Eddie Reese Discusses the Importance of Underwater Kicking

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Eddie Reese Discusses the Importance of Underwater Kicking

The recent interview of Eddie Reese, conducted by Brett Hawke on his eponymous podcast, keeps on giving. Originally a 90-minute interview on the Inside With Brett Hawke Podcast, Hawke has been gradually releasing smaller segments of his discussion with the legendary coach, including a three-minute chat about the importance of dolphin kicking.

The longtime coach at the University of Texas, which he has guided to 15 NCAA titles, calls the dolphin kick the fifth stroke and recognizes its speed as second to only the freestyle. Reese goes into several specific workouts he has instituted and talks about the improvements he has seen through the years. He also emphasizes the importance of coaches dedicating significant time to kicking and how it is an injustice to the athletes if an emphasis is not placed on the fifth stroke.

At one point during the conversation with Hawke, Reese details why he approaches dolphin kicking in a specific way: “The reason I do fly kick on the back, hands at their side, is that it allows a greater range of motion so there is more involvement of the abdominals and the quadriceps,” Reese said. “We’ve done it for years. Probably 10 years ago I started doing it…You’re a product of what you do.”

Here is a link to the complete interview with Reese, along with a link to the segment in which Hawke and Reese focus on kicking.

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Ramer Janice

2 years ago

Wealth of information. Wish all coaches coached this!

Joy

2 years ago

Reply to Ramer Janice

Seriously! Why the heck is it so hard for coaches to learn from one another?!? We’ve been hearing 5th stroke blah, black, blah for years; we’ve heard about Claire Curzan’s focus, we all saw Berkhoff dominate in 19EIGHTYEIGHT! Why do the vast majority of coaches not give the fifth stroke any or enough attention? I see only a few clubs in PacSwim and Socal who have committed time and attention to teaching this. Why?