Ellsworth High School athletic director Jay Brown, who coached the Schenck High School girls basketball teams to Class C state championships in 1992 and 1995, is retiring.
“It’s the right decision. I’ve spent 40 years in education,” 62-year-old Brown, who has been the athletic director at Ellsworth since 1999, said. “Every once in a while, a little second thought will pop up. But I’m very happy with my decision.”
Now, he will be a fan.
“It’ll be nice to be out of the public eye. I’ll be able to go to games and just enjoy them,” Brown added.
He also will have more time to visit his daughters Morgan and Nicole in Texas and Alabama, respectively.
“It’ll be nice to see them (more frequently),” Brown said.
Brown served as the interim boys basketball coach at Ellsworth during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons and led the Eagles to a 30-10 record and semifinal berths in the Eastern Maine Class B tournament.
“That was fun,” Brown said.
In his second season, Corey DeWitt poured in an Eastern Maine Class B tournament-record 52 points in an 87-75 triple overtime win over Hermon in the quarterfinals.
Brown coached the Schenck girls in East Millinocket for nine seasons and the Wolverines never finished lower than fourth in the Heal Points.
In 1992, the Wolverines beat Mount Abram of Salem 56-47 in the state championship game and in 1995 they topped Dirigo of Dixfield 49-45.
He also coached boys soccer and JV basketball at Schenck and boys soccer at Katahdin High School of Stacyville.
Brown said he has several job opportunities in the Ellsworth area, but he first is going to spend two months at his cottage on Peaks Island, where he was born and raised.
Brown played baseball at Portland High School before graduating in 1971. He graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington in 1975.
“My goal was to get back to the Portland area, but after the first couple of years in East Millinocket, we fell in love with the place,” Brown said. “The mill was going really well and took care of everybody. That area will always be special to us.”
Ellsworth also will hold a place in his heart.
“This has been the best job in the world. I’ve loved coming to work every day. That’s huge. I don’t know a lot of people who can say that,” said Brown whose wife, Beth, retired a year ago but still works part time.
Brown said he will cherish “the working relationship with the coaches and the relationships you develop being around the athletes. It is rewarding. That is what has kept me young.”
Brian Higgins, who will begin his 42nd year as the boys soccer coach at Ellsworth this fall, said Brown will be missed.
“He is the type of AD who is your friend first, and that made things easy to start with,” Higgins said. “It was an easy transition when he came here.
“He has been very easy to work with. Whenever we needed anything, we got it,” Higgins continued. “He wasn’t confrontational; but if there was a confrontation, it always got worked out in two seconds.”
Brown always was a “friend of the athlete,” according to Higgins.
“That always made things easy. The athletes knew he was on their side,” Higgins said.