Carol Weeks of Castine is the new Husson College women’s soccer coach, succeeding present Husson residential director and baseball coach John Kolasinski.

Although a newcomer to the college coaching field, Weeks has experience coaching soccer on the youth level and credits her mentor, University of Maine women’s soccer coach Diane Boettcher, with giving her the impetus to pursue the sport professionally.

A former New York resident who played several high school sports and varsity tennis at Oswego State University of New York, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology, Weeks’s name is probably most familiar to area athletes as a competitive runner and assistant coach for the Maine Maritime Academy cross country team.

Weeks takes over a program currently in the building stages as it enters its second varsity season. She has already met with the veterans and has seen them play indoors. “There are some excellent players on the team,” she said. “I think, with hard work, there is no reason why we can’t compete in our league.”

The new coach is tentatively planning for the team to return to campus Aug. 25 in preparation for opening day on Sept. 4.

Weeks’s prior work history has been in the sociology field, the fitness field, and, most recently, as recreation director for South Berwick.

She had not coached prior to moving to Castine three years ago, but when a coach for basketball (a sport she played in high school) was needed at Castine’s Adams School, she was asked to take it on. Weeks also credits MMA soccer and basketball coach Charlie Gross with being instrumental in getting her into coaching.

Although she hadn’t been trained as a coach, Weeks said she really enjoyed working with the Adams program and, the following summer, decided to work a basketball camp in Maine. It was there she met Boettcher, who was still at Davidson University.

Boettcher encouraged her to seriously think about coaching soccer and even sent her material on the subject. “I decided I might take the National Soccer Coaches Association diploma course,” Weeks said, “so I called Diane, and she said, `Go for it. You’ll love it.’ It’s a program that tries to raise the standards of coaches and is geared for high school and college coaching. After that, I fell in love with soccer.”

She next took on a position coaching girls junior high soccer soccer at Orland. Then, one day, she saw the advertisement for the Husson position. “I put my resume together, sent it in, and got the phone call,” Weeks said.

The new coach believes her varied career path will provide her with a different perspective in her new pursuit.

“I have a good sports background, and a good people background,” Weeks said. “I’m very excited that Husson has given me this opportunity to prove myself at this level. I’m fortunate to have some great people help me.”