Introduction to Leg Training

Contrary to many beliefs, swimming is not the most important part of conditioning. We believe that leg training is the most important skill for the development of an elite player. Leg skills should be taught early on and often during the CRAWL Phase.

Start off with basic ideas like: don't sit on the ball, stay away from the wall when the coach is talking, as you wait to shoot, have your hands up and pass with your opposite hand out of the water. Just these simple recommendations will increase athletes’ leg load.

Incorporate cross training with exercises like “breaststroke with flutter kick” or “donkey kick during a passing drill to the center”. And as you introduce ball handling, the use of skills that create balance in the water are a must. Examples include summersaults, tossing the ball and turning, notwithstanding Vertical Breast, Vertical Fly and eggbeater.

During the CRAWL Phase, the two top leg strengths are vertical breast and eggbeater. Once you get into WALK, Spider Legs become the focal point of your leg training. 

Spider legs = game like legs. 

Preview: Spider legs are the combination of all leg positions used during a game. To explain this better, let's look at a perimeter shooter: he needs to move forward, sideways, up and down, backwards and sometimes from horizontal to vertical on a drive. This combination of leg skills training is referred to as “spider legs”.

Videos on the 6-8 Sports App