Swimming : steps to success

220 Pages·2016·24.95 MB·english

by  Bay

Swimming
STEPS TO SUCCESS
Scott Bay
HUMAN KINETICS
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bay, Scott, 1964- author.
Swimming : steps to success / Scott Bay.
Champaign, IL : Human Kinetics, [2016]
LCCN 2015037240 | ISBN 9781492508441 (print)
LCSH: Swimming--Training.
LCC GV838.67.T73 B39 2016 | DDC 797.2/1--dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/
2015037240
ISBN: 978-1-4925-0844-1 (print)
Copyright © 2016 by Human Kinetics, Inc.
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This book is dedicated to my family.
Contents
Foreword vii
Climbing the Steps
to Swimming Success ix
The Sport of Swimming xi
Step 1 Floating 1
Step 2 Manipulating the Water 21
Step 3 Freestyle 51
Step 4 Backstroke 77
Step 5 Breaststroke 99
iv
Step 6 Butterfly 115
Step 7 Turns 139
Step 8 Starts 161
Step 9 Open-Water
and Survival Swimming 183
Step 10 Continuing With Swimming 215
About the Author 220
v
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Foreword
The world of swimming has been very good to me. Growing up in Winter Haven,
Florida, I was able to go from the kid who got cut from other sports to Olympic
champion. As a television commentator for swimming, I get to continue my pas-
sion for the sport that I love.
I have known Coach Scott Bay for many years, and we’ve had many great talks
about swimming: its history, its evolution, and, most important, the recent advances
in technique. We have worked together at several clinics, and we always have a great
exchange of ideas and observations. Coach Bay is truly a student of the sport.
In Swimming: Steps to Success, Coach Bay explains the elements of technique that
are part of good swimming. There will always be variations by elite swimmers, and
I encourage you to explore some of your own. This book can serve as a jumping-off
point where you can get sound advice on stroke technique and instruction.
So . . . whether you picked up this book out of curiosity or sought it out because
you want to see what swimming has to offer, you will enjoy Coach Bay’s detailed
instruction and continue your journey into the amazing world of fun, fitness, and
competition in swimming.
Best wishes to you on your journey!
Rowdy Gaines
Three-time Olympic gold medalist and TV commentator
vii
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Climbing the Steps
to Swimming
Success
Swimming has been practiced as both a sport and a recreational activity for thou-
sands of years. People at the highest levels of competition swim with such grace
and ease that it seems almost effortless. For a beginner or novice, on the other
hand, swimming may seem like an exhausting chore that can be done well only by
people who possess a natural talent for it. The truth, however, is that anyone can
learn to swim—and swim well. With this goal in mind, Swimming: Steps to Success
shows you how to feel more comfortable in an aquatic environment and takes you
through a progression of skills for each of the competitive strokes.
Step 1 starts with the basics—floating and finding your natural buoyancy. Step 2
addresses ways of manipulating the water for propulsion. Steps 3 through 6 cover
the fundamentals of the four competitive strokes—freestyle, backstroke, breast-
stroke, and butterfly. Steps 7 and 8 focus on turns and starts, and step 9 addresses
open-water and survival swimming. Step 10, the final step, gives you some guidance
for continuing your swimming journey.
The Steps to Success approach to swimming is systematic in building on a solid
foundation of skills and techniques. Each step should be approached in the following
manner:
1. Carefully read all material in the step.
2. Study the technique photos and, if necessary, use a mirror or a friendly
observer to duplicate them yourself.
3. Study the common errors that coaches look for so that you can avoid them!
4. When reading about and executing the drills, keep in mind that they are
often designed as “overcorrections” for a specific technique flaw. Drills are
intended to help you create a new pattern of movement. After completing
each drill, remember to score your success.
5. At the end of each step, review the key points in the Success Summary to
make sure that you understand the material. Then total your scores from the
drills in that step and make sure that you’ve achieved the needed level of
success before moving on to the next step.
As you make your way through the steps, you will begin to appreciate that swim-
ming is not so much about brute strength as it is about the timing and rhythm of your
movements. Getting it right takes a lot of thoughtful practice, and you will benefit
from revisiting the steps when you have trouble with a particular skill or technique.
ix
Climbing the Steps to Swimming Success
Swimming is a journey, and this book is designed to help you work through that
journey one step at a time. Each step is laid out with a focus on a certain skills or
techniques and ways to increase or decrease the difficulty. If you have trouble with a
particular skill or step, remember that swimming consists of complex sets of move-
ments that are not part of any other athletic activity. Be patient with yourself; the key
is your progress. As with any journey, no matter how long or short, this one begins
with the first step.
x