Learn Freestyle

The child swims 25 meters using the freestyle kick with arms resting along their sides, breathing forward as an exception. This exercise focuses on building strength and endurance for the freestyle kick. The kick is crucial for longer distances as it provides stability and rhythm to the swimming technique.

The child swims 25 meters freestyle, breathing out every third arm stroke, with exhalation always occurring underwater. Limiting breathing to every three strokes automatically promotes a good rhythm, which is especially important for swimming longer distances.

The child swims at least ten meters with a pull buoy or a board between their legs and does not use the leg stroke. By using the pull buoy, the child can concentrate on the arm pull and find out how to position the arms and hands precisely in order to move forward efficiently in the water.

The child swims at least ten meters with outstretched arms shoulder-width apart and alternating legs. The forearm of one arm moves toward the chest — palm facing backward to displace the water — while the upper arm and elbow stay in place; once it returns to the extended position, the other arm repeats the movement. This trains the elbow position for the crawl: only the forearm pulls backward while the elbow remains high, since pulling with a straight arm would direct the force downward without effective propulsion.

The shark exercise is like the swordfish, except the back arm is raised like a shark's fin with each breath (see picture) and returns to its position once the face is back in the water. This trains the coordination between the crawl stroke and breathing: the sideways breath begins as the arm leaves the water backwards and ends when it re-enters at the front.

The child pushes off from the pool wall for three seconds, glides with arms stretched forward and should then crawl 15 meters as quickly as possible. This exercise sequence emphasizes the rapid change from a stretched posture to a dynamic arm and leg drive, which is crucial for an effective take-off jump.

The child pushes off the edge of the pool and remains stretched for one to two seconds. This is followed by five curl-ups with alternating legs. The child does not breathe. The arms can be stretched or slightly bent. This exercise transfers the coordination of the arms from the windmill exercise into the water. Breathing is deliberately omitted as the child is not yet breathing in a coordinated manner on the side.

For the windmill forward exercise, stand on the land with both arms at the side of your body. Start by slowly rotating one arm anticlockwise with the palm facing downwards. Then follow with the other arm and finally both hands simultaneously, but asynchronously. This exercise promotes arm coordination and helps to understand the basics of the crawl. The crawl with an efficient elbow bend is developed further in later courses.