Fort Kent is a far cry from the Boston suburbs or the cornfields of Iowa.

But Helene Walls is making the most of her opportunity at the University of Maine-Fort Kent where she is the men’s soccer coach, a professor and the athletic director. She is also trying to reestablish a women’s soccer and a women’s basketball program at UMFK.

Walls, a Westwood, Mass., native, had been working on her doctorate at the University of Iowa and had also been the graduate assistant to the associate athletic director for women’s athletics.

So how did she wind up in Fort Kent?

“I wanted to return to work,” explained the 33-year-old Walls, who is in her second year at UMFK. “I really missed working. I wanted just to work, not study and work at the same time.”

Coaching a men’s team is nothing new to Walls, who coached a coed graduate soccer team at Iowa and has coached boys youth teams at various levels including the Bay State Games (Mass.).

“Coaching a men’s team at the college level is fun,” said Walls. “It’s interesting because there aren’t many women coaching men’s teams at the college level. The group of kids I have is tremendous. They are very hard workers and they are good people.

“The men give you 150 percent on a daily basis,” added Walls. “They have previously played for men’s coaches and are used to going all out all the time. It’s kind of neat. The practices are much more energized than women’s practices at certain times. Men do what you ask of them. They don’t question you as much as the women. Women are more inquisitive and want to know why. You have to put more effort into coaching women.”

The UMFK players said they respect and enjoy playing for Walls.

“It was a little awkward at first but I like her a lot,” said freshman fullback Ryan Burgess. “She makes it fun. She’s easy to get along with and you can talk to her about anything. She knows the game and has her own ideas about [how to coach] it.”

“She’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever played for,” said midfielder Craig Hebert.

The Bengals hovered around the .500 mark a year ago but have played a tough early-season schedule resulting in an 0-4-2 start. Two of those losses came at the hands of Mitch Ellisen’s Husson Braves.

“She does a nice job,” said Ellisen. “She really tries to get them to play [constructive soccer]. Her enthusiasm really keeps her team together. I respect her a lot. She tries to get the most out of her players. She gives them a lot of encouragement.”

Walls, who played three years of college soccer at Framingham State (Mass.), has an even more challenging task as the AD at UMFK.

“With the nature of what is happening in the UMaine system and the downsizing going on at colleges all across the country, it’s difficult to have a successful program,” said Walls. “The budget hasn’t been improved or elevated for a long period of time. It’s a strain.”

It won’t be easy to get the women’s soccer and basketball programs off the ground due to the financial constraints at UMFK. But Walls is determined to do so.

“We have women here who are very interested in playing so it’s a matter of getting them going in the right direction,” said Walls. “We haven’t had any [financial] backing in quite some time but the biggest thing the students need is somebody who really cares.”

She wants them to play on a club level this season before hopefully receiving varsity status next year.

She is coaching the women’s soccer team right now but would like to hire coaches for both sports soon.

She enjoys Fort Kent and said she grew up in a similar rural environment in Westwood, Mass. She added that suburbs of Iowa City were also rural.

“I’ve made some very good friends up here. There are a lot of good people here and I enjoy the campus,” said Walls, who received her masters degree from East Stroudsburg State (Pa.). “You have to figure out where you fit in and how the university fits into the community. Here, the university is a huge part of the community which is really good. That puts a lot of pressure on the college which is reflected in how we do business.”