David Marsh's Next Wave Technique: Freestyle

with David Marsh,
Cal Berkeley Men's Assistant Coach;
Team Elite Aquatics (San Diego) Head Coach;
Israel Swimming Association Professional Adviser;
UCSD Head Coach from 2017 to 2019;
2016 USA Women's Olympic Team Head Coach;
14 Marsh-coached athletes competed in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympians Games;
Head Coach, SwimMAC Carolina from 2007 to 2017 (3 consecutive USA Swimming Club Excellence Championships);
Auburn Head Men's and Women's Coach - 1990 through 2007;
12x NCAA Team Championships - 7x for the Men's program, 5x for the Women's program;
including Men's/Women's sweeps in 2003 (1st time in NCAA history to have a Men's/Women's coach sweep Championships) , 2004, 2006 and 2007 ;
8x NCAA Coach of the Year;
3x USA Men's Olympic Team Assistant ('12, 00, '96);
has coached 49 Olympians from 19 different countries;
2000 & 2003 National Collegiate and Scholastic Swimming Trophy;
North Carolina Swimming Hall of Fame - 2016;
Auburn Swimming Hall of Fame - 2015;
competed at Auburn (5x All-American; backstroke)

Take advantage of recent developments in freestyle to swim faster sprints, middle distances and distance freestyle. Three-time Olympic coach David Marsh teaches you how to build efficiency and power using a series of drills designed to improve posture and body alignment while maintaining a strong kick and establishing a high catch. With the assistance of multi-time Olympic medalist Cullen Jones and National Team member Madison Kennedy, you'll see over 30 drills that cover everything from the fundamentals to critical details that are easily be overlooked. Learn how to maximize efficiency and power with a package of tips and strategies especially for freestylers.

Creating and maintaining a tight body line is the foundation of a faster, more efficient freestyle. Coach Marsh introduces a series of drills that teach athletes to maintain proper body alignment by focusing on swimming narrow with a long spine and low breath. You'll learn how to develop other elements of freestyle without sacrificing the ideal body line.

A "David Marsh Freestyle" is characterized by an open recovery with a high elbow catch that uses rotation to increase efficiency and power. Coach Marsh shares a number of high catch and rotation drills that help increase power. You'll also learn how to keep the body aligned with snap-back breathing, which emphasizes a quick breath and returning the head to its original position early in the stroke.

Coach Marsh includes drills to build a stronger kick - one that is powerful enough to create a platform the swimmer can use to generate torque. A Marsh-style freestyler may recover with a straighter arm, rather than a high elbow to take advantage of the momentum he generates with a strong, accelerated finish.

One of the best ways to improve swimming technique is by adding resistance or swimming with implements. Coach Marsh incorporates paddles, parachutes, tubing, pegs, and pull buoys to increase the athlete's feel for a high elbow catch and also improve timing and rhythm. As a bonus, he finishes with a series of drills that help the swimmer become a true aquatic athlete by mastering the difference between land and water as a medium.

The presentation shows drills to enforce each element of the stroke-some drills you may have already seen but some will definitely be new additions to your toolkit. A veteran coach with a proven track record, Coach Marsh delivers drill after drill that a coach or swimmer can use to swim faster than ever before!

BONUS
Coach Marsh has included a 30+ minute teaching session in an Endless Pool. In this segment, you will see Marsh work with several of his developing swimmers from SwimMAC. Watch as Marsh, evaluates, teaches, corrects, and improves each of these athlete's freestyle strokes utilizing the same drills, skills, and concepts presented in the video. You get to take a look at stroke evaluation through the eyes of Coach Marsh and watch how he dissects the stroke to teach the David Marsh style of freestyle!

70 minutes. 2014.