Professional or Amateur? Your Work Diary is Your Mirror

Ico Humic · 8 min read

A match at noon, a match in the afternoon, and a match in the evening. You think you can just stroll onto the court and win? Forget it. If you don’t have a plan, if you don’t have a daily schedule of activities—the what, when, and how—you are lost from the start. To maximize your performance, you must know yourself. And you don't do that by "guessing."

Without a Plan, You’re Just a "loser" on Standby

You saw that board yesterday. Everything is written down. You must keep a work diary. The plan is made the day before. You found out you’re playing at 10 AM? Create the plan. You’re playing at noon or 11 PM? The plan remains sacred.

You need to know when you’re calling your sparring partner, when you’re booking the court, when you’re grabbing the balls. You cannot leave the tournament site just because your hotel is far away. Someone gets injured, a match ends early, the stopwatch starts—as soon as they call your name, you have 15 minutes. If you’re not there, bye-bye. You must have energy bars, supplements, and food with you that allows you to be 5 hours completely autonomous. Because the guy on the court might play one game for 20 minutes while you wait. If you had lunch at 2:00 PM and you’re playing at midnight because of a delay, what then? Are you going to sell stories to your mom and dad?

Grades Don't Lie (If You’re Realistic)

Create a template on an A4 sheet. On a computer today, that’s five seconds of work. Record everything: motivation, alertness, execution.

Here’s an example: you write down a grade of 6 or 7 for your serve, forehand, and backhand in the morning, but you give yourself a general grade of 8.5. How, maestro? "Oh, I won." That has nothing to do with winning! Maybe the guy across the net beat himself, and he didn’t even give you a chance to be tested. Be realistic. When those grades stay above 8.5 for two or three months—that’s when you’ll be a fearsome player.

"Being good means being good when it’s necessary. Not just when it happens by accident."

Statistics: Where Are You a "Lazy Piglet" and Where Are You a Machine?

A coach feeds a basket; out of 100 balls, you hit 65. That’s 65%. That’s a catastrophe! Write it down. If you don’t know how many serves you hit today, you have no idea what you’re talking about.

Question: "Is the girl who serves 300 times a day better than the one who serves 180?" That is a terrifyingly stupid question. Karlović used to hit 1,500 serves a day. With my own eyes, I saw it. A box, 50 balls, serving until the balls went bald. That is professionalism. Everything else is just country club talk and "barstool expertise."

Morning Rituals and the "Holy Trinity"

The day starts in bed. A 2-minute stretch. Then teeth, then electrolytes or lemon water. That goes straight to the stomach to thin the blood and kickstart your metabolism. Then 15 minutes of running (the 5-5-5 system). Only then, breakfast.

And on the court? The Holy Trinity:

See (what is happening)
Analyze (why am I winning or losing)
Correct/Upgrade (make the decision)

Conclusion: Stratosphere or Amateurism?

You can be motorically phenomenal, abnormally fast, but if your professionalism is zero—you remain an amateur spending your parents' money. Move that zero to 50% and your tennis will go into the stratosphere.

In the evening, there is no lying in bed "like a cow." There is relaxation, magnesium, hyper-stretching. And mandatory: 20-30 minutes of video analysis. Watch super slow motion; watch the model of the player you want to become. If Roger Federer can spend hours on that, you can spend one hour.

And don't tell me you don't have time. You have it. The only question is whether you want to be someone and something, or if you’ll stay a "barstool coach."

This afternoon, everyone hits 150 serves. Minimum. Let's get to work!

We believe that tennis is more than just a sport; it's a journey of personal growth and determination. Our mission is to guide players to their peak potential through a comprehensive training process.

Ico Humic

Head Coach & Founder of Humic Tennis Education. 40+ years of elite coaching experience. University lecturer at the Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb. National Junior Selector, Croatian Tennis Federation. Alumni: Marin Čilić (ATP Top 10), Silvija Talaja (17 WTA).

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About this blog

Practical knowledge from 40+ years of elite tennis coaching. For coaches, parents, and serious players who want to understand the full picture.