Thrust Capacity

At Life Time I coach three different levels of swimming.  I coach a beginning group, advanced group and a Jr. Masters group.  In my advanced group I have a seven-year-old boy named Andrew.  The other day I realized he was doing his breaststroke kick incorrectly.  I stopped him and explained to him the correct kick and sent him on his way.

Now the kick he was using is known as a scissor kick and is faster than the traditional breaststroke kick.  Thus, he was swimming significantly slower and got passed by one of the older boys.  When he finished his lap I noticed he was crying and talking under his breathe.  I assumed that he was angry that he got passed so I told him it was not a big deal; that is was normal for older kids to be faster.  He looked up at me and said, “I don’t care that he passed me.  I hate this new kick you are making me do.  It does not have the same thrust that my old kick did, and my potential speed is much slower.” 

The kid is seven-years-old and has a better vocabulary and understanding of physics than most of my high school age kids.  I had to explain to him that his potential speed would be slower, but that by doing the kick correctly he would not be disqualified for using an illegal kick at meets.  He responded, “So by doing the kick your way it eliminates the possibility of me being DQ’d?”  I explained that he could be disqualified for other things but not for his kick if he did it the correct way.   He asked what other things he could do to be disqualified and I had to explain them all.  The kid is sharp.

JB