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Chicago Trainer Lines Up Heavy Hitters As Guest Speakers For Upcoming Camp

By Justin Breen | April 11, 2016 5:38am
 Tim Brennan will be hosting summer weight lifting camp at Phenomenal Fitness.
Tim Brennan will be hosting summer weight lifting camp at Phenomenal Fitness.
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Tim Brennan

CHICAGO — Tim Brennan doesn't take the connections he's built for granted.

When needed, the 24-year-old Streeterville resident can call Tim Grover — Michael Jordan's former personal trainer. Or ex-NBA player Sonny Parker — the father of Jabari Parker whom Brennan has known since fourth grade. Or former NFL, Illinois and Mount Carmel star Simeon Rice — they know each other from their time working out at East Bank Club.

"I'm very appreciative of the people I've been able to meet and the way those people have been able to shape me," said Brennan, a former basketball player and graduate of Lincoln Park High School and Western Michigan University.

Brennan for a year-plus has been a staff trainer at Phenomenal Fitness, 1450 S. Michigan Ave. In June, Brennan is hosting a summer weight-lifting camp for high school athletes who want to play Division I sports. Rice, Sonny Parker, and possibly Jabari, will be guest speakers, Brennan said.

Brennan is hoping for 50 high school boys and girls to be part of the camp. As many as 10 will receive full scholarships to participate; some will be chosen by Sonny Parker, Brennan said.

Brennan has wanted to train world-class athletes since spending the summers following his junior and senior high school years as an intern at Grover's Attack Athletics in East Garfield Park. In that capacity, Brennan rebounded practice shots for NBA stars like Dwyane Wade, Gilbert Arenas and Will Bynum and also ran other athletes through basic warmup drills.

Brennan's path to Division I basketball started in fourth grade, when he participated in the first of countless skills camps led by Sonny Parker, a Farragut Academy alumnus who played several years with the Golden State Warriors.

The sessions took place throughout Chicago — including Garfield Park, Hyde Park, Washington Park, Columbus Park, Nichols Park and Homan Square. Brennan spent endless weekends with Parker, from fourth grade until he left for Western Michigan, where he was a role player for the Broncos.

He said the June camp will help high schoolers learn how to lift weights, but also "create outstanding individuals."

"We want them to leave here as better people than when they step in the door," Brennan said.

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