Gallery: DA Morrissey's Basketball Camp a Layup for Young Stoughton Athletes

Check out photos from a summer vacation basketball camp offered by the Stoughton Recreation Department and sponsored by the office of Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey.

The camp, attended by about three dozen Stoughton children in grades 3-8, was held at the O'Donnell Middle School gym July 8-10.

It mixes basketball instruction and life lessons shared from several guest speakers who stopped by over the course of the three days.

Some of cost of running the camp came from forfeiture police confiscate from drug dealers, including cash, cars, and sometimes even homes.

The forfeiture helps to fund this camp as well as other drug preventative programs in the county.

The O'Donnell Middle School gym was loud with laughter and the sounds of kids practicing their layups and learning life lessons last week, as DA Morrissey’s Office held its annual summer basketball camp.

"The camp provides a blend of constructive activity and constructive messages for the kids chosen to come," District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said. "We intersperse basketball skill building with talks from older kids who have made good choices and adults they respect. They take away more than a better jump shot."

Many of the youngsters who attend the camp are hand-picked by the adults around them for a positive summer experience.

"We are always looking for ways to help good kids stay on the right path," Morrissey said.

Retired Southeastern Regional Vocational and Coyle Cassidy High School basketball coach Carl Boen, who runs the three-day program alongside fellow Stoughton resident Paul Wilder (who works in the DA's office), provides instruction for campers in grades 3 through 8.

Members of the varsity basketball teams at Stoughton High School also volunteered their time to coach the kids.

Ashley Medeiros and Kayla Motley, both rising seniors, are the captains of the girls’ varsity team and agree working with the younger kids at the camp is a rewarding experience.

“I enjoy it a lot because I love playing basketball, and teaching the kids here you get to watch them play and see them practice, and you hope that maybe they’ll follow in your footsteps one day,” says Medeiros.

Motley adds that while working with some of the younger kids can be challenging at times, seeing their improvement makes it worth it. “By the third day of camp, they’re always better than when they started,” she says.

Boys' varsity Captain, Joey Wilder, a rising senior, is in his third year coaching at the camp - and attended it as a boy. Wilder, Paul's son, was joined by fellow boys' captain Stanley Sajous, also a rising senior. 

“I was one of them,” Wilder says, “Teaching younger kids to work hard and improve is important.  I’ve had a lot of fun doing it.”