Level 3 is a great stage in swimming. Its full of growing independence, comfort and confidence, and the tipping point from supported swimming to freedom.
I love teaching Level 3. Can you guess why?
There are so many moments where the light of success blossoms in swimmers. You can see them exalt in joy when they figure out how to move through the water with power and skill. When they realize they can start breathing at will the distance from shallow water or the wall evaporates.
So let’s look at the components of a repeatable Level 3 Lesson and the crucial steps you should hit to push swimmers from glides without breathing into confident strong swimmers that can make it across the pool on their own.
Scroll to see more!
Level 2: Streamline with arm –> Level 3: Breathing to the side
Where in Level2 we’re focusing on body position and the general arm motion for front crawl, in Level 3 we want to achieve 2 crucial things to start mastering “Freestyle” or full front crawl.
- Breathing to the side without arm stroke interruption
- Pushing the water with the hands during strokes to provide meaningful forward movement
Repetition and the Rotation Method is your best tool.
The bottom red circle goes first.
The Green Arrow is the swimmer doing a streamline.
The Ping Arrow is when the swimmer does a swimming skill like 5 strokes of front crawl arms and a single side breath on the third stroke.
Swimmers then cross the lane, and return like they’re circle swimming.
This is the format that you’ll do the MOST in Level 3.
It works. Use it. Leverage it.
Coaches/Instructors can stand in the lane and give feedback when the swimmers are done with their attempt before returning to the wall, or on deck about 5 yards from the swimmer start location.
Activities to move from front glides to powerful arms and side breaths:
3 x SL + 3 Free: Focusing on three main things:
- Excellent Streamlines
- Arms reaching back to position 11 (exaggerated catch-up drill is encouraged)
- Powerful pushing water to make swimmer move forward
Standing side breaths, then face in water while standing (super shallow)
- Focus on face and head control
- Build ha habit of head turning or stepping slightly back with a foot during the breath to simulate hip roll
- Go slow!
5 x SL + 5 Free + 1 breath on the 3rd stroke.
- Focus on 1 excellent breath
- After 5 strokes, STOP.
- Limit distance and strokes to remove fear and anxiety about breath.
- Arm strokes need to provide forward movement and be done well too.
Controlling longer distances
Longer swims are great! Control those opportunities for longer swims to minimize struggle swimming, poor form, and bad habits.
This video shows an excellent progression for doing “catch-up” drill. I suggest that ALL of your new swimmers in Level 3 do all of their front crawl swimming as catch-up drill, or 1 arm at a time while the non-moving arm remains in Position 11.
Do longer swims in Level 3 peppered throughout your lesson with no more than 50 yards per activity in a single “Activity, Activity, Challenge” sequence (so don’t do more unless you do some other stuff in between that is significantly shorter or a challenge).
Catch-up Drill with a Kick board to help teach breathing to the side
More short distance drills that teach side breathing
The following activities should be done multiple times in short distances leveraging the Rotation Method or the short distance training framework where swimmers do a streamline and a brief expression of the drill (no longer than 1 breath; or the distance and time a swimmer can hold their breath without effort).
Side breaths on deck
- Return to position 11 with every arm above the shoulder
- Step backwards with same side foot as arm returning up
- Add a breath to side stepping back
Position 1
5 x SL + Position 1 for 10 kicks; do 1 side breath after 10 kicks and do another 10 kicks with face in water locking down
- Belly button aims down
- Breath should be a controlled head twist without lifting
- Small body roll is acceptable
Side Glide Breaths
5 x Streamline with belly down, then at surface rotate body to the side, and kick. Then, take 1 breath to the sky continuing to kick. Look down again and kick at least 10 more times.
- “Smell your stinky armpit” when looking down
- Only the head twists
- Kick should remain strong throughout
Building backstroke is very similar, but easier
We don’t have to worry about breathing! I know! Backstroke is almost cake compared to teaching front crawl side breaths.
Activities to improve confidence and strength of Backstroke
Slow & Careful arms strokes on deck
- Take it slow
- Focus on thumb, hi, pinky, push
- Reach directly up above the shoulders
- Introduce bent elbow push after large arm circles done well
5 x SL on Back stop briefly after reaching surface or the flags
- Drop down first on back
- Put hands on the top of your head
- Grow into streamline
- Do all 3 things to streamline while underwater
- Fly kicks underwater are optional
- Flutter kicks are okay
5 x SL + 3 strokes of Backstroke; stop instead of doing the 12 kicks.
(Five times do a streamline on the back and then after the flags continue kicking and do three backstroke arm strokes).
You can of course do this drill. It is explained well in the video, but is not necessary for beginners.
- Streamline to the flags
- Do 3 strokes after the flags, counting when the arm exists the water near the hips
Introduce longer distances but limit for fatigue
In Level 3 stop after every 25 yards to allow swimmers a chance to recover.
- Focus on stable head kept above water
- Kick should remain constant
- Arms should reach straight up to the sky during recovery
- Arms should reach to about Position 11 with the pinky entering the water
- Arms should push the water with a straight elbow (beginner) or a bent elbow (advanced) and push to the hips
Sprinkle Breaststroke and Butterfly like pepper on eggs
Frequent attempts, but not dominating or taking much time.
Breaststroke: Arms
In Level 3 we’re teaching the basics of breaststroke arms and saving the swimming and power for Level 4 where more advanced techniques can be taught.
We introduce the arm movement as a choreography, or a series of dance moves that are by themselves VERY SIMPLE and provide limited to no propulsion.
10 x 11, Eat, 11
Hold each pose for a few seconds.
- Pause in Position 11
- Pause in “Eat”
- Keep elbows above shoulders
The video is the WRONG WAY to do 11, Eat, 11
This video is a great example of what NOT to do.
- Avoid chicken wings
- Avoid flapping elbows
- No giant spreading the pizza sauce
In water, do a brief streamline, then a single 11, Eat, 11
Pause in each step to build muscle memory and habit.
Breaststroke Kick introduction is done similarly; the movement or motion first, with power and pressure on the water later.
Breaststroke kick is REALLY hard.
I like to teach it by introducing it slowly, over time, with gradual exposure to the different “chunks.”
- Breaststroke Dance
- Reviewing FLEX frequently
- Streamline + Flex
- Streamline + Lift & Flex
- Breaststroke kick around hula hoop
- Streamline Push Breaststroke Kick
Breaststroke kick dance done in a group. Everyone puts 1 foot into the center.
3 x SL + “Flex”
Hold SL throughout, and push off with feet flexed, legs straight and held together, only feet are turning out.
This is to get in habit of flexing or flaring feet wide.
3 x SL + “Lift and Flex”
Streamline, then lift feet up, and flex them. Hold in that position.
5 x Draw a circle with your heels around the hula hoop. BR K
Partners, one person in the water, hold the hoop. Other sits on the side, and gets butt on the edge. Start at closest edge, with heels draw a circle around both sides of the hoop to the top.
Game – Streamline Push
Create partners or groups.
One person floats on their back or belly in streamline.
Other person holds their feet. When they’re ready, the person holding the feet pushes using hands and feet on the wall to “Push” the streamline as far as you can go.
The winner is the “streamline” that gets the farthest without kicking, moving, or breathing.
Butterfly arms
Teach swimmers to do the arms while standing on deck first, then after movement is mastered with controlled motion, do in water. In the same way we gradually introduce Breaststroke arms as a choreography we should do the same for Butterfly arms.
Take the “power” and the “swimming” out of the instruction. Instead focus on people moving their bodies in a way that matches the swimming stroke.
Butterfly arms on deck:
Go slow. Use language that matches the movement with targeting words.
- Start in Position 11
- Push down in front of your body
- At your hips flare out and move into Airplane
- Pass through Airplane
- Return to Position 11
Then, once on land movement mastered, do it in water after a brief no-kick streamline
5 x SL + 2 FLY with NO KICK
Do this five times. Streamline first with no kick and at the surface start in Position 11 and do two butterfly arm strokes without kicking or breathing.
- Recover at the surface
- Aim thumbs down to the bottom of pool (same direction as belly button)
- If recovering arms pushes the water and moves swimmer backwards, THAT IS OKAY
- Focus on the motion, not the “power” or the “swimming”
Remember to focus on small incremental steps when learning with periodic Challenges to reset attention and allow time for recovery.
Subscribe to get access to the PDF download for Level 3 Repeatable
Read more of this content when you subscribe today.
Individuals
A single person can access online courses, documents, and a files.
Agencies & Teams
Every staff member can access online courses, documents, and files
Better swimming.
Download FREE tools.
Download a free preview of our Premium Lesson Plans & unique SwimSheets.
Stay on our newsletter to enjoy more benefits like further free downloads, guides, and tools to make your swimming program better, easier, and more FUN!
Some really useful advice……..but try achieving with groups of 12 🤦🏼♀️
I used to run variations of this practice or lesson with groups of 30 in a shallow pool in lanes with an assistant coach.
Granted, they were swim team kids that had passed a tryout.
We run this class as advanced lessons with groups of 4 in lanes with an instructor in water to help and a lead on deck.
Are you really teaching classes with a 1:12 ratio to kids that are still learning front crawl amd side breaths?
All recommendations from almost every lesson agency is a 1:5 max for safety and feasibility.