Ohio State Drills & Skills for Backstroke

Developing the right backstroke kick and body position enables your pull to maximize time and acceleration in the power zone. Ohio State Swim Coach Bill Wadley and Bill Dorenkott share their philosophy and techniques for breaking down and constructing high caliber backstroke - from the kick up.

On-Deck Instruction
Learn how to set up the proper body position and posture for the backstroke. The components of this proper positioning include swimming with a long and neutral neck and a flat back position that is accomplished by engaging the muscles of the core. You will see a series of five body position kicking drills that teach the swimmer to carry proper body position with propulsion from the kick.

Backstroke Drills
In the Backstroke Drills segment, Wadley and Dorenkott present an additional 24 drills:

• Free-to-Back Connection Drill Series - Enables the swimmer to feel the connection of freestyle and backstroke.
• Catch and Recovery Series - Trains the swimmer to maintain speed and power from the recovery into a quick catch position and body rotation.
• Tempo Drills
• Weighted Drills - Enhance foot speed and core stability.

Underwater Technique
Coach Dorenkott teaches four undulation drills that emphasize driving the undulation from the back and chest, rather than just the knees and feet. Dorenkott presents a series of five underwater drills that include breakout drills that teach how to transition from dolphin kick into the flutter kick and how to attain an ideal body position beginning with the first stroke.

Full Backstroke Swimming
Dorenkott and Wadley pull together all aspects of the stroke and demonstrate stroke technique and tempo for the 200, 100, and 50 meter races.

Excellent demonstrations and underwater footage enhance the instruction in this comprehensive presentation. This video not only teaches the main stroke segments but also shows how various unique drills can be used to train the small nuances of the stroke.

82 minutes. 2013.