How to Teach Young Children to Swim Backstroke

Teaching a young child to swim the backstroke can be a somewhat stressful experience, but also a joyful one. Learning a new swim stroke can be fun. Teaching the right technique is essential for good style and also for some minor safety reasons, such as bumping ones head on the wall. So remember the two main ingredients to successful backstroke coaching: proper technique and safety mindedness.

Instructions

  1. How to Teach Young Children to Swin Backstroke

    • 1

      Begin by teaching children to float on their back. Encourage children to relax, to look up at the sky and stretch their arms and legs wide. Make sure you're teaching them in water that is not over their heads and support them in the beginning with your hands under their backs. It may take repeated sessions before they are able to float on their own.

    • 2

      Teach children to roll their shoulders as they extend their arms to take their strokes. Use the thumb-out, pinkie-in method to build proper stroke technique. Basically the child should hold their hand vertically then switch midway so that the pinkie enters the water and again so that the thumb exits the water.

    • 3

      Encourage children to kick with their whole legs and not just their feet or from their knees down. You don't want the knees more than slightly bent. Their toes should be pointed.

    • 4

      Instruct children on the proper take-off position for backstroke. Position hands about shoulder length apart as you have them grasp the side of the pool. Their knees should be drawn up towards their chest, with the balls of their feet pushed against the side of the pool with their legs close together.

    • 5

      Get the children to explode into the water. When entering the water their backs should be arched and their arms should be in the streamline position or arms extended behind you with one hand placed over the other. They need to have a forceful push off. Advanced swimmers will start with what looks like a backward dive into the water, so they are completely submerged.

    • 6

      Practice the body roll with young swimmers. Create exaggerated drills in which the swimmers must rotate their shoulders without the use of their arms. Explain to the children that when they are correctly performing the backstroke, despite the name, they are never completely on their back.

    • 7

      Work with children on learning to count their strokes from the flags to the wall. Teach the children to spot the flags overhead which indicate that they are 5 yards from the end of the pool. Knowing the number of strokes from the flags to the wall will aid them in knowing when to stretch their arm out for the final touch in competition. This is later used when teaching flip turns when swimming more than a single lap.