May 5, 2020
A Note From Coach Kearyn
Hello to all of our Ducks and Ducklings!

I’ve been doing a lot to keep busy during this crazy time like doing projects with my family, painting, and working out! Of course, none if it is the same as seeing all of your beautiful and bright smiles at the Y!

I know that this situation has been rough, and trust me there have been days that have been harder than others. But, as my Marbled Ducks know, I never like to have a practice where my swimmers don’t smile at least once. So, I’d like to ask all of you to try to do something that makes you smile at least once a day! If you’d like, I’d love to hear about some of the things you did when we’re back in action!

Shout out to my Marbled Ducks! I miss all of your craziness and getting to see you all getting closer to your goals every day! I want you all to know that you guys were the favorite part of my day!

I hope everyone is getting the chance to enjoy the nicer weather and be active because before you know it, we’ll be back in our element!

See you in the pool,

Coach Kearyn
Coach Biller's Butterfly Tip #3
The Pull - Don't Sweep Out! Pull Back!
This week, we will discuss the last portion of the stroke—the Butterfly Pull. We will dissect some of the common errors seen within the pulling pattern and what the proper pulling technique is.

Compared to other pulling patterns, the Butterfly Pull is not that complicated. With both arms moving simultaneously, it requires less body awareness to complete this pull. But with that being said, if you are pulling incorrectly—it will be reflected on both sides of your body.

Keep in mind: As we go through this post, we will discuss each phase of the Butterfly Pull—there are four phases total. In each phase, we will talk about common errors associated with that phase.

Phase 1: Entry
Just like in Freestyle–when your hands are about to enter the water in Fly, you want the middle finger entering first—with the palms facing down. Your hands should enter right above their respective shoulder joint—if not, slightly wider (or outside) the joint. This setup will put you in position to “catch” water immediately.

Common Errors:
Some Flyers enter the water with their thumbs. This type of entry will delay the time it takes for your hand to get into the “catch” position. Along with, internally rotating your shoulder joints—which adds extra and unneeded stress to your body. Also, this entry may also cause you to pull too “wide” throughout your entire pull—hindering your ability to generate as much propulsion as possible.

Phase 2: The Catch
After the hands have entered in the water, the swimmer bends the elbow early (mimicking the early vertical forearm position in Freestyle) as they begin to pull backwards. This bend in the elbows puts the swimmer into their “catch” position, where they are able to fully engage their muscles to catch water .

Common Errors:
A common mistake made during the backwards pulling phase is that some swimmers have a tendency to sweep outwards (away from their body) before they start pulling back. This error is easy to spot because the swimmer’s body actually drops towards the bottom of the pool at the beginning of the pull.
Another common error made during the backwards pulling phase is that some age-groupers pull down towards the bottom FIRST to help give them leverage to get their upper body out of the water—for the breath. This error can be seen as a pause in the swimmer’s pull that happens at the time of the breath.

Phase 3: The Pull
After a swimmer begins to pull backwards with bent elbows, think of the Butterfly Pulling pattern as an hour glass. Your hands start wide (or on top of your shoulders). The hands come in–under the bellybutton, and they finish wide, out back–past your hips! Your elbows come to their maximum point of flexion when they’re under the belly button. Also, your forearms and palms are perpendicular to your body through the pull.

Common Errors:
One of the common errors in this phase is the swimmer not getting the hands under the belly button. You’ll see a lot of younger swimmers keep the hands outside their body the entire time during their pull. This is a physics learning moment. The further you are away from your center of mass–the more torque you create. This same rule affects the Butterfly Pull: The further your arms are away from your body—the weaker your pull will be.

Phase 4: The Finish
The Butterfly Pull is completed when the hands push passed the hips and the elbows are fully extended(completely firing through the length of your tricep muscles). Also, you lead with your elbows coming out of the water into the recovery.

Common Errors:
A common error during this phase is a swimmer stopping their pull before their hips. Instead of pushing past their hips and fully extending their arms (with help of their triceps), you’ll see many younger and weaker swimmers stopping their pull early and starting their recovery sooner. By doing this, you lose about 30% of your pulling phase and only get a 70% of your work output.
Eye Spy Challenge - Swim Team Edition
Check Out This Badger Boys Team, Circa Too Many Moons Ago To Remember
Ducks Dryland Workouts
Here's Dryland Routine #5 - Do 2-3 Times Weekly

Warm Up
2 x 1:00 Mountian Climbers
1:00 Squats
3 x 1:00 Planks

Work Sets
5 x 1:00 Squat/Thrust
5 x 1:00 Walk Out Push Ups - 4 per walk out
2:00 Squats - Alternate :30 wide/neutral/narrow/neutral stance
2:00 Full Sit Ups

Core Rotations
3 x 2:00 - 4 exercises, switch every :30sec
Penguins/Flutter Kicks/Jack Knives/Sit Ups

10 Minute Stretch
Duck Spotlight
We have amazing swimmers on our team! We're excited to highlight a different Duck in each team newsletter. If you'd like to be featured, send in a picture and answer these questions. Email them to Coach at glenn.biller@glymca.org .
Meet Adeline & Amelia Kolb
1. Tell Us About Yourself (age, school, swim group, parent(s):
I'm Adeline Kolb . I'm almost 9 years old, and I'm a 3 rd grader at Central-Denison Elementary School. I swim with the Lake Ducks group.
I'm Amelia Kolb . I'm 7 years old and in 1st grade at Central-Denison. I swim with with the Marbled Ducks. Our parents are Neal and Julie Kolb.

2. If you had a warning label, what would yours say?
Adeline : Warning -  Watch out, I am little but I am fast! 
Amelia: Warning - Sour on the outside, sweet on the inside

3. What motivates you to work hard?
Adeline : When people cheer for me. 
Ameila : I know that hard work pays off, so I try to do my best and then good things come! 

4. What is your proudest accomplishment?
Adeline: Qualifying for state 2020, even though it didn’t happen :(
Ameila: Joining the swim team when I was six years old.  

5. What makes you laugh the most?
Adeline: My grandma’s jokes
Amelia: My little sister, Ava

6. If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be?
Adeline: In the morning, I would go to a water park. In the afternoon, I would go to the Mall of America.  In the evening, I would have a party with yummy dinner and all of my friends. 
Amelia: I would go to the water park in the morning. I would go the beach in the afternoon. I would go to Claws (restaurant) for dinner. I would have dessert at Culvers.  
 
7. What would you sing at Karaoke Night?
Adeline: Southbound by Carrie Underwood
Amelia: Any Jonas Brothers song

8. If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Adeline: Mac & Cheese
Amelia: Strawberries

9. How would your friends describe you?
Adeline: Funny, kind, respectful and responsible
Amelia : Playful, helpful, funny and caring 

10. If you were a super hero, what powers would you have?
Adeline: To clean my room with the snap of my fingers
Amelia : Invisibility 

Positive Thoughts
Questions About Team?

Contact Coach Glenn Biller at glenn.biller@glymca.org or 262-248-6211, ext. 23

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