Through one of our drill posts about the importance of sculling, we have driven a little bit of controversy regarding the proper way to teach a high catch. The lingering theory behind sculling is that it creates a delayed catch and therefore is not promoting an early vertical forearm. However, it is all about how you approach the presentation of the sculling drill.
The Black-Hole of Your Stroke
Through several studies it has been found that there is a point in an individual’s stroke that does not create any thrust or carry any momentum. After twelve years of coaching I have come to call this the “Zero Momentum Zone”, and has affectionately been renamed by several of my swimmers as the “Black-Hole” of their stroke because they lose any momentum in that one area. Typically, this portion of the stroke occurs just after the entry and immediately before the catch.
Why Teach the Scull
When a swimmer has a great catch, great pull, and great recovery, he or she is going to look for something to create an extra lift (or thrust) in that immediate Black-Hole area. Sculling provides a great way to fill that void as you are able to maintain the momentum from the last stroke significantly better if you are able to get an efficient (and quick) outward scull.
Even though the focus of the scull is to maintain your momentum, you have to make sure that the out-sweep does not bring your arms into an awkward position and force you to delay your catch – this is the point of the controversy. I would highly suggest that you work on this with a coach and time the differences along with measuring the number of strokes, etc. As this is one of those fine detail-oriented aspects you want to make sure that it is done right! (Coaches, this could actually help some of your younger swimmers get into the habit of a high catch as well)
How To Drill This Into Our Swimmers
The easiest way to get this instilled in swimmers is to drill scull separately from the paddle, and then bring the two together with an underwater recovery drill. So, pick one of the sculling flavors (I prefer a hand speed scull for this purpose) and drill that first. Then, drill a paddle drill (either long or short). Finally, bring the two together with the scull-paddle combo; have the swimmer concentrate on a quick and effective scull that will get their hand in an opportune position to reach an efficient high catch.
*If you are fortunate enough to have MONA (or a software program that measures propulsion in the stroke), use it before and after you teach this to recognize the difference*
I hope this helps clarify why you would teach the scull a little more, but if you still have questions feel free to leave a few comments!
Addition To Post: Take a look at this video from Mike Bottom that I found on YouTube. He describes a “slide out” of the arm which is exactly where the scull comes into play. This should give a visual as to how much of a scull the swimmer is performing.
How much of a scull are we talking here? I can’t wrap my head around telling my kids to scull before they catch without knowing hyper-specifics. Do you have examples of elite swimmers doing this or your own swimmers working on this for a visual? The idea of directing energy different ways or delaying the catch by implementing what appears to be an negligible amount of velocity is a hard sell.
Hey CoachErik,
First, thanks for the comment! Second, I have found a video on YouTube where Mike Bottom describes a “slide out” of the hand through hip driven freestyle. This sliding action is exactly what I am talking about in this post. I hope this helps visualize it a bit!
-Andy
Okay, I see what you are talking about. My only beef with this is the literal interpretation of scull. I consider myself a pretty literal person, so when I see or hear scull I really think sculling.
As I see this slide or scull is a matter of putting yourself in the best position for a strong catch. I guess seeing force vectors or velocity curves would maybe sway me a bit more but I can’t see (what appears to me) merely going from pronating to supinating as velocity producing at high race speeds enough to teach sculling in the catch.
I teach my kids to have their hands enter leading with the ring and middle finger to get away from planing or surfing during the stroke (we work on body line, but this movement is used for poor alignment/inconsistent kick during breathing cycles). Focusing on an more hip-driven, open stroke with a palm inward recovery reduces shoulder issues and we train better, safer and ultimately longer as a result. Swim camp and Faster Fast Series with Richard Quick plus personal experience in the water has led me to this conclusion.
I will have to get in today and give it a shot.
Good article and feedback from all. I see that the benefit of finely tuned scull drill helps the swimmers improve their “support function” on the water (this is the high or vertical forearm). Support function is what creates stabilization of the body relative to the waterline and reduces body drag (this greatly affects swimmer velocity). Dead zones in the strokes are almost always something other then point of the stroke your trying to fixed. Dropped elbow’s often are caused by timing and coordination of movements between the other 3 extremities and their role in phasic or support function. So, the sculling drill must look at what’s going on front quadrants, but also the rear quadrants and the trunk. Integration of other skills in the other quadrants gives your swimmers better support function in the front. Just a thought.
Do you have anymore visuals on “skating on your side” because my kids don’t really get how to glide?
Theoretically, at any age. Dana Vollmer, for example, was the youngest competitor at the 2000 Olympic Trials when she was 12, so your swimmer would be in rare air in that instance! Who is your swimmer?? Note that these are long course meters times – the fastest 12 year old in the country right now is more than a second off of the trials cut in the 50 free.