has coached National Age Group record holders and Olympic Trials finalists
Fast hands, a high elbow catch and a flat back are the keys becoming a successful backstroker. Fourteen time All American Coley Stickels describes numerous backstroke drills that not only breaks the stroke down into these three segments, but he also intermixes them helping the athlete to focus on improving more than one segment at the same time.
The uniqueness of Stickle's drills all work is that the drills are designed to train aspects of the stroke that tend to be the most difficult for swimmers to get a feel for. Stickels clearly explains the purpose of the each drill, lists common mistakes swimmers make, and points out very subtle corrections that each of his demonstrators could make, leading to increased understanding for viewers of every level. Stickels presents 17 different backstroke drills that are designed to enhance the following three areas of focus for the stroke:
Leading high elbow catch - Hand entry is done with a "heavy" hand while anchoring the elbow in a high position that allows leveraging the catch to throw the body past their arm. The pull through drill is an example of a drill you will see that exaggerates the high elbow catch and enhances the drive of the torso and the shoulder forcing the hand to get a good feel of the catch position. The high elbow drills help to establish a catch and accelerate the torso past the arm.
Quick Hands through the end phase of the pull - Attach the initial entry with heavy hands and sweep out as quickly as possible. The Whip it Drills and the Tap Tap Scissor drill are designed to keep the hands from getting stuck at the bottom of the stroke and works on the coordinating of the timing between pulls.
Flat Back - Rotating from 35-45 degrees with little to no little to no movement from the shoulders and back and forth swaying in the hips. The 6-6 drills help to keep the hips in line with the spine as the athlete alternates from six dolphin kick to six backstroke strokes working on the transition from fly to flat back while the pivot drill takes the catch and adds the "flat back" aspect of the stroke one step further. These drills will also keep your swimmer from bouncing during backstroke swimming and will allow the athlete to develop a high hand speed.
Coley Stickels provides new and creative twists on techniques and drills for the intermediate and advanced swimmers like you've never seen before. The variety of drills and their originality will keep your interest at all times and help you create even more drills than are demonstrated.
33 minutes (plus 17 minutes of Individual Medley technique). 2013.