you.'
- 'Quicker, shorter arms – elbows high.'
- 'Kick harder when your head is up.'
Assistant / L1 role
- Stand on the opposite side to the teacher and give the same signals so swimmers at both ends of the group can see them.