Last week, the Village of Patchogue named the South Ocean Avenue basketball courts in honor of the Campbell family. The dedication took place at the Patchogue Village Recreation Center, at 380 Bay Avenue.

The “Campbell Courts” are now dedicated to Don Campbell, a former Pat-Med teacher and basketball coach. He taught for over 30 years in the late ’50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. He also started, coached, and ran the village’s summer basketball program in the ‘60s.

“One of my dad’s passions was basketball, and he had the vision to develop a basketball program that would teach our youth the fundamentals of the game in hopes that they would also come to love the game and get to know others in the community,” his son Jeff Campbell said of his late father, who died in the early 2000s.

The Campbell brothers, Scottie and Jeff, continued Don’s tradition of hosting a clinic at the courts a few years after his death. The program continues to be supported by the Campbell Family now with Jeff, who like his father, coaches and runs the program.

“The clinic was such a big part of our lives. It was a place that meant a lot to us, and it kept us out of trouble,” Scottie said, proud of the dedication and noting that he is happy to keep the program alive. “It means a lot to us; it’s something special. My dad just wanted to teach kids the game of basketball.”

“My family and I are deeply honored for the recognition, by the village, for our dad’s efforts in creating the youth basketball clinic,” added Jeff.

A few years back, the village also named the program after Don when Scottie took it over, donating his time to keeping it alive.

“They’ve donated their time and talents unselfishly for years, and our programs have soared due to their commitment and dedication with us!” said parks and recreation director Maria Giustizia. “I’ve carefully hired instructors that love the game of basketball and enjoy to teach our kids how to learn the game and have fun with it.”