Freestyle Swim Stroke Drills
Roll to Alternate Sides

This freestyle swim stroke drill ingrains the habit to stay balanced and to breathe on alternate sides while swimming the freestyle stroke. As such it is an excellent exercise to learn bilateral breathing.

This drill belongs to an older sequence of swimming drills to learn the freestyle stroke. Please consult the Learn How To Swim The Freestyle Stroke article to learn the current sequence of swimming drills.

The Swimming Drill

This drill is the same as the previous roll to the side drill except that you now alternate the sides to which you roll to after each stroke.

Some Swimming Tips

• Rebalance after each position change.
• Don't start to roll before the stroking hand has passed the head.
• Roll to the side by moving the hips out of the way of the stroking hand.
• Press the back head into the shoulder of the extended arm to keep balance in the side position.
• Your extended arm should feel weightless if you are perfectly balanced. At that time the arm is free to extend the body's line and make you longer.
• Alternate drill lengths and swim lengths. Try to reproduce the sensation of the drill in the swim length.
  

Conclusion

You now have learned the swimming drills that teach you how to swim faster by making yourself as long as possible in the water.

The next drills will teach you how to swim on the sides instead of on the stomach.