Final answer:
A helpful phrase to develop a good back float position is “alert mind, calm body,” which promotes relaxation and focus. This mantra aids swimmers in maintaining buoyancy and balance, similar to flexibility in catching a ball or learning efficient water entry techniques.
Step-by-step explanation:
A helpful phrase to develop a good back float position in swimming might be “alert mind, calm body.” This mantra can encourage swimmers to maintain a relaxed yet focused state that is needed for floating effectively on their back. By staying relaxed and flat in the water, a swimmer's body can achieve better buoyancy and stability, which is essential for a proper back float. A relaxed body helps to spread out the swimmer's weight more evenly across the water, reducing the sinking effect that occurs with tension. Additionally, keeping an alert mind allows the swimmer to make minor adjustments to their body position to maintain the float.
Contrasting this with physical experiments, such as trying to catch a ball with giving hands versus still hands, the former teaches the importance of flexibility and adjusting to the environment, similar to how a swimmer must adjust their body to stay afloat. Similarly, hitting the water with a flat palm compared to diving in with fingers first, swimmers learn about the different water entry techniques that cause varying levels of splash and resistance, which is important to consider for developing efficient swimming techniques and minimizing the impact on the body during entry.
Swimmers are also advised to focus on the balance of their body, akin to the importance of posture and balance for athletes during competition start-offs because it affects performance and can minimize the risk of injury.