breathing in front crawl

Question
Hallo--i've been improving my breast stroke & back stroke over the past year & am now keen to devlop the front crawl but find i can ony get half way down 20m pool before i am exhausted from seemingly swallowing too much water. can you advise please.When I turn my head sideways to breathe i take in air & water!!!! many thanks

Answer
The breathing movement for freestlye (front crawl)is difficult to master but I think I can help you if not provide a little direction. Endurance and technique are what get you down the pool and back without being exhausted... elbows need to come up high when stroking and knees are slightly bent when kicking, toes pointed making little motor boat kicks...there should barely be any white water forming behind you. As far as the breath you exhale through the nose while facing down in the water but when it does come time to breath pick the side of your choice and stick with it. I breath to the right so when I need a breath I wait until the part of the stroke where my right elbow needs to go up and out of the water and then I quickly turn my head until my mouth is just barely out of the water, take a quick breath, then head straight down to continue the stroke..DO NOT lift your neck up when trying to breath because this puts a lot more stress on the body than need be.. Head should just turn straight to the side as is turning to speak to someone.

If you need further assistance refer to this video:
http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US...

I hope this helps!!