Central Islip, N.Y. - The latest ECC On Campus focuses on LIU Post. The Pioneer athletic department has a rich history with the conference as one of the original members of the ECC. Through written and recorded interviews, this feature will take a look at some of the positive people, activities, and acheivements that are connected to the athletic programs at LIU Post.

Current Student-Athlete: Bridgett Soares, Women's Lacrosse

Every program in the East Coast Conference has stories of student-athletes who are achieving some really great things as they learn, play their sport, develop and grow, but Bridgett Soares from LIU Post women’s lacrosse is a really special one.  A senior Criminal Justice major who is finishing up her last year at LIU Post, Bridgett has made herself into a mainstay for the defending national champion Pioneers squad and finishes her lacrosse career at LIU Post as a captain and starting defender.

Bridgett arrived at the Long Island campus from San Diego, California with no lacrosse experience.  She had run track in California but LIU Post had no track program and she really wanted to continue her athletic career. As Coach Meghan McNamara explains:

“I can remember when Bridgett stepped into my office to ask if she could be a member of our team her freshmen year. She had never played lacrosse before, but there was something about her that told me, give this person a shot. We just threw her into the drills and she instantly made an impact. I have tears in my eyes just thinking about it. It is and has been such a tremendous experience having her here at Post and on the team. She lead from the moment she stepped on the field. She has great work ethic, brought charisma to the sport and the team. Now, she will be graduating Post as a captain and starter of the Women’s lacrosse team, then getting commissioned.”

The child of Marines, Bridgett has spent summers in Officer Training School and immediately following graduation will be commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps.  As she discusses in the interview below and on our podcast from February 2013, she is anxious to serve her country.  Bridgett believes strongly that her experience at LIU Post in the classroom, on the field, representing her team on SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) as a captain, and in the great community service activities she has been involved in, have helped prepare her for the next amazing, special step in her life. 

Bridgett, can you tell us why you chose to attend LIU Post?
My grandpa lives in the area and I wanted to try something new so I Googled schools around. It was random but this school sounded really professional...Long Island University...it just sucked me in and I'm glad it did.

You didn't play lacrosse until you got to LIU Post. Can you talk about your involvement in sports prior to attending college and why you decided to get involved?
I always ran track in high school but LIU Post didn't have a track team and I really wanted to do something. It was either lacrosse or basketball and I already knew I was a horrible basketball player so I thought I'd give lacrosse a chance. Coach Meg was nice enough to let me try out and with a lot of work I eventually got on the field.

Are you involved in any other activities on campus?
I'm a member of SAAC and represent our team at meetings and in working on community service projects

I understand that you are a team captain. What does that mean to you and what additional responsibilities have you taken on with that appointment?
Being a captain to me means always being there for your team, if someone needs something you help them out. You're always encouraging others to succeed and you are constantly trying to keep yourself at the top of your game. As far as responsibilities, you're sending out a lot of texts to the team about information the coaches need you to pass along.

How did you get involved with the Marines?  What are your plans and goals that involved you entering the Marines following graduation? What does this mean to you?
I wanted to serve my country and both my parents were in the Marines. I went through Officer Candidates School and completed both the PLC Jrs and Srs programs. The day I graduate I will be commissioned and will officially be an Officer in the United States Marine Corps. After that I will go to The Basic School (TBS) in Quantico, VA for six months. While I'm there I will find out my MOS (job) and where I will be stationed. This means a lot to me because its something I've given everything for. I was pushed to my mental and physical limits, literally broken down, all to earn this opportunity to serve.

Why have athletics been important to you?
They teach you how to work with others. When you're playing a sport its not only about you. There's no I, me, or my. It's all about the team. The team finds success when everyone works together. We scored that goal because one girl set a pick, allowing another girl to make a cut and catch a feed from a third girl behind the cage, but while all of this was going on we have other girls constantly moving their feet and being a threat distracting their defender from what’s going on. Everything you do on the field works because everyone’s working together and helping each other out and that's the biggest thing for me. So you don't want to do things just for you, you want to do them for the team, for the girl on your right and left.

Why should students and student-athletes attend LIU Post?
LIU Post has so much to offer academically and on the practice field. The school has great major programs and there's not a single professor on this campus who isn't here for the students. The classes are usually relatively small in size so you get the attention you need from the professors and the professors all have office hours where you could see them for extra help or questions. Being a student-athlete at post you learn leadership, competitiveness, integrity, respect, and service and thats just naming a few. You get to meet new people and after spending so much time with your teammates you basically become a family. The level of competition is extremely high also, not only are you trying to make it to NCAA's but you also get an opportunity to compete in the ECC's. The Athletic Department offers tutors and study halls to help you in the classroom and you won't find that at many other schools. At LIU Post it just feels like everyone wants you to succeed whether its in the classroom or locker room.

To hear the full interview with Bridgett, click on the links below.

Bridgett Soares Interview - Part One
Bridgett Soares Interview - Part Two

Former Student-Athlete: Brian Kilmeade ('86), Men's Soccer

Brian Kilmeade may be one of the best known Division II alumni from the East Coast Conference but as LIU Post Director of Athletics Bryan Collins noted he also: “… certainly exemplifies Division II’s philosophy of ‘Life in the Balance’.”  A hard-working, blue-collar soccer player for LIU Post – then C.W. Post – he was, in his own words, "an average player" for the Pioneers from 1982-86.  A defender, he played for a LIU Post squad that played against strong local Division I opponents including LIU Brooklyn and Hofstra for much of his career.

After graduation, Kilmeade took his passion for sports into the media world, where he certainly found a niche.  He currently serves as cohost of FOX & Friends, the number one rated morning program on cable television for the past nine years, sharing his unique perspective on the daily news while interviewing the biggest names in politics, sports and entertainment, often securing exclusive content.  Also serving as the networks sports anchor, Kilmeade has reported on or provided live coverage of every major American sport over the last twenty years.

In addition to his TV work, Brian is also the host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show on FOX News Radio, Kilmeade & Friends. The show is heard on 80 stations, as well as XM and Sirius Satellite Radio.  

In line with his continuing interest in the world of sports and its impact on young and old alike, Kilmeade has also authored two books; his first, "The Games Do Count: America’s Best & Brightest On The Power Of Sports" (2004), was The New York Times best-seller and presents more than seventy stories straight from America’s top leaders and those who were closest to them.  His second book, "It’s How You Play the Game: The Powerful Sports Moments That Taught Lasting Values to America’s Finest" (2007), reveals personal stories of the defining sports moments in the lives of athletes, CEOs, actors, politicians, and historical figures—and how what they learned on the field prepared them to handle life and overcome adversity with courage, dignity, and sportsmanship. As Kilmeade explained, the book was about “what they’ve learned in sports, and none of them went pro.”  

A lifelong Massapequa, N.Y., native, Kilmeade still makes time for the sport that he played in college, having gained several levels of coaching licenses.  He currently serves as a youth soccer coach for his sons’ teams.

TV and Radio personality, author, speaker and coach,  Brian Kilmeade was named as a representative from the East Coast Conference to the NCAA Division II 40th Anniversary Tribute Team in February 2013.  He joined us earlier that month for an interview as LIU Post’s Alumni Representative for the ECC on Campus feature where he discussed how he got to LIU Post, what the experience there meant to him and his career, as well as how sees the place for athletics in colleges today.

To hear the full interview with Brian, click on the links below.

Brian Kilmeade Interview - Part One
Brian Kilmeade Interview - Part Two

Faculty Member with Outstanding Support for Athletics: Margaret Boorstein, Ph. D.

Dr. Margaret Boorstein has been teaching at LIU Post since 1976 and is currently a Professor of Geography and Chairperson for the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. She studied undergrad at Barnard College of Columbia University and completed her Masters and Ph.D. at Columbia. In her classes, she focuses on geography as well as weather, conservation, and how people interact with their environment.

When not working out in the Pratt Center fitness facility, Dr. Boorstein is someone who long ago became committed to the belief that college athletics and student-athletes made an important contribution to the institution and campus life.  As she states in her interview below and the attached podcast from February 2013, she feels she can provide help to student-athletes as they negotiate the not always easy route to graduation.  LIU Post Athletic Director, Bryan Collins, said about Dr. Boorstein:

“She is a great motivator as a professor and mentor to our student-athletes. She relates well with all students and has contributed greatly to the success of many of our team members.”

Below are some of the things we learned from Dr. Boorstein regarding her career at LIU Post and what her involvement with the athletic department and student-athletes has meant to her.

We understand that you are a professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences.  Can you speak a bit about how long you have been teaching at LIU Post and what that experience has been for you?
I started at LIU Post in 1976, and have taught a variety teaching a number of different courses in geography and earth science.  Teaching has been wonderful as I have the opportunity to encourage students to learn about their world.  We talk about and explain the physical world and its phenomena, including weather, climate,  rocks, vegetation, volcanoes, and changes in the physical landscape.  In my classes, students learn also about how people affect and interact with the physical world.  I want students to use this knowledge to decide what they as citizens want to do about challenges that society has and will continue to face.  

The folks in LIU Post athletics told us that you have been a supporter of athletics.  You are also described as a mentor and great motivator in your classes. What has been your involvement with LIU Post athletics and what has that meant to you?  
Around six years ago, I was asked by the provost to serve as a faculty liaison  for the baseball team. It was sort of amusing that I was offered that team as I have been a follower of baseball since I was a little girl, though not now as rabid a fan as when I was younger.

Every season, at least once, I speak to the team members to give them advice about being an athlete at LIU Post.  I emphasize that their classes are very important, partially because even the great baseball stars, have careers that last only into their 40s.  The guys should participate in class, do their work and talk with their professors.  If they are not doing so well, speak to the instructor; take advantage of the tutoring we have at LIU Post. I give them my campus phone and e-mail address, so if they have a problem, they can contact me directly.  If a student does ask for my help with an instructor, I try to serve as an intermediary and have usually been able to help.

I go to some practices and games.

Some of the baseball players and other athletes have taken classes with me which has allowed more and different interactions.   I work out (or something resembling working out) at the LIU Post Recreation at similar times to some athletes or teams. They see me as someone other than an instructor, which opens up new avenues of communication. 
 
Can you briefly discuss what you think the place is of athletics at a college? What do you see as the value based on your experience of working with some of the student athletes?
Athletics is an important component of a college education.  Exercise, discipline, teamwork, and enthusiasm are all important traits for anyone to develop.  Student athletes often receive substantial scholarships which allow some students to gain a college education.  At LIU, most of the student athletes are dedicated, which is good for me as a teacher, but, more importantly, for the other students in the class.  LIU Post has procedures in place to help all our students and special programs for athletes.  The lines of communication are always open between instructors and the athletic staff.

For college athletics as a whole, I think that too many times student athletes are exploited.  Colleges or universities profit at the expense of the athletes. But not at LIU Post.

Why is LIU Post a good school to teach at and a good place for students to attend?
LIU Post is a great school to teach at and a great place for students to attend.  We are committed to the individual student. The faculty have all sorts of discussions, formal and informal, about how to improve student learning.  And we have systems in place beween advising and academic departments to "catch" students before they fall too far behind.  My largest class, in all the years I have been at LIU Post, has had 36 students, but most are much smaller.  I learn all my student’s names and sometimes call on them in class even if they do not have their hands raised.  I am not trying to embarrass anyone; I want students not to be afraid of thinking.  Students should feel good about applying what they learn to their own lives and in contributing to society.

To hear the full interview with Dr. Margaret Boorstein, click on the links below.

Dr. Margaret Boorstein Interview

Community Service: Student-Athletes and Coaches Work Together to Help Rockaway Beach Residents Following Hurrican Sandy

We know that many of those in our ECC family were impacted by Hurricane Sandy in November, 2012, and we are proud to hear the stories of those from our member schools who came forward to help those in need.

We have another great story from the athletic department at LIU Post.  On a cold December morning, 66 Pioneer student-athletes representing almost every LIU Post team, piled into vans driven by volunteer coaches to assist and drove to Rockaway Beach, N.Y. for a day of service.

The effort was spearheaded by women’s lacrosse team member Bridgett Soares (featured in this ECC on Campus series) who connected with AmeriCorp, an organization coordinating volunteers in the aftermath of the storm.  AmeriCorp gladly accepted the help, provided special gear to the team members and explained the importance of the work to be done.  

The enthusiastic LIU Post group jumped into the work, anxious to help.  As SAAC advisor and women’s lacrosse Head Coach Meghan McNamara noted, “We split into groups, mixing up most of the teams so it wasn’t only a chance to provide service to these people, but also a chance for the student-athletes from different teams to work together.“

Coach McNamara went on to say, “As we walked the streets, residents would call us over to help. Different houses needed assistance to rip up floors, knock down walls, clean basements.  None of our folks hesitated…it was incredible.  Our kids were saying 'these people need our help!'  It made all of us very proud of our student-athletes and more importantly, I think we made a difference."