by Steve Schwartz
Today, I had the opportunity to attend a TWIM stroke development and improvement clinic with USMS Coach Bill Brenner at the Snoqualmie Aquatic Center. This is a modern 25-yard, 10-lane, saltwater pool set to a reasonable 81 degrees. It was a 4.5-hour session that covered all four competitive strokes with easy-to-understand progressions and drills. The fifty or so people in attendance learned a lot from Coach Brenner and the local Masters coaches, who helped them improve their technique and efficiency in the water.
Editor’s Note: A huge thanks to our major sponsors for this TWIM Clinic; Michael’s Toyota of Bellevue and PNA! And thanks to ALL donors and sponsors of TWIM! We could not do these clinics without your support!
The clinic started with a brief introduction and warm-up, followed by a freestyle session. We worked on body position, rotation, breathing, catch, and kick. Coach Brenner emphasized the importance of keeping a high elbow and a relaxed hand during the pull phase. He also gave us some tips on how to breathe more comfortably and rhythmically. We practiced some drills such as One Goggle In/One Goggle Out, Top Hat, and catch-up to reinforce these concepts.
After a short break, we moved on to the backstroke session. We focused on head position, shoulder roll, kick, and arm recovery. Coach Brenner explained how to keep the head still and aligned with the spine, and how to use our core to rotate our shoulders. He also showed us how to kick from our hips and not our knees, and how to recover our arms with a bent elbow. We did some drills such as the six-kick switch, the OK, and the double-arm to improve our backstroke skills. Following these drills the chatter at the wall increased as swimmers were challenged with a new way to swim this stroke.
The clinic continued with the breaststroke session. We worked on kick, streamline, pull and timing. Coach Brenner stressed the importance of maintaining a good streamline position throughout the stroke, and how to coordinate the kick and pull. He also taught us how to kick with our feet turned out and our heels close to our hips, and how to pull with a high elbow and a quick recovery. We practiced some drills such as the breaststroke kick on back with board, the two-kick one-pull, and sculling to refine our breaststroke technique.
Finally, the last break of the day led to ending the clinic with the butterfly session. We focused on our body undulation, kick, breathing, and arm movement. Coach Brenner demonstrated how to use our whole body to create a wave-like motion. He also instructed us on how to breathe low and forward, and how to move our arms with a high elbow and a relaxed hand. We did some drills such as the stone skipper and the one-arm butterfly to master our butterfly stroke.
Overall, we had a great time at the USMS clinic with Coach Bill Brenner. Many of the swimmers mentioned that they learned a lot of new tips and received valuable feedback from the coaches. Many felt more confident and comfortable in the water after the clinic. Thank you, Coach Brenner, TWIM, PNA, and USMS for this wonderful swim clinic opportunity!
Knowing that this clinic sold out in two weeks, if you are interested in increasing your Speed and technique of the long axis strokes of freestyle and backstroke, consider enrolling in the next TWIM Clinic on May 25th! https://www.twimteam.org/clinics/longaxis/index.html
