In 1984, Richard Kent took a soccer team to England to compete against some clubs. From left, Doug Watt (Harrison), Mark Weston (North Waterford), Darin Chism (Salem), and Jeff Parola (Dexter) pose after a match. (Courtesy Richard Kent)

Soccer is enjoying a moment in Maine, that is obvious. One of the reasons is Rich Kent.

Kent founded the first soccer team at Rumford High in 1979 and coached there and at its successor, Mountain Valley High, for 20 years. When he wasn’t growing the game in the mill towns of Oxford County, Kent was instilling his passion for soccer in students from around the state who played on teams that traveled to England throughout the 1980s and 1990s for matches against club teams. He even wrote a novel about those experiences, “Sing On, Maine United!”

Throngs of fans have lined up for tickets to see the Hearts of Pine play at Fitzpatrick Stadium, and thousands of people have packed into Monument Square for a World Cup watch party, none of which happens in a vacuum. To call the growth of soccer in Maine an overnight success is to disregard the work put in by people like Kent decades ago.

As for accepting credit, Kent is happy to spread it around.

“I’m happy I was part of it,” he said.

For some of the players who joined Kent on those trips to England, where they were immersed in soccer culture, Kent was more than a big part of the game’s growth in Maine.

“I think Coach Kent was way ahead of his time when it comes to soccer in Maine. This is standard operating procedure now, playing club soccer all over the country and sometimes overseas,” said Seth Woodcock, who took part in one of the trips in 1994, between his junior and senior years at Mt. Blue High. “But for us, that was an unbelievably new experience and a great experience. Not only as young athletes, but culturally, too.”

Now the associate athletic director for development and capital planning at the University of Maine, Woodcock remembers attending a professional soccer match in England. He and his teammates wore their blue warmup jackets. A police officer approached them as they entered the stadium. Take those off before you get killed, he said. This was at the height of the days of soccer hooligans, and the home team wore red.

Mountain Valley boys soccer coach Richard Kent watches a practice in 1994. (Courtesy Richard Kent)

Craig Roberts grew up in Cumberland and played soccer at Greely High and then at Bowdoin College. He’s been involved in the game his entire life, as a ref for a while, and most recently as a coach. Roberts coached the Scarborough girls to the Class A championship game last season after coaching the girls at Cheverus for years.

Going to England with Kent’s team in 1987 exposed Roberts to how popular the game was outside of Maine. A one-goal loss to a London club team was considered a rousing success.

“We had a lot of good players from Maine, and we thought we were pretty good playing those English teams, and that was a pretty big wakeup call. I don’t think we touched the ball for the first 20 minutes,” Woodcock said.

“A chance to go to one of the world’s soccer capitals? It lived up to the hype,” Roberts added.

“If there wasn’t an awareness of how big soccer was in England, the trip opened our eyes to that. Oh my God, there’s a whole world outside of rural Maine we wouldn’t have been exposed to without Rich,” he said.

A London team and a Maine team pose after a friendly soccer match in London in 1984. The English side prevailed, 1-0. (Courtesy Richard Kent)

Kent, who for years was the director of the Maine Writing Project at UMaine, would do a write-up after each trip. He made sure to highlight every player, and what he or she brought to the trip that made it memorable. That write-up is a habit Roberts picked up when he coached the Cheverus girls soccer team.

For so many players, those trips ignited a lifelong passion for the game, and they have shared that passion. They let it grow. A generation ago, when immigrants arrived, primarily in Lewiston and Portland, they brought their passion for soccer and infused Maine’s version of the game with their flair. They made a good thing better. We’re fortunate to have them as role models, Kent said.

Now we have the Hearts of Pine, who sell out Fitzpatrick Stadium for their home games and make soccer an event. Next year, a women’s team will draw huge crowds at Fitzy.

“Back in the ’70s and ’80s, I don’t think I’d ever believe we’d have a pro team that draws this much excitement,” Kent said.

When Roberts was in junior high in the early ’80s, he recalls one girl playing soccer, and she played with the boys. By the time Roberts and his classmates had reached their senior year at Greely, there were enough players for a girls team that reached the state final. That’s how quick something can grow when it’s nurtured.

When he was building a program in Rumford and organizing trips to England, Kent just wanted to see people have fun and enjoy the game. He wasn’t thinking he was building a legacy. But when you share your love of something with so much zeal, that’s exactly what happens.