When teaching breaststroke, one of the hardest faults to correct is a screw kick. Here Kaylё Burgham, STA’s Technical Manager for Aquatics shares her five top tips.

1. Go back to basics – Don’t be afraid to return to early practices and break the skill down, praising the learner at regular intervals as they progress building both competence and confidence.
2. Lots of correct practise. Be aware that learners strokes will deteriorate as they become tired; if you observe this happening it is better to change activities rather than persevere otherwise you may end up replacing one fault with another.
3. Give the learner opportunities to participate in activities they enjoy and are good at too; if correcting their screw kick becomes the sole focus of their swimming lessons they are likely to become bored, frustrated and de-motivated.
4. Accurate demonstrations are key!
5. Feedback – Be aware that learners might not have the body awareness to recognise when they are performing the action incorrectly, so continual, accurate feedback from the teacher is also important.