The Engine Room: 5 Fun Drills to Build a Powerful Kick for 5-Year-Olds

When you watch an elite swimmer glide effortlessly through the water, it's easy to be mesmerized by their powerful arm strokes. But as professional coaches, we'll let you in on a secret: the real source of their power, the hidden engine that drives everything, is their kick.

A strong, efficient kick is the absolute foundation of a great swimmer. It provides stability, propulsion, and the core strength that connects the entire body. For a 5-year-old, mastering this skill is the single most important step in their "Learn to Swim" journey.

However, the traditional method of "just kick more laps" can be boring and counterproductive for a young child. At Dreamers, our "foundation-first" philosophy is built on the principle of purposeful play. Every drill should have a clear goal, but it should also feel like a fun and engaging game. This is how we build real skill without extinguishing a child's natural love for the water.

Here are five of our favourite, coach-approved drills designed to build a powerful kick in a 5-year-old.

1. "Motorboat Kicks" (Seated Splashing)

What it is: This is often the very first drill we do. The child sits on the edge of the pool or on the top step, with their legs dangling in the water.

How to do it: Encourage your child to kick their legs as fast as they can, like a "motorboat," making as much white, bubbly splash as possible. The goal is to see the "whitewater" behind them. You can make it a game: "Can your motorboat go faster than mine?"

The Dreamer's Insight: This simple game teaches a crucial first lesson: propulsion comes from the hips. To make a big splash, a child has to engage their glutes and upper legs; they can't do it by just flicking their feet from the knee (a common bad habit we call the "bicycle kick"). It builds the foundational mind-muscle connection for a hip-driven kick.

2. "Superhero Glides" (Streamline Kicking with a Board)

What it is: The child holds a kickboard out in front of them with straight arms, puts their face in the water, and kicks across the pool in a streamlined "superhero" position.

How to do it: Ask them to stretch their arms out long and strong like Superman flying. Their head should be down, looking at the bottom of the pool, with their body as flat and straight as possible. The only thing moving should be their legs, creating a steady "motorboat" kick behind them.

The Dreamer's Insight: This drill is a masterclass in body position and efficiency. It teaches a child that a straight, flat body moves through the water much more easily than a tilted one. It reinforces the powerful kick they learned in Drill #1 and directly connects that kick to the feeling of moving forward.

3. "Volcano Eruptions" (Vertical Kicking)

What it is: In water deep enough that their feet don't touch the bottom, the child practices kicking in a vertical (upright) position, without a float.

How to do it: The child's body is straight up and down, like a pencil. Their arms can be crossed over their chest or sculling at their sides. The goal is to use only their flutter kick to keep their head above the water, creating a "boiling" or "erupting" splash around them.

The Dreamer's Insight: Vertical kicking is one of the best drills for building pure leg strength and endurance. Without the support of a board or the momentum of moving forward, the legs have to work much harder. This builds the specific muscles and stamina required to maintain a strong kick at the end of a long swim.

4. "Red Light, Green Light" Kicking

What it is: This is a fun variation of "Superhero Glides." While kicking across the pool with a board, the child changes the speed of their kick based on your commands.

How to do it: As they kick, call out "Green light!" for them to kick as fast and splashy as they can. Then, call out "Red light!" for them to slow down to a small, gentle "quiet kick." You can mix in "Yellow light!" for a medium pace.

The Dreamer's Insight: This drill teaches control and awareness. A great swimmer doesn't just have one speed. This game teaches a child to consciously control the intensity of their kick, which is the first step towards understanding pacing and energy conservation—a core concept in our Long-Term Athlete Development model.

5. "Dolphin Dives" (Underwater Dolphin Kicking)

What it is: This introduces the "fifth stroke"—the underwater dolphin kick. The child pushes off the wall in a streamline and performs a few fluid, dolphin-like kicks underwater.

How to do it: With their hands locked in a streamline, they start a rhythmic, undulating motion that begins in their chest and flows all the way down to their feet, like a mermaid or a dolphin.

The Dreamer's Insight: The dolphin kick is a powerful tool for building core strength and a feel for the water. It is a fundamental movement in all high-performance swimming. Introducing it as a fun "game" at this age builds a crucial motor pattern that will give them a massive advantage as they progress to learning starts, turns, and the butterfly stroke.

By framing these purposeful drills as fun, engaging games, you can build a powerful, efficient kick in your young swimmer while nurturing their love for the process. This is the heart of the Dreamers philosophy: building a foundation of excellence, one joyful splash at a time.