There are several drills that work on kick and pull, but very few that focus on body position and core stability. Here is a drill that works all three areas; just make sure that you’re wearing a cap and ready to have fun!
Drill: Partner Push for backstroke
Explanation: While both swimmers are on their back, one partner will place their feet on top of the other partner’s head. This swimmer will remain (or try to remain) in streamline – this turns into a great core/stability drill for them as well.
The swimmer pushing the partner is almost forced to enter the water in proper position, get into a high catch in order to get maximum efficiency from their pull, and continue a strong flutter kick in order to maintain the momentum of both them and their partner. They will also be forced to not over-rotate or bend at their hip in order to maintain a straight line of swimming.
What to look out for: Obviously, you want to be extremely careful with this drill – make sure that the swimmer who is pushing the partner pushes off the wall slowly to avoid any injury. Second, make sure the swimmers have a proper backstroke hand entry and are not just skirting around the swimmer on their head. Finally, make sure that the strokes stay fluid and continuous; what you don’t want is a lot of stop and go movements so correct the swimmer as soon as possible.
I actually just tried this drill for the first time with my swimmers yesterday. I was amazed how quickly they picked it up! They had a lot of fun with it, and they could immediately tell what the drill was supposed to accomplish.
Unfortunately, I had 2 unhappy swimmers, because we had an odd number of boys and girls…but they got over it