Barrel Roll
Hugging a float on the chest, swimmers roll from their back to their front and back again – the float supports both positions.
- Stages
- Stage 2
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Rotation, Front Kick, Back Kick
- Equipment
- Float
- Age
- 5–10 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 must be able to recover to standing on front and back.
What it develops
- Roll from front to back and back to front
- Kick on the front and back
How to run it
- Swimmer hugs a float to the chest and lies back, kicking gently.
- They turn their head and shoulder and roll onto their front – the float is now under the chest.
- Kick on the front, then roll back again.
- Aim for three rolls across the width.
Teaching cues
- Hug tight.
- Head leads the roll.
- Keep kicking.
Make it easier
- Do one roll and stand.
- Assistant rolls the swimmer slowly.
Make it harder
- Hold the float with one arm only.
- Replace the float with a noodle.
Common faults
- Stopping the kick during the roll.
- Letting go of the float in a panic.
Corrections
- Count kicks through the roll: 'kick, kick, roll, kick'.
- Roll slowly with support first.
Assistant / L1 role
- Walk beside swimmers with a hand near the float, catching it if they lose grip and resetting them calmly.