South Effingham High School boys basketball coach Rico Campbell is the father of four sons ages 16-22, which makes him wonder what might have been.
From left, Isaiah, Marcus, Lisa, Rico, Eric and Chris Campbell pose on the field at South Effingham High School in Guyton, Ga. (Courtesy photo Coach Campbell)
“I wish there was a way they all could have played together. That’s one wish,” Campbell said. “As they got better, I was like, ‘Dang, if I could have had him or had him or had these two together, I felt like we would have had a better team.”
Imagine a hoops lineup with four of the five players, his sons Eric, Isaiah, Marcus, and Chris. Roster management is also important in Rico Campbell’s other post as the Mustangs’ boys and girls track and field coach, filling out all of the events.
“Yeah,” he said with a laugh. “I’m always thinking ahead.”
Campbell said he and his wife of nearly 25 years, Lisa, planned to have a family and, with his experience as an athlete and coach, sports would be a logical outlet for their future children.
“We didn’t know we were going to have all sons,” said Campbell, 50. “Once it started happening, we put them in sports. They started out in programs that we created and once they got to middle school and high school, they started playing for the school.”
As in the nature of high school coaching, Campbell has moved from job to job, school to school, showing his versatility in boys and girls basketball, track and field, and football.
From left, Eric, Rico, Isaiah, Lisa, Chris and Marcus Campbell, along with the sons’ cousin Zayin Winfield (far right), a former South Effingham student, pose in front of South Effingham High School. (Courtesy photo Coach Campbell)
He began at his alma mater, Statesboro High, as an assistant boys basketball coach under a legend, the late Lee Hill. Campbell, a standout sprinter in the 200 and 400 meters while at Savannah State University (Class of 1998), also ran Statesboro’s track and field program.
Then came stints at Johnson High (head of boys basketball, track and cross country, assistant football) and New Hampstead (head of girls basketball, track and field, cross country, interim boys basketball) before he was hired in the spring of 2021 at South Effingham in Guyton.
He has been the boys basketball coach and track and field coach since then, and the director of football operations after one season coaching safeties.
The family has moved along with him, as Eric participated in basketball and cross country at Johnson, then track at New Hampstead (Class of 2021) before competing in shot put as a freshman and sophomore at Vorhees University in Denmark, S.C. Eric, who turns 23 in May, is completing his degree this semester in business administration, matching Rico’s diploma from SSU.
“It’s funny, but I’m kind of following in my dad’s footsteps, coaching and teaching,” said Eric, who is weighing whether to start teaching or attend graduate school.
Isaiah Campbell, who turned 21 in March, is a junior on the track and cross country teams at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg. He had competed in both sports as well as basketball at New Hampstead and then at South Effingham, and his father recalled that he was part of school-record 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams for the Mustangs.
Isaiah Campbell (197) competes in a cross country meet for South Carolina State. (Courtesy photo Coach Campbell)
He has the SC State’s fastest time in the 800 meters (1:53.44) this year during the indoor season. His team opened the outdoor schedule on March 7 at SSU, and Isaiah was on the winning 4x400 relay (3:18.86), and he was second, by 0.03, in the 800 (1:55.95).
Isaiah is a journalism major who has been busy creating comedic online content. He said he’s not ruling out being a coach someday, like his father.
“As of right now, that’s not definitely in my tunnel vision thinking,” Isaiah said. “I do like coaching. I always wanted to train my little brothers.”
For example, the youngest brother, Chris, texted him recently for tips on running the 800. Chris, who turns 17 in October, runs track (400, 800, 4x400, 4x800) and plays basketball at South Effingham. At 6-foot-3, he’s already the tallest of the four sons, but he admitted, “I have to earn everything” when competing with his brothers.
Chris is the sophomore class president, a role he served while at South Effingham Middle School.
South Effingham’s Chris Campbell (0) brings the ball up the court against Effingham County during a basketball game in Guyton, Ga. (Courtesy photo Coach Campbell)
His brother, Marcus, is the SEHS senior class president, and credits their mother for this Campbell trait. Lisa, who works in real estate, has given her time to school nonprofit organizations such as DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) and FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America).
“She’s always wanted us to be leaders and not really follow a crowd,” said Marcus, who turns 19 in November.
(Rico noted that his sons were unaware that he served as president on a Panhellenic council of college alumni chapters in Atlanta.)
While the Campbell brothers have joined clubs and all of them play musical instruments, Marcus has gone his own way as the only one to take up the pole vault.
“They could never,” Marcus said. “I just wanted to be different.”
Marcus led the Mustangs boys basketball team with 2.2 steals per game, tied for first with 2.1 assists per game, and also averaged 5.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in 25 contests.
On March 13, he was one leg of the 4x200 relay team – with Jeremiah Chance, Jayden Hair, and Hayden Still – that set a school record (1:30.98).
Marcus has also played lacrosse, tennis, spring football, and, just because he wanted to see if he could do it, soccer. He is dual-enrolled at Savannah Tech. The future exercise science major at Kennesaw State is in a work-based learning program assisting the school nurse at Blandford Elementary in Rincon.
Hitting the court and the books
Academics are a priority from an early age with the Campbells. Marcus said that as a freshman, he quit the tennis and track teams because his “grades were kind of slipping during the spring,” and he refined his focus.
It’s part of a mindset of working to solve problems instead of complaining about them.
“Nothing’s really said, but … the idea is that your work shows more than what you say. Don’t talk about, be about it,” Marcus explained.
Each brother was asked what life lessons from their father/coach quickly come to mind.
“One thing that he says that sticks in my brain still is potential is nothing,” Isaiah said.
“I learned to keep your composure, don’t let the outside noise get to you,” Chris said of playing in a “hostile environment.”
He noted that his father is loyal and supportive of his players and doesn’t “switch sides.”
Not playing favorites
Eric, the oldest, said that being the coach’s son came with skeptics questioning whether he deserved to be on the team, but he proved he belonged as the season went along.
His father was “real” with him, “especially my sophomore year playing basketball (at Johnson in 2018-19),” Eric recalled. “I felt like I should have played more but he didn’t play me as much, which I didn’t understand at the time. He didn’t just do it because I was his son.”
Eric Campbell poses with a track and field trophy at Vorhees University in Denmark, S.C. (Courtesy photo Caoch Campbell)
Rico and Lisa, who met at SSU, didn’t have children when he started coaching. He believes he became a better teacher and coach with fatherhood.
“I think it changes you,” Rico said. “You understand, this is my own kid. It’s different. It was hard because a lot of people thought (my sons) were getting away with stuff or getting things. (My sons) will tell you that a lot of times when people had to be sat down, it was them, and I didn’t care about it. I tried not to go overboard with it. If I did, they kind of called me on it, not treating them the same as everybody else.”
The coach learned with time and experience, understanding that his sons weren’t going to win at everything despite the coaching, preparation, and best intentions. That’s sports.
“You want your kid to be successful,” Rico said. “But they’re all learning, and they all had their own path. I feel like all four have been successful.
“I don’t like to brag on my kids, but I think they deserve it,” he added.
Eric said his father, while providing coaching and opportunities, didn’t push his children into sports. More than words, his character has been the model behavior that has influenced him.
“He always let me be me,” Eric said. “I tell that to everybody. He never forced us as brothers to do anything. He always let us do what we wanted to do.”
Yes, but whatever their choice, they were going to work hard and do it the right way. Rico said he and Lisa are supportive, and they get assistance from “a whole village” of relatives. He also credited the influence of some fellow coaches with successful offspring in athletics.
The sons had access to facilities for extra training, but that doesn’t mean they were always ready and willing. Getting tastes of winning and losing, getting benched and even cut from a team, motivated them to get better, Rico said.
“I think they’re all unique, to be honest, because they’ve got my wife in them, too,” Rico said. “But I think they all think the same. We’ve all got the same way of thinking. We go out to destroy the competition.
“Their mom, her job is to make sure they’re working out and all that. She’s always getting on me to get on them. She’s coaching me, too, behind the scenes. Without her, they wouldn’t be where they’re at, to be honest.”
With confidence, hard work, and a team-first mindset, Alyssa continues to stand out this season. She is helping lead Calvary as the team looks to achieve more success in the state playoffs.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Coach Rico Campbell
Follow the Prep Sports Report on X @PrepSav and Instagram @savannahsportsreport.
To share scores, stories, or corrections, email kdemasi@prepsportsreport.com or text 912-507-9158.
