Breaststroke Kick – swimming activities

The whip-style breaststroke leg action with feet turned out.

Activities

• Duck Feet – Swimmers practise 'duck feet' – flexed and turned out – so their breaststroke kick pushes water instead of slicing through it.
• Frog Kick at the Wall – Holding the wall, swimmers learn the breaststroke kick: heels up, feet out, kick round and together.
• Frog Legs on Back – Breaststroke kick on the back, holding a float on the tummy, so swimmers can see their feet turn out.
• Froggy Hops Across – Swimmers cross the pool with a float using breaststroke kicks, counting their 'hops' – fewer hops means a better kick.
• Heel Touch Kick – On the back, swimmers recover their heels to touch their fingertips – keeps the knees low and the feet turned out.
• Kick and Hold – A breaststroke kick followed by a held streamline glide – teaches swimmers that the glide is part of the stroke.
• Pull Buoy Knees – A pull buoy held lightly between the knees during breaststroke kick – stops the knees splaying and focuses power in the feet.
• Snap Finish – Swimmers finish the breaststroke kick by snapping the feet together – adds power at the end of the kick and a tidy streamline.
• Stroke Switch Relay – Each relay leg uses a different stroke or kick, so swimmers practise switching between skills under light pressure.
• Symmetry Check – Kicking breaststroke on the back so swimmers can see both feet do exactly the same thing – the fix for a scissor kick.
• Two Kicks, One Pull – An extra kick between arm strokes – forces swimmers to separate kick and pull and to glide in a streamline.
• Vertical Breaststroke Kick – Breaststroke kick while upright in deep water – builds a powerful kick and doubles as a treading-water skill.