What to avoid during the first downsweep in backstroke

The most common mistakes that swimmers make during the first downsweep in backstroke is trying to push back against the water before the arm is deep enough and wide enough to make an effective catch. This mistake can take two forms: swimmers puh water down or they push water to the side.

• Swimmers who are pushing water down at this phase of the armstroke find that this action pushes their bodies upand decreases their speed.This downward movement pushes their heads and shoulders up. Swimmers who make that mistake usually bob up and down as each arm sweeps down. Backstroke swimmers should be cautioned to make the first downsweep gently to reduce the tendency of the arms to push the head and trunk up out of horizontal alignment. The correct sweep action is to move the arm gently through the water and wait until the hand and arm have traveled sufficiently downward to achieve a backward orientation before the attempt is made to apply force. As a result, the force that will be applied will displace water back and propel the body forward.
• Swimmers who sweep the hand out to the side for a shallow catch can make a similar mistake, except in this case, they will push water to the side and disrupt their lateral alignment. Many swimmers find it difficult to wait until the arm has treveled down and out to the side before making a catch. They rush to apply force when they feel that the hand has entered the water, which is understandabe, and they start pushing against the water almost immediately. Unfortunately, the force they apply only serves to increase drag and decrease their speed. Swimmers who do this mistake are often tricked they are ready to push back because they flex the wrist and get the hand facing back soon after it enters the water. This gives them the false impression that their hand is in position to apply force backwards. However, the hand and arm are actually traveling down and out at this time so they can only push water in those directions, despite the fact that the palm is facing back. Backstroke swimmers must learn to sweep the arm and hand gently down and out to the side until both are facing backwards before they begin pushing against the water with them.

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