Selected Applecross SHS Students are currently on a tennis tour of Barcelona.
Below is a blog of their tour by student Lara Vujasinovic….
This will be updated regularly, so stay tuned!
As tennis players we look for ways to improve on all areas of our tennis games. Having joined the Applecross SHS tennis program, we are all looking to develop our games and broaden our knowledge on what it takes to reach our full potential. Being a part of the Program is a privilege. We are given various opportunities to expose ourselves to the world of tennis. For the past year our coaches have collaborated to organise a trip to Barcelona and a select amount of students have been accepted to participate. We will be attending Barcelona Total Tennis – one of the most prestigious tennis academies in the world – where we will be accompanied by Rafael Nadal’s advisory coach and the Spanish Davis Cup team coach. However, as this is Europe we are training on real clay. It will be challenging to adapt to the surface as majority of us haven’t stepped foot on real clay but it’s a challenge we as a team accept. The training hours are out of some of our comfort zones but we are there to learn from the best and train with the best. Both the coaches and players will strive to excel in our games and we’ll be expected to give 110% in order to achieve this goal.
We’re off!
All the excitement began the moment we all gathered at the airport. The whole process of handing in our luggage and going through customs was lengthy but we got there in the end after myself and Mr Jarvinen got patted down. We had some time to relax before boarding where most of us played uno and laughed at each others passport photos. When we boarded we all went to our designated seats before being allowed one switch ONLY when the seatbelt sign went off as Mr Jarvinen explained. The first flight lasted a tiring 11 hours however time flew by as we all slept peacefully. When we arrived in Doha, we had to catch a bus to the airport and as we all entered and the doors shut, we all watched as Gavin is left behind hahahahaha. Another customs however this one was successful:) Our final flight was only 7 hours however everyone was too excited to sleep so our main thing was “in flight trivia tournament” We had myself playing and Austin Vos, Jane Cox, Olivia Mann, Stevan Ilic, Hindsy (Mr Hinds), and then we had “j dog” (Mr Jarvinen) join the club haha. Then it was “jcat” however none of these unique usernames worked for him until he entered “dimsim” and became unbeatable. When we all had enough of Mr Jarvinen’s superior knowledge we decided to have a little goss. Mr Hinds also made our list of priorities; to find him a senoritã 😉 oh and we cannot forget the “1 euro fine” that some received for bad behaviour or Austin’s cup holder dilemma; he didn’t know how to pull the knob down.
Barcelona we are here!
24 hours later we are in Barcelona! The switch from 10 degrees to 35 was unwelcoming and it didn’t help that we were covered from head to toe. After getting our luggage, some coaches from the academy drove us to the courts and we all had a little peak at what was waiting for us for the next week. We also had access to the courts for the afternoon so we could become a bit more comfortable with the clay before we start to train. Team Tennis. Everyone was split into either Mr J’s, Mr Hinds and Sharron’s group and we played singles and doubles. It was hard enough to focus on our movement and balance as the ball was slower and bounced higher but battling the 37 degree heat at the same time became tough, so hydrating was crucial. However we had one silly boy NOT bring water as he didn’t think it was needed! After a long afternoon we set back to our apartments, Apart Hotel Del Golf. But the road wasn’t easy as Mr J and Mr Hinds were faced with a challenge; they had to drive a manual car on the right hand side of the road for the first time. The amount of stalls was uncountable, they had no clue how to reverse and parking was a disaster. “We never take the easy road” said Mr J.
DAY 1:
Hola! At 6:30 our day began. Breakfast, warm up and meeting the coaches. Half of us started off with 1 1/2 hours of fitness which included circuit training that mainly targeted strength development. The rest of us were assigned a coach and court where we played with either a player from the academy or someone from our team. We did multiple drills for 2 hours that focused on our groundstrokes, volleys and serves. Then the groups switched. When we completed the morning’s practise, we had a 2 hour lunch break where the food served was not all healthy. Therefore we had Mr J breathing down our backs while we attempted to order in Spanish. Then it was straight back to work. Same routine where half of us did fitness and half played but the reasoning differed. Our 1 1/2 hour fitness focused on ab work and consisted of a variety of pilates exercises. The 2 hours of hitting was more point structuring. During the day we also got to meet and work in the gym with ATP professional Joao Sousa from Portugal. He is training at the academy at the moment so it is great to be able to share the courts and the gym with a current top 50 men’s player. After dinner we hit the pool at 8:30pm for a recovery session. The sun here goes down at 10pm! Being introduced to this new training regime was tough but we had a lot of fun and can’t wait to get back out there tomorrow!
DAY 2:
Another early morning. Today all of us were up in the gym peddling away for a warm up before we headed down to the soccer pitch. We started off with 4 rounds of circuit training that included 4 exercises to be repeated 3 times which focused on our agility and footwork skills. Then we all hit the courts for a special day. We were coached by Rafael Nadal’s advisory coach, Francis Roig. He explained to us how important positioning is on clay and worked on specific shots with us including deep, defensive shots and off forehands. After a once in a life time opportunity, we had the privilege to take photos with him and have a brief interview. His advice to our team was that “motivation and the will to play are extremely important and you must be happy every time you go on court.” He also emphasised how crucial it is, “not to dwell on the past but focus all your attention on the next ball.” I asked Francis, “what advice do you give Rafa since he’s been losing quite a bit lately?” He said that,” it’s really hard for Rafa at the moment since he’s not used to losing this much but what he needs is acceptance. Accept that he misses, accept that he fails and accept that he loses and then the motivation to overcome these obstacles and work harder.” Francis also told us that, ” Rafa is so dominant on clay as he was born and raised on the surface and his game style forces his opponents to take more risks.” Our afternoon consisted of some match play. We got to play several players from the academy while the coach supported and coached us from the side lines. Then we cooled down with 1 1/2 hours worth of ab work and stretches. Dinner was fun this evening. Mr Hinds decided to separate us all so we could work on our “conversation starters”. Tomorrow we only have a half day and then we are off to the city to visit the FC Barcelona Stadium!
DAY 3:
Today we had a half day! Half of us went to another club as the academy was extremely busy on Wednesdays. This session was mainly based on match play and some of us played against academy players. Our fitness session was a circuit of weight training that targeted quads, biceps, triceps and other big muscles. When we all completed our morning’s training schedule, we were off to get ready for the FC Barcelona Stadium. A few train trips and we were in Barcelona! We went and saw all the trophy cabinets, the history behind the sport, the major events won and the achievements of the players. Then we hit the pitch. The grand stadium of 98 000 surrounded us as we walked out of the corridor and the field was so bright. We went and sat on various seats to see which angle we all preferred and we all agreed that you couldn’t get any better than right at the front, where you can absorb all the atmosphere. After a long tour it was dinner and shopping time! We went to a local shopping centre and on the menu was gourmet hamburgers and then we had free time for some shopping. Tonight was the first we saw the night sky and most of us nearly fell asleep on the train ride back. Except for myself, Olivia, Tsige and Hayley, we had a buskers session on the train while Ethan took a sefie with a Spanish girl and got her number hahaha.
DAY 4:
Today we all woke up very fatigued due to our late night out yesterday:/ Once again, half of us went down to a different venue which was 30 minutes away. However, upon arrival we were told that we were actually started at the BTT academy and coming down for the second half of the morning! As there was no time to rush back, we had Mr Hinds run our fitness session up in the gym. After he took 15 minutes to work out what we were going to do, we got straight into it. Some core, quad and bicep strengthening was incorporated into the routine as well as the importance of technique and balance. Our tennis consisted of various groundstroke drills that focused on our up and down movement on the court which is vital on the clay! In the afternoon, we completed a few more drills that looked at our positioning for defensive and baseline shots. We then finished on some shoulder stabilisation and stretching. After dinner we all went down to the courts to play “all on court” before having a fun ride home.
DAY 5:
This morning we started with more weight training before we were off to the courts. We were all paired with an Applecross student and today we finally learnt to slide!!! It’s actually really easy and our coach demonstrated it as a dance move. He described it as gliding and emphasised that you must not be scared to let loose or the movement won’t work. We worked on our out-wide forehand and backhand and low forehand and backhand approach shots. We had to slide TO the ball and not after. After lunch we had a mini doubles tournament organised. Boys and girls separate. We were all paired with an Applecross student and had to play academy players too. Myself and Tsige Lacey reached the finals but missed out on winning another academy t-shirt. After doubles we had a 1 and a half hour stretching session were we targeted our shoulders and legs. Some of us also watched Wimbledon. We observed the high level of Murray and Federer and had arguments on who would win haha and ofcourse, Mr Jarvinen was wrong as always;)
DAY 6
Barcelona here we come! Yesterday we visited Barcelona city and learnt about the history behind it. We were assisted by a tour guide from 8am to 5pm. In the morning we went to the Gothic Quarter or Barcelona’s old town and here we learnt about the city before Christ and how small it was. The architecture was extremely old and damaged by the civil war. We also had a tour of Casa Batlló which was designed by the famous architect Gaudí. For lunch we went to a small café where we had a break for an hour or so before heading to the BIGGEST church in all of Spain. Now this church has been under construction for over 150 years and is the only church in the world that is under construction as well as renovation! A total of 8 and a half towers are completed out of a total 18 required. The highest tower is to be built at 167 metres and the entire building is estimated to be completed in 11 years. When we went inside the stained glass windows were beautiful and there was also a monument dedicated to Gaudí himself. For dinner we went to the Spanish Square and had pizza. We finally had FREE wifi but the group decided to put all their phones in one big pile to eliminate unsocial behaviour. The last on our list was the magic fountain show! The designs made by the water were spectacular and the colours added to the effect. The amount of people there was extraordinary but we got annoyed at these foreigners trying to sell us these stupid little whistles and selfie sticks. We were all grabbing onto our belongings as we gazed at the fountain because it was a popular time and place for pickpockets:/ The walk home was long and tiring but we all enjoyed the bright city lights and in the end, fell asleep just like that.
DAY 7
Today we finally got to sleep in for once:) We were going to the Tibidabo Theme Park for the day that was situated on top of a massive hill. To get there however, we needed to take a few trains and a funicular. When we finally arrived, we found out that our ticket only applied for the first floor of the theme park where all the slow, kiddy rides were on and that we had to pay extra to get access to the full park! First on our list was the bumper cars! The whole team went on and it was super fun:) Austin Vos and Mr Hinds had a head on collision and then it was the rollercoaster! For some it was their first time going on one so nerves ran high but when it took off, the adreneline rush was great. It wasn’t very scary but it went super fast. We went on about 30 times and laughed at the faces we made when they took a photo during the ride. Our goal was to go on every ride and we nearly succeeded but time cut us off:( We also went on a ride called the “Hurrican” and it was basically a replica of Adventure World’s rampage. Mr Jarvinen really didn’t want to go on as he was scared of heights but we forced him. Along with the guys injuring their private parts for a bit, the ride went something like this OWWWW! I WANT TO GET OFF, OMG WHY AM I DOING THIS OMG! haha. After a hilarious ride, we went on a few other small ones and had burgers for dinner. Tsige Lacey and Hayley O’Donnell also bought 11 euro thongs in order to not dirty their 110 euro shoes. The journey home was quite quick as we actually knew where we were going. However because we got home at 12am, phones went in straight away and our beds were waiting.
DAY 8
Waking up today was a real struggle. I finally got up to open the door for once to meet Mr Hinds with our phones. I think Tsige Lacey had the best breakfast! I mean 7 cookies and an orange is pretty good for a days worth of training;) hahaha. The drive to the courts was really quiet. We started the day off with 3 rounds of about 11 exercises, that were to be done for 30 seconds each with a 30 second rest in between them. Next it was time for another training session! Most of us were really lethargic and sleep deprived so the quality of tennis wasn’t very high however, we continued to put in 100% effort. After lunch Ellyse Wilson, Caitlyn Napier and Kira Napier took a nap. In the afternoon we had some stretching, quad and strengthening. For tennis we had more match play against different academy players and it was a good warm up for our bum tournament before dinner! Everyone went down to the courts and followed Austin’s plan and organised draw with DJ Dimi being seeded number 1! Mr Hinds ended up winning but he probably hooked;) Tomorrow is our last day at the BTT academy, so we have an early start and a long day ahead of us before we start packing our bags:(
DAY 9
Today is our last day at the academy:( We had an even earlier start than usual due to the academies busy schedule. First up we had a mini singles tournament! It was really educational as the coaches corrected our mistakes and told us how to improve on our point structuring. For fitness we had agility circuits that was followed by a cool down. Due to our early start today, we had 2 and a half hours before lunch so we went to the pools:) Myself, Jane Cox, Hayley Burton and Jady Ly got a massage from our personal masseuse Olivia Mann. It was really relaxing in the sun however Hayley’s shreiks from sore calf muscles nearly reached the pitch of Sharapova’s grunt. After lunch we all chilled wherever we felt comfortable. Some of the girls were in the bathroom, then we went into the gym and some of us chatted with Mr Hinds and Mr Jarvinen. We also found out that Kaey Den fractured his metacarpals and had to go to the hospital:/ Our last training session consisted of match play, stretching and ab work and then our days at the academy were done! Before we had the BBQ, we had an hour or so to relax so some of us slept while others watched synchronised swimming. At the BBQ, Mr Hinds and Mr Jarvinen had made 60 awards for us with lollies as prizes. Some of the awards included were Tsige Lacey with the best sock tan, most sun smart which was Caitlyn Napier, messiest room which went to Jane Cox, Jady Ly and Hayley O’Donnell, biggest sweater was Made, funniest moment was for Stevan Illic and his 10 euro underwear purchase as he only brought one pair of undies for the whole trip and was washing them every night haha and Ethan Davis was awarded best conversation starter:) After being served an amazing dinner, Mr Jarvinen and Mr Hinds asked us to reflect back on our trip and everyone was to answer the questions made. One question was, “what’s one thing you will take back to Perth regarding your tennis?” and Jady Ly replied with, “my BTT tennis shirt hahahaha this made the whole table crack up. To finish the day off we all went down to play all on court on hard court for the first time in two weeks! Bye Barcelona, hope to see you again:) Adios!!!
By Lara Vujasinovic
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