Beginner Freestyle
This type of Freestyle is different to what you may see in the Olympics. Catch-up is when the hands meet each other after each stroke, so only one arm is moving at a time. The benefits of teaching catch-up freestyle before teaching Olympic (conventional) Freestyle or Australian Crawl are obvious to those who have done so. Young children find catch-up much easier to comprehend as they are only using one arm at a time. However more importantly, just like Torpedo kicking, catch-up freestyle prepares and strengthens a child's core region so the swimmer can develop a long, powerful freestyle stroke. When children are taught Olympic freestyle too early, the arms begin to thrash around the water and correct breathing technique become difficult to teach.
*uSwim does not advocate catch-up for elite training or squad classes.

4 easy steps to Beginner Freestyle
1. Standing arms
2. 2. arms on shoulders
3. Arms on kickboard
4. Catch-up arms