Former Searsport High School and Maine Maritime Academy soccer player Seth Brown, who has four years of college coaching under his belt, will begin his new job as the men’s soccer coach at Husson College today.

The 32-year-old Brown will replace Keith Bosley, who is the Husson women’s soccer coach but handled both jobs after first-year men’s coach Per Henrikson was fired last September for unsportsmanlike and inappropriate behavior at a game against Johnson State (V t.).

“I’m excited about it. It’s a great opportunity,” said Brown. “I love the conference [North Atlantic Conference], I love everything Husson is doing with athletics and I’m very, very excited to work for Coach [Gabby] Price. He has a fantastic reputation, he knows so many people and he has a lot of coaching thoughts to share.”

Price is the football coach and athletic director at Husson.

“Jobs in Maine don’t come along that often and this is a good time for me and my family to jump on an opportunity like this,” said Brown who is married to the former Mariko Haskell and the father of children ages four (son Wade) and two (daughter Mayako).

In addition to being the men’s soccer coach, Brown will also teach sports management.

Brown had been the director of soccer camps and leagues for the Atlanta Silverbacks, who play in the United Soccer League’s First Division. The USL is a professional soccer league a notch below the MLS.

He had been the director of coaching in Rome, Ga. before he landed the job with the Silverbacks. The Arsenal Rome soccer club had youth teams from U-4 (Under-4 years old) to U-19.

Prior to that, he had coached on the college level.

He had been the head women’s soccer coach at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont. for one year, compiling an 8-7 record, after spending three seasons at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D.

He was the men’s assistant soccer coach for one year at the University of Mary before taking over as the head coach for the women’s team and guiding them to a 23-13 record over two seasons.

Brown is originally from Bangor but moved to Searsport when he was in middle school.

He said his primary challenge will be to “get to know the players, find their strengths and weaknesses and develop a system around them.

“I have a defense-first mentality. We’ll organize ourselves defensively and attack out of that. I like a possession game,” said Brown.

He also intends to do what he can to “help the sport grow in Maine” by working with the youth programs.

Price said Brown “really impressed us.

“He’s an outstanding communicator, he’s an educator and he has an excellent way about him,” said Price. “He has a great background. He has experience at the college level in both men’s and women’s soccer and he’s from Maine. This was a great move by the school for the athletic program.”

St. Joseph’s joins conference

St. Joseph’s College of Standish is joining a conference and adding three sports.

St. Joseph’s, which had been an NCAA Division III independent with the exception of baseball (North Atlantic Conference), has joined the Great Northeast Athletic Conference beginning with the 2007-2008 season.

It has added women’s swimming and men’s and women’s lacrosse and will begin competing in those sports in 2007-2008.

The GNAC currently has 13 schools and offers conference championships in 12 sports.

In addition to St. Joseph’s, the GNAC is also adding Massachusetts-based schools Lasell College and Mount Ida College.

The established schools in the conference are Massachusetts-based institutions Emerson College, Emmanuel College, Pine Manor College, Simmons College, Suffolk University and Western New England College; Vermont schools Southern Vermont College and Norwich University; Connecticut institutions Albertus Magnus College and St. Joseph College and New Hampshire schools Daniel Webster College and Rivier College and Rhode Island school Johnson and Wales University.

“The schools in the GNAC will offer a strong competitive experience for our student-athletes and will build more rivalries and more excitement on our campus,” said St. Joseph’s athletic director Brian Curtin in a press release.

St. Joseph’s President Dr. David House added, “It is important for our teams to have a home. Our entry into the GNAC and the addition of three new sports are important milestones in the history of our athletic program.”