Review article

Teaching of the front crawl style: a proposal for sports continuity during the pandemic

0000-0003-2085-7653Héctor Raúl Pilca Bermudes^{1  *} 

¹Universidad Central del Ecuador. Ecuador.

ABSTRACT

The pandemic has generated much damage in all areas, especially in sports, so strategies are needed to allow its continuity. The objective of this research is to reflect and propose strategies for teaching the crawl style, in the context of the pandemic for the return to training avoiding contagion. This study is of a theoretical nature through the review of scientific documents from the Google Scholar database, among books, theses and articles, which were selected in two dimensions: swimming for teaching the crawl style and safety interpretations during practice in the pandemic setting. A proposal for teaching the crawl style could be established for sports continuity during the pandemic, structured in two strategies, the first called safe teaching and the second safe training. This will allow to contribute directly, as a practical document useful to coaches for the safe teaching of swimming not only in crawl but in different styles.

Key words: Swimming; Training; Pandemic; Teaching; Crawl style.

INTRODUCTION

The pandemic caused by Covid-19 provoked all countries in the world to establish regulations to prevent contagion among citizens. Ecuador was not the exception because on March 16, 2020, by presidential decree, a state of emergency was declared due to public calamity ^{(Cóndor et al., 2021)} determining, among several provisions, the suspension of gyms, training centers and places of sports practices ^{(Presidency of the Republic of Ecuador, 2020)}.

As time went by, the local authorities made these provisions more flexible ^{(Molina and Mejías, 2020)}, in addition, they authorized the reopening without the contagions having decreased ^{(Chicaiza et al., 2021)}, in order to reactivate the economy and support the continuity sports, determining compliance with pilot plans ^{(Municipality of the Metropolitan District of Quito, 2020)}.

Faced with this, the Emergency Operations Committee of Ecuador [Coe in Spanish] regulated these authorizations with a capacity of 30 % of the capacity provided by the training center ^{(COE, 2021)}, which generated pauses in the fulfillment of the athletes' plans. This problem could be seen in the use of swimming pools.

In this sense, the ^{Secretary of Sport of Ecuador (2020)} established different guidelines for the return to sports practice, so that athletes and coaches do not get infected ^{(Posso, Marcillo and Bedón, 2021)}; biosafety measures were established, suggested by the World Health Organization [WHO] such as distancing, use of alcohol and a mask, ventilation, disinfection of contaminated surfaces such as sports implements, among others ^{(WHO, 2020)}.

However, there was no specific direction or guideline for the practice of physical activity and sports training, only a series of prevention measures for contagion were proposed ^{(Posso, et al., 2021)}, but it is not said how to do it, that is, no teaching strategies are proposed where the coach can guide (Posso, 2018) and direct the athlete to reach the desired technical, physical and mental level.

To improve the technical level, it is necessary to optimize energy and follow the coach's guidelines. ^{Álvarez et al., (2020)} mentions that, in addition to these elements, the confidence emitted by the coach during practices is a fundamental factor for the development of technical work ^{(Posso et al., 2021)}; therefore, a level of confidence and the measures taken to prevent the disease from spreading must be guaranteed.

For this reason, it was necessary for training during the pandemic to have continuity, but no specific training guidelines, use of spaces, handling of equipment, among others, were established, according to the characteristics of each sports discipline, only recommendations of biosafety, with which many coaches adapted them to their realities ^{(Marcillo et al., 2021)}.

As already argued, these protocols are not specific to be applied in training, so many coaches had to incorporate them into daily training plans to meet biosafety requirements, but not with standardization and, much less, with a researched basis ^{(Posso et al., 2020)}.

Undoubtedly, one of the most used guidelines is to look for a safe space, in which athletes can remove their mask without any danger of contagion; in this place you can recover between exercises ^{(Posso et al., 2021)}, but this cannot be applied during training in the pool, because, due to its context, the mask cannot be used, so the alternative of a safe space must be generated during inactivity.

With this foundation, it is proposed that the practice of swimming should have specific biosafety guidelines such as areas for disinfection, training schedules for small or personalized groups, monitoring and evaluation of the health status of athletes, with which it could start to propose strategies that allow coaches and athletes to teach and practice safely ^{(Pinto et al., 2020)}.

The teaching of swimming in its different styles, especially the front crawl, has changed during the pandemic due to new conditions such as distancing and the use of a mask ^{(Cóndor et al., 2021)}; that is, as the coach is the one who teaches, he will have to take these guidelines into account when addressing his athletes, adapting teaching strategies that allow him to arrive with his knowledge, corrections and recommendations.

In this sense, verbal and corporal communication should be the priority ^{(Posso et al., 2020)} at the time of training. Coaches are required to look for new alternatives on how to convey achieving their goals for sports performance, which will allow proposing multiple teaching strategies ^{(Posso, Barba, Otáñez, 2020)} of swimming in the front crawl style, for the development of the training and sports continuity in the context of the pandemic. The guidelines established by local and sectional authorities ^{(Posso and Bertheau, 2020)} are taken into account, to reduce the risks of contagion. Due to this, the objective of this research is to propose freestyle teaching strategies, in the context of the pandemic, to return to training and thus avoid contagion ^{(Infante, 2020}; ^{Tascón, 2020)}.

The research carried out was theoretical ^{(Ledesma, 2021)}, ^{Rojas et al., (2020)} due to the fact that a review of 35 scientific documents was carried out, including books and articles on swimming for the teaching of the front crawl style and safety interpretations during practice in the field of swimming. pandemic. The selection criteria were based on documents from the Google Scholar database referring to two dimensions: swimming for the teaching of the front crawl style and safety interpretations during practice in the context of the pandemic, which will guarantee an extensive and effective collection of information, allowing the teaching proposal of the front crawl style to be carried out for sports continuity during the pandemic.

DEVELOPMENT

The teaching of the front crawl style and safety interpretations during practice in the context of the pandemic

According to the documentary review carried out on the two dimensions: in swimming for the teaching of the front crawl style and the safety interpretations during the practice in the context of the pandemic, several contributions could be obtained, which provided through the interpretation different strategies (Table 1).

Table 1.  - Document review results 

This made it possible to identify significant contributions, as could be rescued in its first dimension, such as necessary guidelines for training in the aquatic environment, flexible type planning so that coaches can better direct their training, training with alternation in teaching strategies, permanent feedback that will allow to correct the technique and tactics; the second dimension that it contributes with generating a safe environment in the access and within the areas that make up the pool, as well as the proper use of training sites and equipment.

With the establishment of different strategies according to the collected contributions, there will be fundamental elements for the establishment of a proposal for teaching the front crawl style for sports continuity during the pandemic, which allows generating safe training through complying with the guidelines and regulations for contagion prevention, the complexity of the exercises and the correction of technical errors, such as the safety and confidence of the athletes during practices, in response to the need for sports continuity.

Once the results determined in strategies are obtained, the crawl style teaching proposal can be developed for sports continuity during the pandemic; for this, some considerations must be pointed out, such as the fact that the pandemic has generated a rediscovery of the role of the coach, since new teaching strategies must be considered in order to consolidate different demands and guarantee the integrity of the athlete.

The forms of teaching in the coach are essential when transmitting his/her knowledge based on the planned objectives, that is, if it is wanted to reach the perfection of the technique, it is essential that the athlete understands what the coach wants; this, without a doubt, is accompanied by positive interactions and motivation such as cordiality, respect, consideration, suggestions, orientations, exaltation, among others, that are generated through sports teaching strategies.

It should be considered that, if it is wanted to improve the technique and tactics of the front crawl style, a number of exercises and activities must be planned and each of these must be planted with the appropriate teaching strategy. The health crisis caused by Covid-19 is a real challenge for the coach, so guidelines or standards must be established to follow due to the different realities experienced in training, to determine alternatives that must be considered more or less percentage.

Table 2 shows the content and teaching methodology carried out in the permanent meetings with the athletes before and after training and the crossing of strategies proposed for the safe practice of the front crawl style (Table 2).

Table 2.  - Permanent meetings with athletes before and after training 

Table 3 shows the content and teaching methodology carried out in the short talks with the athletes during training and the crossing of strategies proposed for the safe practice of the front crawl style (Table 3).

Table 3.  - Short talks with athletes during training 

Table 4 shows the content and teaching methodology carried out in the design of series of activities with volume, intensity and modifiable breaks according to the need presented and the crossing of strategies proposed for the safe practice of the front crawl style (Table 4).

Table 4.  - Design of series of activities with volume, intensity and modifiable breaks according to the need presented 

Table 5 shows the content and teaching methodology carried out in the practice of activities with the application of different types of teaching according to the needs and the crossing of strategies proposed for the safe practice of the front crawl style (Table 5).

Table 5.  - Practice of activities with application of different types of teaching according to the needs and requirements 

Table 6 shows the content and teaching methodology carried out in the Correction of crawl style techniques and strategies and the crossing of strategies proposed for safe practice (Table 6) .

Table 6.  - Correction of crawl style techniques and strategies 

This proposal guarantees the return of safe training, the same contents that are developed in the crawl style planning are proposed; the application of these recommendations will protect the health of athletes and coaches.

CONCLUSIONS

The pandemic has allowed sports coaches to value their athletes more, defining their own safety protocols and seeking new ways and styles of teaching, but the aquatic environment does not allow the use of masks, given this, the proposal ensures tranquility during practices.

The proposal developed in this study will allow it to be applied in front crawl training and, without a doubt, in all training in the disciplines of the aquatic environment in the context of the pandemic, with which it will be provided directly, as a practical document useful to coaches for safe teaching.

Undoubtedly, the return to face-to-face training will allow to resume the physical, technical and tactical condition of the athletes, following these recommendations will open the doors of continuity and progression to obtain the much-desired competitive sports achievement.

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Received: November 29, 2021; Accepted: May 09, 2022

^*Autor para la correspondencia: [e-mail]

El autor declara no tener conflictos de intereses.

Pilca Bermudes Héctor Raúl: Concepción de la idea 100 %, búsqueda y revisión de literatura 100 %, confección de instrumento 100 %, aplicación de instrumento 100 %, recopilación de la información resultado del instrumento aplicado 100 %, análisis 100 %, confección de tablas, gráficos e imágenes 100 %, confección de base de datos 100 %, asesoramiento general por la temática abordada 100 %, corrección del artículo 100 %, traducción de términos o información obtenida 100 %, revisión de la aplicación de la norma bibliográfica aplicada 100 %.