What's the Catch?

Catch (kach) - verb/noun
   -v. - intercept and hold something
  -n. - the act of catching something

Always great when the word is used in its own definition, huh? These are some common definitions of the word  "catch", however when it comes to swimming the catch is something completely different. The catch is the part of your stroke at the beginning of the pull, one of the first movements after your hand enters the water.  Every stroke has a catch and it is equally important in all of them.

Why is the catch important? The catch sets up your pull and will help to determine the amount of water that is pulled with that stroke.  More water pulled = further propulsion forward = fewer strokes = more efficient stroke = faster swimming.

Freestyle

Freestyle catch

The catch in freestyle is made after the complete underwater extension of the arm.  You may have been taught to swim freestyle with a high elbow recovery.  Well high elbows are also a necessity when you are pulling the water. A good freestyle catch is set up with a high elbow.  When you're swimming, think about reaching over an imaginary barrel in front of you. In the picture to the right, you can see she has a high elbow and her arm is bent like she is reaching over a barrel. This will set up your arm to pull water effectively.  When you pull the water, you want to pull with as much surface area of your arm as possible.  This means the pull should utilize everything from pretty much your elbow to your fingertips. This will enable you to pull more water leading to a more efficient stroke.

Backstroke

Backstroke catch

The backstroke is almost the opposite of the freestyle catch in that in backstroke you want to have a low elbow in the water as seen in the picture here. This sets up the backstroke pull so that you can pull with as much surface area as possible. The fingers are pointed to the side of the lane, but slightly towards the surface of the water. The hand movement in the water is very shallow. This is so all of the water you pull is moving you forwards instead of up, and it also better utilizes the major muscle groups of the shoulder and arm.

Breaststroke

Breaststroke catch

In breaststroke, the catch is initiated after the arms are fully extended. At the full extension of the arms, the hands should be slightly apart. The initial movement of the arms is a lateral movement of the hands out to the side (as shown in the picture to the right). This movement doesn't do a whole lot in terms of moving you forward in the water.  This is the arm position that the catch begins. The wrists bend and the finger tips point towards the bottom of the pool and the elbows bend to about 90 degrees. This will set up the rest of the breaststroke pull. Remember: the goal is to move forward, not up.

Butterfly catch

Butterfly
The butterfly catch is very similar to the breaststroke catch. It is started with arms fully extended and the hands facing out.  First, the arms move laterally outward before sweeping back in toward the center of the body for the final pull.  At the end of the butterfly catch, the elbows should be in toward your ribs.







Every stroke's catch is extremely important.  It helps set up your arms to pull as much water as possible, making your stroke more efficient. This is an easy thing you can practice with every stroke in the pool. Soon your body will commit it to memory and it will become habit.