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Jan. 20, 2026 - Magic “W” in Your Breaststroke Kick
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Dave Salo
5 Time Olympic Coach
GoSwim Athletes Coached by Dave Salo
Amanda Beard
Dave Denniston
Staciana Winfield
Jessica Hardy
Jason Lezak
Scott Tucker
Eric Shanteau
Ricky Berens
The trend in breaststroke is toward a narrow kick. There’s variation in how far the feet extend outside the body cylinder, but there’s agreement that the knees should be narrow, with the feet extending wider than the knees, and the legs forming a “W” in the water. This week we discuss how to develop a narrow, powerful kick.
Monday
Amanda Beard: Finish Your Kick
Even though the chapter focuses on how well Amanda finishes her kick, there are plenty of instances that point out how amazing she is at getting into the W style of kick set up we’re looking for in today’s style of great breaststroke.
goswim.tv/lessons/527-finish-your-kick
JUMP TO KATE - 43.09
JUMP TO ZAC - 43.25 - 11560 (compare) - 15050
Video 3 Dave and Staciana
Tuesday
Glenn: Breaststroke Kick Width
Glenn demonstrates four variations of the breaststroke kick, ending with “knees narrow, feet wide” – the classic “W” shape. He shows how to use a pull buoy to train knees, narrow, feet wide.
goswim.tv/lessons/3267-breaststroke-kick-width
Wednesday
Davo Drills: Wall Kick
By holding your body close to the wall, your knees automatically stay narrow and in line with your shoulders, and the kick happens behind your body, forming the magic “W.”
goswim.tv/lessons/183-wall-kick
Thursday
Glenn: Grab the Heels Kick
After practicing breaststroke kick with your belly against the wall, try this next: breaststroke kick on your back, grabbing the heels with your hands.
goswim.tv/lessons/2925-breaststroke-grab-the-heels-kick
Friday
Drill: Breaststroke Kick on Your Back with Pull Buoy
From grabbing the heels, progress to not grabbing the heels but recovering the legs BEHIND the body. Check yourself on the fine points: not stopping and surging and not bobbing up and down. Think about the legs forming a “W” shape.
goswim.tv/lessons/2179-breaststroke-kick-on-back
Saturday
Haufler Breasatstroke: The Problem – Knees Too Wide
Steve Haufler has a huge bag of tricks for correcting a too-wide breaststroke kick.
goswim.tv/lessons/1500-the-problem-knees-too-wide
Sunday
PDF Fins Breaststroke Kick – Annotated
We love using PDFins to help swimmers reduce resistance in all areas of the breaststroke kick – from the setup to the delivery. Check out the overhead footage for this swimmer’s narrow knees and wide feet.
goswim.tv/lessons/2588-pdf-fins-breaststroke-kick-annotated
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How long is this video?
1 hour 12 minutes.
