Rocket Launch
Countdown, blast-off, glide! Swimmers push from the wall in a rocket shape and the teacher watches for a long, thin, still body.
- Stages
- Stage 2, Stage 3
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Front Float, Streamlining, Push and Glide
- Equipment
- None, Float, Floating Toys
- Age
- 4–12 years
- Group size
- 1–10 swimmers
- Time
- About 5 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2, Game / Consolidation
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Launch one swimmer at a time into a clear path.
- Check swimmers can recover from a front glide.
What it develops
- Push and glide on the front
- Streamlined push and glide on front and back
How to run it
- Swimmers hold the wall with one hand, feet on the wall, other arm stretched forwards.
- Group countdown: '5, 4, 3, 2, 1…' – on 'Blast off!' both arms go together, face in, and they push hard.
- Glide without kicking until the rocket 'lands', then stand.
- Teacher watches: arms squeezing the ears? Legs together? Head still? Give each rocket a mission score.
Teaching cues
- Push the wall away.
- Arms squeeze your ears.
- Make yourself long.
Make it easier
- Hold a float out in front.
- Launch from standing, pushing off the floor.
Make it harder
- Launch under a noodle bridge just below the surface.
- Add three kicks after the glide, then roll onto the back.
Common faults
- Head lifts to look where they are going.
- Arms apart or bent.
- Pushing with one foot.
Corrections
- 'Eyes on the floor – the rocket knows the way.'
- 'Hands on top of each other like a rocket nose.'
- 'Both feet on the launch pad.'
Assistant / L1 role
- Stand at the 'landing zone' and mark where each rocket stops with a floating toy so swimmers can try to beat their own distance.