Backstroke Start Drills

This group of drills will help you focus on improving your backstroke start. They range from basic to more advanced so you can progress along the drills as you get more comfortable.

For safety, always practice starts, including start drills, with a qualified coach and in the deep end of the pool.

Hip Launches

A key skill in the backstroke start is pushing hard into the wall with your feet, so that you can project your body back over the water. Hip launches teach you how to push hard.

To do this drill, from the starting position, push hard into the wall, so that your hips rise out and over the water as you jump. Try to get your whole body out of the water. Do not lean backward. Just get up, focusing on getting out with your whole body.

Toe-Touch Start

Toe-touch starts teach you how to push down and hard into the wall, so that you go up and out over the surface. Your goal is to get your whole body out of the water.

To do this drill, do a start but after you push off, try to reach forward to touch your toes while you’re in the air. To do so, you’ll need to push really hard.

Backstroke Start Flips

An important aspect of the backstroke start is throwing your head back and getting your feet out of the water. A simple way to encourage this skill is to do a back flip or a back roll on your start.

To do backstroke start flips, from a starting position, throw your head back, push hard, bring your knees to your chest, and roll backward. Don’t worry about whether you do the flip above the water or in it. Focus on pushing hard and aggressively and throwing your head back to initiate your flip.

Back Dives

A fundamental aspect of the backstroke start is that it is a backward dive into the water. If you’re not comfortable doing a backward dive, you’ll struggle to do an effective backstroke start.

To do back dives, walk to the edge of the pool and then face away from the pool. From this position, arch your back, look for the water, reach your hands over your head, and dive back into the water. The more comfortable you get with this drill, the easier it’ll be to do a backstroke start.

Ladder Start Progression

Ladder start progression can help you get comfortable doing a backward dive.

To do this drill, you’ll need a ladder in sufficiently deep water. Grasp the handles of the ladder as if they were the starting blocks. Place your legs in one of the lower ladder rungs. From this position, throw your hands back and do a backstroke start. Don’t worry about getting over the water with lower rungs. Once you’re comfortable, move up a rung, and you’ll be moving closer to the backstroke starting position.

Gutter Starts

Doing a backstroke start grasping the pool gutter and not the backstroke start bars, which is known as a gutter start, can be an effective start drill. Because you’ll be lower in the water, effectively projecting over the water will be more difficult. All your skills will have to be locked in to do so.

To do this drill, simply grasp the pool gutter and do a start. Focus on pushing hard and quickly transitioning into an effective back dive. In most cases, this drill is more effective with a touchpad or some other surface with a good grip.

Bottom Jumps

A key skill in an effective backstroke start is maintaining a great streamline after you enter the water. That’s how you maintain speed after entering the water.

Bottom jumps help improve this skill. To do this drill, jump up and down in streamlined position in water a little deeper than your height. The goal is to land in the exact same spot each time. If your body isn’t completely straight when you jump, you’ll move out of position and will struggle to land in the same spot.

Armless Back Dives

Some swimmers struggle to include their heads when throwing their arms back. Your head needs to go back to enter the water cleanly.

To do armless back dives, set up like a normal start. Instead of throwing your head and arms back, you’ll just throw your head back. The goal is to project over the water and enter cleanly with just your head. This is difficult to do without throwing your head back aggressively.

Ball-Kick Drill

Many swimmers struggle to get their feet out of the water during their backstroke start. Learning to push hard and perform an effective back dive will help tremendously. If you want more specific work on this key skill, this drill can help.

To do ball-kick drill, have a friend hold a water polo ball or soccer ball over the water. When you do your start, your goal is to kick the ball. The only way that’s going to happen is if you’re aggressive with getting your feet out of the water.