Breaststroke: Scull, Scoop, Shoot, and Stroke Efficiency
In this instructional breakdown, competitive swimmer Derek Maas explains the fundamentals of breaststroke technique, emphasizing efficiency and minimizing drag. The pull is divided into three phases: scull, scoop, and shoot. The scull begins with the arms sweeping out at a 40-degree angle—ideal for generating power without increasing drag. The scoop phase finishes with tight elbows to set up a fast shoot, which is the slowest part of the stroke and must be executed quickly. Maas also highlights the importance of a compact kick, both for speed and knee protection. The kick starts during the shoot phase and ends when the body returns to a tight, streamlined position. Proper head position is critical: it should rise after the scull and return quickly to neutral. Lifting too high or not enough disrupts momentum and body alignment. Overall, Maas emphasizes smooth, efficient movement to swim breaststroke faster and smarter.
Key Takeaways:
• The pull has three phases: scull (angle), scoop (tight elbows), and shoot (quick extension).
• A compact kick minimizes drag and protects the knees—form matters more than force.
• Maintain a tight body line post-kick, especially important in longer races with lots of glide.
• Head should rise after scull and return to neutral—too high or too low kills momentum and alignment.
00:15
Hey guys, Derek Maas here and today i'll be going over my favorite stroke - breaststroke. The first thing to learn with breaststroke is the pull which consists of three phases - scull, scoop, and shoot. For the scull part of the stroke you want to bring your arms out straight to make about a 40 degree angle with your body line in order to get enough power out of the stroke, which you wouldn't do with arms too high, but also not create too much drag, which you would do if you brought your arms too low.
00:40
For the scoop you want to end with tight elbows to set yourself up for a fast shoot with minimal resistance. The shoot is the slowest part of the stroke so you want to get through it as quick as possible. When you put the stroke together all three phases should combine into one smooth motion.
00:55
Here you can see that the arms are at about a 40 degree angle away from the body line. One of the most common mistakes in breaststroke is trying to have too big of a pull. It is crucial that you use a tighter pull as it takes less energy and is actually faster because it creates less drag. The kick is probably the hardest thing to master in brushstroke because of the range of motion needed.
01:13
This drill can teach you the motion of the breaststroke kick while also helping to increase your range of motion. Similarly to the pull it is important to have a tight kick in order to decrease drag and protect your knees. The kick starts during the shoot phase of the stroke and ends when your hands are in streamline with either your thumbs or pointer fingers touching.
01:32
At the end of the kick your body should resemble a line with legs straight all the way to the toes which are pointing and touching. A tight body line is crucial especially in longer breaststroke events where sometimes over half the race is spent gliding. Head positioning in breaststroke is easy to learn but also commonly messed up.
01:52
The head starts to lift after the scull phase of the stroke has been completed and returns with the shoot phase of the stroke. When your head returns it should go back to neutral position immediately looking straight down at the bottom of the pool. A lot of kids will lift their heads too high which is inefficient.
02:08
This not only uses too much energy it also drops the hips and makes it harder to regain a tight body line. Not lifting your head enough creates a different problem. It is harder to gain momentum as this doesn't allow you to use the force of your head to drive the stroke. The correct head position is perpendicular to the surface allowing you to conserve energy and keep the hips up while still using momentum from your head to drive the stroke.
