I love watching a swimmer’s whole race back on a tablet at poolside — the little details you miss in real time suddenly leap out. Over the years I’ve learned that short, specific cues derived from video feedback are the fastest way to improve turns. Below I share simple, repeatable poolside video cues you can use immediately to tighten flip turns and open turns. These are the ones I hand to my squad and masters swimmers when we have five minutes between sets or after a meet.
Why poolside video works (and how I use it)
Video removes opinion and replaces it with evidence. When a swimmer sees their own body angle or head position, the “why” behind a coach’s cue becomes obvious. I typically use an iPad or GoPro (mounted with a hand grip or small tripod) and record a few reps from the side and the end wall. Clips of 10–15 seconds are ideal — long enough to capture approach, turn, and breakout, but short enough to review quickly with a swimmer.
My process is simple: record 2–3 reps, watch with the swimmer on poolside, point out one or two things to change, then have them do 4–6 focused reps immediately. Repeating the cycle reinforces the feel and links the visual feedback to kinesthetic memory.
Setting up effective poolside video
Use a side view at chest height to see approach, rotation, and push-off. I use an iPad in a waterproof case or a GoPro Hero with a short pole.Use an end-wall view for open turns to see contact timing and hand placement.Keep clips short — 10–15 seconds — and focus on one objective per clip.Playback at normal speed first, then use slow motion for fine details (most phones/tablets have this built in).Use a simple annotation app (Coach’s Eye, Hudl Technique, or even the built-in markup) to circle angles or freeze frames.Flip turn cues from poolside video
Flip turns are mostly rhythm, body line, and a compact tumble. When I watch footage, I look for four checkpoints: approach speed and length, head tuck and chin-to-chest, tuck tightness, and clean push/pike.
“Count two strokes, glide” — If the swimmer is crashing into the wall or taking an extra long stroke, we slow the approach. I’ll have them count two strokes from a marker (e.g., the 7m flag) and glide into the tuck.“Chin-to-chest, not chin-to-knee” — The video usually shows an over-floppy tuck where the head ducks too far toward the knees. Freeze-frame at peak rotation and show the swimmer that the head should stay tucked but near the chest. Cue: keep your nose on your sternum.“Knees tight, feet quick” — A common slow tumble is caused by loose knees. Show a side-frame showing the knees splaying, then cue swimmers to tighten their knees together and snap the feet toward the wall like closing a book. A quick feet arrival equals a stronger push.“Long streamline, then kick” — Some swimmers fall into a poor head-up breakout because they kick too early. Point out the streamline length on video and cue a counted glide: streamline for 5 meters, then 6 steady kicks.Open turn cues from poolside video
Open turns (for breaststroke and butterfly) are about timing and contact. The video helps identify whether the hands hit the wall early/late and whether the head and hips sequence is efficient.
“Brush the wall, don’t slap” — Show a clip where the hand hits too flat and the swimmer stalls on the wall. Cue them to brush the wall with fingertips, turn the palms, and push off in a compact streamline.“Eyes to the ceiling” — For breaststroke turns, getting the head up too early disrupts the timing. Freeze at the point of contact and show the swimmer whether their eyes are already forward. Cue: contact, compress, eyes up.“Hug the hips” — Many swimmers open their legs too wide before pushing. Use slow motion to show knee separation; cue them to compress thighs into the chest slightly so the push is direct and streamlined.“Explode from the chest” — The push phase must start from a compressed chest and strong arm extension. Use the end-wall view to show the initial body angle on the push and encourage a powerful, long glide before the first kick.Drills to reinforce the cues (poolside video-friendly)
Flip-turn progressions: 3m approach, flip with float-back, 5 repetitions. Coach records and shows tuck tightness.Wall-slide drill: push back to the wall, feet plant, and hold a tight tuck for 2 seconds before push. Video the side to show knee alignment.Open-turn compression reps: swim to the wall, two quick double-arm touches, compress for 1s, push. Use end-wall footage to check contact-to-push timing.Breakout control: after a push, have swimmer count kicks out loud while coach records to ensure they’re gliding long before kicking.Common mistakes I point out with video (and the short cue I give)
| Error seen on video | Short cue |
| Slow, floppy tumble | “Tight tuck, explode” |
| Hands hit wall too early (open turns) | “Brush later” |
| Head pops up after push | “Hold streamline, count” |
| Legs splay on approach | “Knees together, feet quick” |
How I phrase cues poolside for quick uptake
When you have only a minute between reps, fewer words work better. I use three-word cues and a physical feel cue right after: for example, “chin-to-chest” followed by a single demonstration of tucking my head with my hands. Or “five-count glide” and we do it together walking the count. Visual feedback + a single short cue yields far better results than a long lecture.
Tools I recommend
iPad or a waterproof tablet for quick playback.GoPro Hero (any recent model) in slow-mo to capture rotation speed.Hudl Technique or Coaches’ Eye for frame-by-frame markup.Poolside marker cones to standardize approach distances (2m, 5m, 7m).If you want, bring your phone to practice next time and I’ll film a couple of turns and give you a one-cue takeaway. Small changes at the wall make for big time savings over a season — and seeing yourself nail a cleaner turn on video is one of the best motivators I know.
