Photo courtesy of Troy L. Hugen Photography

Getting some time away from competition, the Pella Christian boys basketball team has used the holiday break to regroup and focus on improving their game.

During the first semester, the Eagles competed in seven games over a three-week span, compiling a 5-2 overall record. Head coach Joe Steinkamp, who is in his first season at the helm of the program, said that they played well over the course of those seven contests, but added that they have room to improve. Steinkamp said that while it was good to be challenged during the first semester, the time away gives them a chance to focus on the things they need to improve on as a team, rather than preparing for an opponent.

“We do need, just need to regroup. We’ve just been in what seems like constant game prep mode these first few weeks of the season, with two and three games every week. So, it will be good to just get back to work and kind of tweak some things and get back to some of the fundamentals. We’ve obviously got to work on our late game press offense and make sure that’s a little bit better and everybody’s on the same page, but I’m just proud of this group. It’s been a really good December for us. We’re still not where we want to be, we want to be playing our best basketball in February and March.”

The Pella Christian boys return from the holidays on Tuesday, hosting Newton in the back half of a conference doubleheader that can be heard live on 92.1 KRLS and viewed on the Pella Christian YouTube channel. Pregame coverage of the girls game Tuesday is scheduled to begin at 5:45 pm, and tip-off of the boys game is slated for approximately 7:30 pm.