LIU Brooklyn Athletics’ Outreach Pays Dividends In Attendance

Cheering on the host Blackbirds in last Sunday’s Northeast Conference (NEC) women’s volleyball match between Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) and LIU Brooklyn was a sizable contingent of kids fresh from their soccer practice. The reason? Their coach, Amphone Ketnouvong, also happens to be LIU Brooklyn Assistant Women's Soccer Coach.

That local soccer players are following LIU volleyball is a testament to Ketnouvong’s community building efforts. In his ten years with the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO)—the largest youth soccer organization in Brooklyn—Coach Ketnouvong has not only run coaching clinics and been an AYSO area coach instructor, he’s now the Director of Coaching for the new Brooklyn AYSO Tournament Team (BATT).

Ketnouvong, now entering his 14th season with the Blackbirds, is also a face for LIU wherever soccer is played. “We have been able to let everyone know about LIU and LIU Athletics from basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball, baseball, to sporting events at LIU.”

In addition to encouraging his young charges to support the Blackbirds, Ketnouvong has also enlisted LIU athletes to donate time to AYSO. “Many men's and women's players have come to Brooklyn AYSO to help out with clinics and jamborees at the Brooklyn Parade Grounds and at the new Brooklyn Bridge Park soccer fields.”

This outreach has clear benefits for LIU’s fourteen intercollegiate sports teams. On Sunday at the Steinberg Wellness Center, approximately 30 players and their families from Ketnouvong’s U-10 BATT squad watched as LIU defeated CCSU 3 sets to 1. The Blackbirds win was their 20th straight NEC victory, a streak that includes last year’s NEC title, LIU’s seventh in the last ten years.

“I loved the match. It was great to discover another sport in the LIU universe,” said Chris Thompson, whose son Manu plays for BATT.

Volleyball was a revelation to Thompson, who also follows LIU’s men’s basketball. “The level of excitement and entertainment was on par with basketball and made me realize how strong the whole athletic program is at LIU,” said the local father of two.

When asked about the fast paced action on LIU’s home court, Thompson’s eight year old son found the match exciting because the volleyball players “are really strong and the ball goes really fast.”

LIU has rewarded its fans’ loyalty with great recent success. Since 2008, the Blackbirds have been Brooklyn’s most successful intercollegiate athletics programs, capturing 17 Northeast Conference Tournament titles, including back-to-back women’s soccer championships.

Leading the victory parade has been LIU men’s basketball team, which has captured an unprecedented three-straight NEC basketball titles, resulting in berths in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Not only have the Blackbirds had a stellar record at home, where they are 42-6 over the past three seasons, they now play three to four games year at Barclays Center, arguably the city’s best basketball arena.

LIU’s Games for Gear program—begun in 2010 to provides free tickets to select LIU men’s and women’s games while offering support to local schools and community centers—has created many new fans among families living in the Brooklyn Heights, Bedford Stuyvesant, Clinton Hill and Fort Greene communities.

“Games for Gear is a wonderful opportunity for local kids to see our basketball programs compete right in their backyard against some of the best teams in the area,” said Greg Fox, LIU Brooklyn Associate Director of Athletics.

Basketball clinics offered on the LIU campus as well as Blackbirds’ appearance at local schools and community centers have raised the visibility of LIU athletics in the neighborhoods surrounding their downtown Brooklyn campus.

Ketnouvong’s efforts have brought much-needed attention to other LIU sports besides basketball, a circumstance acknowledged by Chris Thompson.

“LIU sports are this hidden gem,” said Thompson, a sports fan with two like-mined sons. “I love taking my boys to the basketball games, but this year we plan on going to see the soccer and volleyball teams as well.”

This Friday night at 6 p.m., Ketnouvong will be hard at work in his primary job, coaching the Blackbirds against St. Francis, PA at LIU Field. Not only is it LIU’s first conference game this season, the matchup will likely impact Northeast Conference standings, as the Blackbirds and the Red Flash have squared off in the last three NEC title games.

Will Manu make it tonight to cheer on the LIU women's? According to Thompson, his son has a soccer practice that ends at 6. “But we are planning to come right after.”