Sean Campbell’s workload as Leesburg High School’s co-athletic director and boys basketball coach got a lot heavier six years ago, when the school’s girls basketball coach quit on the morning of the first day of tryouts.
The job was hastily offered to any and every teacher on staff, but nobody said yes. Campbell’s oldest daughter, Mason, was coming to the team as a ninth grader, and administrators talked dad into taking over for that 2020-21 season.
Fast forward, and Campbell is still in charge of both the boys and girls programs while juggling A.D. duties. He leaves home in Apopka around 5:30 a.m. on school days. Away games can mean getting back home after 10 p.m.
“It’s gotten easier than it was that first year, which was really a mess,” Campbell said Wednesday. “We’ve been able to change the way we schedule. We play a lot of tripleheaders with JV boys, girls and varsity boys. That helps.”
In the 2023-24 season, when Mason was a senior, Sean’s son, Chris, and nephews Xavier Campbell and Tirike Morris joined the boys basketball program as ninth graders.
“That was another hectic year. It went from me and Mason driving to school to all of us, five in the car,” Campbell said. “For me, it was energy management. Making sure I was taking care of my family. And making sure I would stop to eat. Sometimes, I would forget to do that. Everything was going so fast.”
His second daughter, Morgan, arrived at Leesburg last school year and is now the sophomore superstar of the girls team — averaging 23 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.4 steals per game.
Campbell, who coached Leesburg’s boys to state championships in 2017 and 2018, said he couldn’t make it work without help from his “amazing” coaching staff. He also gets assistance from the family tree.
“Chris will film the girls’ games for us. Tirike will do the girls’ scorebook. They’re all always helping,” Sean said.
There were two weeks this season when Campbell coached six days in a row (Monday through Saturday).
“Those were long days, long nights,” he said.
Next week could be another grind as both boys and girls vie for Class 5A District 5 tournament championships. They’ll practice Monday and Tuesday before hitting the road for semifinal games on Wednesday (girls) and Thursday (boys). Both hope to travel again to play district finals, which are Friday night for girls and Saturday for boys.
The girls, district winners the past two years, are seeded third and will play at No. 2 seed Belleview on Wednesday.
Leesburg’s boys are also seeded third — having been hit hard by injuries — and will play at Ocala Vanguard on Thursday.
The Yellow Jackets boys won district titles in each of the past five years and were region winners to get to the 5A final four last season.
“Our girls are going to win our district,” Campbell said. “The boys have a chance, but I don’t know. We’ve been up and down.”
A key could be the return of 6-foot-7 junior Javion Jenkins, who averaged 18.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots for the first four games of the season before he was sidelined by injury. He has a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday and could be cleared for postseason play.
Chris Campbell suffered an ACL injury and was able to play in only one game.
Lake Howell sophomore Johnas Maurice (4) passes in a victory at Lake Brantley on Wednesday. He is averaging 16.7 points and 4.4 assists for the SilverHawks. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
Per the Florida High School Athletic Association, district quarterfinals will be played Tuesday, followed by Thursday semifinals and Saturday championship games. Most games will be hosted by the higher-seeded team, but some will be at pre-determined sites.
Here is a listing of district favorites and top 25 rated teams based on FHSAA power rankings, which determined seeding. Win-loss records are through Thursday’s games.
Note that Class 1A District 7 has five top 25 teams. Always rugged 7A-3 has four in the top 25. Both of those districts boast three top 10 teams, as does 6A-4. Orlando area No. 1 Lake Highland Prep has two top 25 teams in its 3A district.
The four district champions in each of the four regions per class automatically advance to 32-team brackets. They will be joined by four at-large teams per region, based on rankings that will be updated. That assures that highly-rated teams will advance.
7A District 2
No. 15 Lake Mary (18-6)
7A District 3
No. 21 Lake Brantley (13-12)
No. 22 Apopka (14-10)
7A District 4
No. 12 Winter Park (17-7)
7A District 5
No. 4 Olympia (15-9)
No. 5 Oak Ridge (15-9)
No. 10 Dr. Phillips (12-10)
No. 13 Windermere (12-12)
7A District 6
No. 29 St. Cloud (19-5)
7A District 9
No. 9 Osceola (17-4)
6A District 4
No. 3 Mainland (20-2)
No. 6 Lake Howell (20-5)
No. 8 Oviedo (18-6)
6A District 5
No. 2 Evans (18-6)
No. 5 Edgewater (12-8)
No. 17 Wekiva (19-6)
6A District 7
No. 4 Bartow (20-3)
5A District 5
No. 7 Lecanto (19-5)
5A District 9
No. 9 New Smyrna Beach (20-4)
4A District 6
No. 17 Eustis (15-6)
4A District 7
No. 26 Bishop Moore (13-12)
3A District 5
No. 9 Villages (17-7)
3A District 6
No. 2 Lake Highland Prep (23-1)
No. 7 Windermere Prep (20-4)
No. 20 Discovery (18-5)
3A District 7
No. 45 Cocoa Beach (15-10)
2A District 4
No. 7 The First Academy (15-9)
2A District 5
No. 4 Santa Fe Catholic (18-6)
1A District 6
No. 18 Mount Dora Christian (18-6)
1A District 7
No. 3 CFCA (18-5)
No. 6 Orlando Christian Prep (15-6)
No. 10 Legacy Charter (17-7)
No. 23 Lake Mary Prep (16-6)
1A District 9
No. 4 Victory Christian (17-6)
No. 9 City of Life (19-5)
No. 25 All Saints (15-6)
Oak Ridge wins as Evans also celebrates in Chocolate Thunder Classic basketball
Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.