taking breaths

Question
hey lorena

when im doing my normal freestyle i can easily turn my head and take breaths on my left side but when i try doin the same on my right, it is difficult to turn my head as far and i start to sink. do you know wat my problem could be and how to fix it?
thanks for your time
hughy

Answer
Hugh --

My guess, having not seen you swim (so it is only a guess), is that you are not rotating your body enough to get your face out of the water.  Remember, body roll is important in front crawl.  Now, I'm not saying to roll onto your side or back to take a breath, but what I am saying is to allow yourself to roll to the side and allow your shoulder to roll back so you can turn your head.  

Here is my recommendation: ask someone (the lifeguard, perhaps) to watch you and tell you if you are rolling the same amount to the right as you are to the left -- if not, there's your problem.  If so, then it may be a flexibility or timing issue, and write me back and we'll try to fix those.

Hope this is helpful.  Please feel free to write back if you have any more questions or if anything I've said is confusing.  Good luck!

Lorena