Presence matters. When you’re present in someone’s lives, you have a chance to be a force for good. By being present, you can provide support, guide someone through troubled waters, and be a source of
consistency in an inconsistent time. That presence goes a long way and allows for you to have the room you need to be at your best. For the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty, they hope their presence allows the next generation of children the chance to achieve their hoop dreams.
On September 25, the long awaited Brooklyn Basketball Training Center opened its doors. Located at the former Modell’s site on Flatbush Avenue and right across the street from Barclays Center, the the center will serve as an afternoon programming site for kids aged 6-17 in both free and fee-based private training sessions.
Although no one is putting a price tag on what the renovation cost, the final product rivals top-of-the-line programs seen at some colleges and universities.
For Opening Day, the community got to spend time with members of both teams as they welcomed them in to their new space.
And it wasn’t just players who showed up for the big day. Cutting the ribbon were the team’s owners … all of them: Joe and Clara Wu Tsai as well as Julia Koch and her son, David who doubles as a Nets basketball operations assistant, a first, along with Sam Zussman, the CEO of Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment and driving force behind the center.
“I really want to say that this is extremely inspiring,” Liberty superstar Breanna Stewart told the assembled crowd. “To kind of reminisce and think about what it will be for a young kid, young boy or young girl to come in here and dream to be it and literally look across the street at Barclays Center and know that that’s their goal. And i feel like as a kid, I’m dreaming of things, and my goal is to play in the WNBA or my goal is to play in the NBA, but how do you do it? And now here having this facility, it’ll show them how they can reach these goals. And with all the technology, between shoot360 and the coaches involved in this, I think it’s gonna be something that everybody wants to be a part of.”
After the initial pomp and circumstance, everyone got down to business. Throughout the afternoon and early evening, the attendees at the Center got hands on coaching from Brooklyn Basketball coaches and staff. Via shooting drills, individual instruction, and teamwork, we got to see the professionals guide youngsters looking to go on a basketball adventure.
Building a bridge in Brooklyn
At 18,600 square feet, the Center has plenty of room for people to practice, play, and have fun.
“One of the greatest barriers to success is access,” said Brooklyn Deputy Borough President Kim Council who was also on hand. “Our children need to see and they need to be able to visualize themselves in certain spaces. So I’m incredibly thankful to Joe and Clara Tsai for their investment, not just in this facility but in Brooklyn and the larger community. To BSE Global for all the work that you are doing in order to be a bridge to access in communities.”
That theme of accessibility is something we’ve seen throughout the work of the Nets and Liberty. Over the years, we’ve seen the organizations invest in various parts of Brooklyn and make their presence felt. They’ve talked in the past about generational fandom – essentially getting fans at a young age … and keeping them, and when you’re trying to become a positive and prominent presence, you have to meet the community where they are and build that bridge across generations.
“It’s right on point,” Zussman told Netsdaily said of the center’s role, “because if you think about what generational fandom is, you take your kid to something that one of your parents took you to. We are, on the Brooklyn Nets side, 13 years old in the borough. On the Liberty side, we are six or seven years in the borough. That’s young…
“And so, we have to start somewhere. And I believe that this is an incredible way to start because you start right at the beginning of someone’s fandom career if you will. And you would hope that they would also influence and draw their parents with it. I certainly wouldn’t want to tell my kid to go someplace else then where they want. We think it fits. We are planting roots in this community. It does take generations, and I think this is a fantastic way to get ingrained. I can’t think of a more organic way.”
For the Nets and Liberty, community presence has gone a long way in helping them connect with the fans. Although the Liberty fell short of going back-to-back, they saw their attendance increase for the fourth consecutive season and are now firmly entrenched as one of the WNBA league leaders. The combination of success and focus on and off-the court has helped the Liberty be a staple here in Brooklyn and beyond.
And the Nets despite being deep in a multi-year rebuild sold out nearly 99 percent of the seats at Barclays Center last season. Between the two teams, BSE’s two teams put an average of nearly 17,000 fans in the arena on more than 60 dates.
The center will be the hub of the larger Brooklyn youth program which includes free training at the borough’s schools and fee-based training at the center. Indeed, as Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards Report noted this week, the fee-based programs will be pricey. When the eight-week after-school programs start next month, the hour-long sessions will be either $520 for eight hours, or $1,000 for 16 hours. Beyond individualized training, the participants will have access to technology like Shoot 360 a proprietary software tracks and analyzes skill development in ball handling, passing, and shooting before giving instant feedback on performance. Applicants for the program are encouraged to inquire about financial aid, Oder noted.
