Front crawl: drops the elbow in the pull

The elbow leads and the hand slips under the body, so the swimmer pushes water down instead of back.

Activities that help

• Doggy Paddle Catch – Front crawl with the arms recovering under the water, so swimmers can concentrate on catching and pressing water back in front of the face.
• Elbow Over Fingers – Builds an early, bent-elbow catch: the elbow stays high while the hand and forearm tip down to press water back, first standing, then swimming.