What did the Timothy Christian boys basketball team do for part of its summer vacation?

 Try going up to a shootout at Calvin College in Michigan and playing well.

 “We had a really good time up there,” said Timothy Christian coach Jack LeGrand.

 Timothy went 5-2 in the event and won its pool with a 3-0 mark.

 The Trojans played the likes of Kalamazoo Christian, Calvin Christian, Grand Rapids Christian and Metro Suburban Conference foe Illiana Christian.

 “It was a good weekend for us,” said LeGrand. “Both of the games we lost we lost by a few points.”

 LeGrand felt the weekend was especially beneficial from a team bonding standpoint.

 “We had some great team bonding after the tournament ended,” said LeGrand. “A player on our team’s family invited all of us to their cottage. We spent the day out there playing on the water. We had a good time. It was great that Calvin College invited us up there. They have a nice facility and they put us up and fed us and gave us a tour of the college. They were very good for us.”

 The team also recently finished up play in the Hinsdale South summer league.

 LeGrand has seen strong play from a variety of sources of late.

 “Mark Penczak was phenomenal all weekend for us in Michigan. He’s definitely a leader for us,” said LeGrand. “Mike Pizzello has been playing nice basketball and Troy Ellens has had some nice games for us. Dan Leach, Chris Ridolphi and Matt Robinson and Nathan Boot also have played well for us. Chad Vos helped us out. We had a really nice team weekend. It was a definite boost for us. It was a positive weekend because we competed. It was a very competitive weekend. We played good competition and had some good games. It was a nice break to get away and play different teams than the ones we usually play. We saw some good teams.”

Timothy competed in the Minuteman Shootout this past weekend at Riverside-Brookfield.

 “It’s been a pretty positive summer,” said LeGrand. “We took some lumps at Hinsdale South against some good teams. We’ve got most of our guys back now. We’ve had injuries. We’ve never really had everybody on the floor at the same time this summer. But the kids have been competing and have been playing more consistently. We’ve been stressing consistency. We’re getting close to getting that. Hopefully, the kids will keep working hard on their skills.”

 LeGrand knows his team will have to be prepared heading into the 2010-2011 season, especially playing in the MSC.

 “Our conference is going to be good again,” said LeGrand. “We have to be prepared each and every night. The good competition we are playing over the summer is going to have us prepared for that.”