The Power is in the Kick

Did you know that learning to kick is one of the most important things kids can do in mastering swim?
Kids can move in the water without kicking but they aren’t going to get very far because if they’re not kicking then they are just dragging themselves with their arms. Not very effective.

Kicking pushes their little bodies forward. So learning a kick and then mastering a strong kick can really make little swimmers into little proficient swimmers.

As easy as kicking sounds, kids often have difficulty learning to do it correctly. It requires rhythm, balance, and abdominal strength. There is also nothing that kids do on land (or a land skills) that mirrors the muscle movement of horizontal kicking.

Here are two activities that kids can do at home (without a pool) that will help them to grasp the horizontal kick concept during swimming lessons:

1. Have the kid walk around the house with “Frankenstein” legs. The walk should be straight-legged with all movement originating from the hips. This will help create the “memory” of where the kick should come from. When this is mastered, the kid can move on to the next activity.
2. Have the kid lie on the end of the bed with the bottom of the knee cap at the edge. Have the kid practice kicking on his front and back. Tell the kid to remember the “Frankenstein” walk and to make sure that the kick is coming from the hip (not the knee.) Also have the kid limit how wide (space created between feet) can be (six inches is the max).