In the midst of all the Cup Match build-up, Somerset Cricket Club made an important signing on Saturday, with the signing of Dennis Brown as technical director of the football programme.

Brown, who stood down as coach of Devonshire Cougars in April, signed an agreement during the final trial match to renew ties with his boyhood club after three years away. He will oversee the coaching set-up at the club where his nephew, Danvers Seymour Jr, is the head coach.

Brown’s services were in demand, with North Village and BAA Wanderers interested in having him fill a similar role. “I had a meeting with Kenny Thompson at BAA and was also asked to consider the technical director’s position at NVCC,” Brown said.

“I thought about both very strenuously, but my heart and mind took me back to where it all began for me. This is the club that made me into the person that I am today.

“Helping my nephew was a no-brainer and I am looking forward to seeing him progress as a coach. He did a tremendous job last year where he lost seven starters in his first team, but still managed to win a trophy and challenge for the league until the last game. He should be a very strong candidate for coach of the year for how he managed his team last year against all the adversity that he encountered.”

Brown, with his other commitments, will not be involved in the day-to-day coaching of the senior team but will have some input. “My function will be to oversee the whole football programme: overseeing all coaches, implement a yearly curriculum for all coaches to follow throughout the year,” he said. “And also to put together another sustainable plan for the next ten years and beyond.

“I will not be involved in the day-to-day coaching of the senior team — that is the requirement of the senior coach — but I will be close by to offer advice if required. Being technical director of Somerset will not deter me from my responsibilities with Bermuda’s Brazilian Football School or the BFA National Academy. I know how to manage my time because I also have a son, daughter and a wife.”

Brown held the technical director’s post at Somerset until 2011 when he left to take over as coach of Cougars, leading them to the Triple Crown in 2012-13. “When I was at Somerset from 2003 to 2011, what I put in place with the assistance of Mike Corday and Josef Gooden was a ten-year sustainable plan, which is bearing fruit now because the championship under-13 and under-15 teams that we had in 2008 are now 19, 20 and 21 years old,” Brown said.

“In the past two seasons, the team has won trophies, but now what we are looking at is a high level of consistency in their overall play and efficiency. I am putting together a team of qualified coaches and educators like Dr Llewellyn Simmons, Dr Radell Tankard, Dr Donald Simmons, Danvers Seymour Sr and Larry Smith, to name a few, in our programme, because it is not just about football but also for us to ensure that they remain on the right path to gain an education and to live a decent lifestyle.

“I thought I would finish at Devonshire Cougars because after the season finished last season I definitely wanted to take a break from senior football. I have coached at the senior level since 1996 with Wolves, Somerset and Cougars. I just want to concentrate on coaching our up-and-coming players.

“At SCC, I will look to coach one of the youth teams and place the other coaches in strategic positions to ensure quality and continuity in the programme.”