Pancake Flip
With a noodle for support, swimmers roll from front float to back float like flipping a pancake.
- Stages
- Stage 1
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Skills
- Front Float, Back Float, Rotation, Water Safety
- Equipment
- Noodle
- Age
- 5–99 years
- Group size
- 1–8 swimmers
- Time
- About 5 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Swimmers should already recover confidently from both front and back.
What it develops
- Float on the front with support
- Float on the back with support
How to run it
- Swimmer floats on the front holding a noodle across the chest.
- Turn the head and one shoulder to the side and roll over onto the back.
- Float on the back for a count of 3.
- Roll back to the front, then recover to standing.
Teaching cues
- Head leads the turn.
- Keep the body long as you roll.
- Take a breath once you're on your back.
Make it easier
- Assistant helps turn the hips.
- Roll from back to front only.
Make it harder
- Roll with a float instead of a noodle.
- Roll without equipment.
Common faults
- Bending in the middle and sitting up.
- Rolling too fast and losing balance.
Corrections
- 'Roll like a log, not a ball.'
- Slow count '1, 2, flip'.
Assistant / L1 role
- Support the swimmer's hips and guide the rotation, then just touch as a reminder.