The weather forecast for today was clear: rain from morning till night. But as the coaches at the Ljubicic Tennis Academy told us, the island has not only a therapeutic climate but also a unique microclimate. "As long as it's windy, it won't rain here," said Head Coach Luka, and he was right. It wasn't a sunny, warm day, but it stayed dry until the end of training in the afternoon. This allowed the kids to complete their planned training program outdoors. Consistency was the topic of discussion this morning with Coach Mario Visek. I had the opportunity to have a chat with Ivanka Ajlec , the General Manager of the Vitality Hotel Punta , our lovely camp hotel. You can read about everything else that was going on in part four of our camp diaries.
According to yesterday's camp schedule, Tom could sleep in today. So we enjoyed a leisurely and delicious dinner and then had a nice time at the bar. Training didn't start until 9:30 a.m. with an hour of fitness. Then at 10:30 a.m., we went onto the court with Vallabhadas, Aston, and Coach Mario Vistek. Two players on one side, one on the other. We did various baseline drills and later volley drills. Each drill involved a specific number of balls, with the individual player constantly moving from left to right. The goal was to get the balls cleanly into the court despite all the running. "Consistency!" echoed across the court again and again. The boys were panting heavily, but Mario's motivational words inspired them, and they ran, hit, ran, hit... Even though their legs were visibly getting heavier, the boys gave it their all.
While Tom enjoyed his lunch break, the rest of the family was also getting some exercise: Dad Matthias was at the gym, as usual. Jan and I swapped our tennis shoes for running shoes today and went for a run along the waterfront promenade towards Mali Lošinj. It's a beautiful route, winding past small bays and fragrant bushes, flowers, and trees. Running here is truly enjoyable!
At 2:30 p.m., Tom continued his warm-up on the track and field court, before heading to the second tennis session from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. Tom was paired with Vallabhadas and coached by Darko. They ran through everything again, and then moved on to match practice. With the wind picking up, it was anything but easy. I thought it was great that Darko constantly gave the guys tactical tips on the points they were playing. You can really absorb tennis knowledge every minute here. Right on cue, the predicted rain started as soon as the training session ended. But the final fitness session took place in the gym. As on the previous days, there was a varied mix of strength, stability, and stretching exercises. Everything was well-balanced so that muscle soreness was kept to a minimum.
This morning I had the pleasure of interviewing Ivanka Ajlec for our hotel talk show. Ivanka recently became the General Manager here at the Vitality Hotel Punta and is an absolute powerhouse. The Slovenian native, who grew up in Germany and has extensive international hotel experience, tackles her new role with great enthusiasm. She brings a wealth of ideas and is always attentive to the needs of both guests and staff. Ivanka is a constant presence at the hotel, always keeping an eye on things and radiating a remarkable sense of calm and composure. This positive energy is contagious, spreading to all the staff, who are always incredibly friendly and welcoming.
She's proud of her hotel and the many special features it offers us TennisTravellerhere on this beautiful island. But the best way to experience it is to listen to our hotel talk and let yourself be whisked away to Vitality Island:
Anyone who wants to take a look at the Academy's various camp offerings beforehand can find information in our camp listing. The Academy offers tennis courses for all age groups and skill levels
to the tennis courses of the Ljubicic Tennis Academy
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