Learn to Swim Freestyle: The Complete Guide to Freestyle Kicking

If you're ready to help your child become a freestyle swimming pro, you’re in the right place!

Understanding the Basics of Freestyle Swimming

Freestyle, often recognized as the fastest swimming stroke, features a flutter kick, alternating arm movements, and a face-down position in the water. Begin by familiarizing your child with the water in a safe environment, such as a shallow pool. Here, they can stand and play, gradually becoming comfortable with being submerged.

This guide will outline the steps to learning the first step to swim freestyle: the freestyle kick!

As an added resource, grab your copy of our book Pool School: Learn to Swim Freestyle to read along with your child as you embark on your freestyle journey!!

The Keys to Freestyle Kicking:

NO KNEE BEND! Kick from the hip, not the knee.

MAKE SPLASHES! Splash your legs up and down. Make a BIG SPLASH, GO WILD!

SMALL, FAST KICKS! Quick kicks rather than large, slow ones.

3 Tips for Freestyle Kicking

Steps to Teach Freestyle Swimming

1. Freestyle Kick

The first step in learning freestyle is practicing the freestyle kick. Below we've outlined the multiple stages of teaching and learning the freestyle kick. Each one builds on the next, so we recommend starting with the kick, and gradually adding on.

Remember: Go at your child's own pace only moving to the next step once they're ready!

1) SEATED KICK

The SEATED KICK is exactly what it sounds like! Have your child sit on the side of the pool, or on a stair that’s at water level, with no big drop-off.
If your child is a weak or new swimmer, have them wear a floatation device, even though they're sitting out of the water.
Instruct the swimmer to splash their legs up and down making as BIG of splash as possible! Tell them to splash you and watch their reaction!

Teaching Freestyle Kick

2) SUPPORTED KICK

For this one, you’ll be holding your swimmer the entire time, so you can remove any floatation device.

There are two ways you can do this:

(1) Support your swimmer’s belly, making sure their head is out of the water. You can do this by either holding them with your hands or have them lay on a kickboard that you’re holding. Encourage them to kick their legs up and down as you move throughout the water. The goal is to get them comfortable on their bellies and comfortable moving through the water.

(2) If your child does not feel comfortable on his or her belly, have them lay on his or her back while resting their head on your shoulder. You should be down at water-level, so they feel like they’re lying flat in the water. Again, encourage them to kick their legs up and down making big splashes.

3) WALL KICK

The next phase of learning freestyle kick involves, you guessed it, a wall!
In the water, have your swimmer hold on to the wall with both of their hands and kick their feet up and down, once again making BIG SPLASHES!
You can start by supporting their bellies, getting them into the right position by lifting their bellies horizontal with the water. (With your support no floatation device is needed)
If you feel that they are kicking strongly on their own, try slightly moving your hand away, seeing if they are staying in a flat, horizontal body position.

Safety Note: This should be done in a shallow area of the pool where your swimmer can touch the bottom, with their head comfortably above the water if standing up. If you are teaching a small child, make sure you are vigilantly watching and able to quickly support them if needed.

4) BOARD KICK

Last up in our kicking journey is a freestyle kick using a kick board.
Have you swimmer hold on to the top of the kick board, with arms straight and heads looking forward.
Just like with the wall kick, have them kick their legs up and down, kicking from the hip, making big splashes where you can see white water.
Encourage your swimmer to kick without your assistance using the kick board for a set, short distance. Stay in an area they can stand and with you comfortably within-reach. We don’t need to be doing full laps – just short distances where the swimmer is building their endurance and comfortability moving around the water on their own.

Be patient as your child acclimates to the water. Use colorful toys or buoyant floats to add excitement and make the experience enjoyable.

Making Freestyle Swimming Fun

To keep the learning process engaging, add in some games and challenges. Consider the following ideas:

Obstacle Courses: Create a fun course using floats or pool toys.
Red Light, Green Light: Kick as fast as possible on GREEN. Stop on RED.
Races with Friends: Friendly competitions encourage practice and improvement.

Use imaginative stories to transform practice sessions into mini-water adventures!

The Journey Ahead

Teaching your child to swim freestyle can be an exciting journey filled with smiles, splashes, and growing confidence. With patience, practice, and plenty of fun, they will learn to master this essential skill.

Next UP: Blowing Bubbles and Breathing Techniques!