Freestyle 101

Now that it is the time for cooling off in the water...here's a little refresher on the freestyle stroke.

• When breathing, tuck your head in and look down at your feet - this will prevent sucking in water.
• Rocking side to side is a good thing when doing the freestyle. Staying flat in the water is not.
• The beat is 1-2-3, 1-2-3 when kicking and your arm strokes should match...so every 1-2-3 of flutter kick equals one arm stroke. For beginners this is important since we tend to forget kicking when concentrating on arm strokes and breathing!
• Don't cup your hands with closed hands - open your fingers so that you get maximize displacement of water.

More on this later!