For Matt Lombardi, family and football have always been one and the same. From watching his father, Robert – a member of the Illinois High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame – Lombardi learned early on the importance of establishing close, personal relationships with players. This philosophy, Lombardi said, was essential to his success at Wayzata, where he helped direct three Class 5A titles in seven years as the Trojans' defensive coordinator.

However, the bonds he formed with his players made it that much more difficult to say goodbye when he accepted the head coaching job at Maple Grove.

"I think I cried for 20 minutes as I talked to them," Lombardi said of his February farewell to the team, "and I know a lot of them had tears in their eyes, too."

There were times during his tenure at Wayzata, Lombardi said, when he thought he would never leave, and for good reason.

While he directed the defense, coach Brad Anderson steered the ship, leading Wayzata to a 73-12 mark and holding opponents scoreless 23 times. But when Craig Hansen, Maple Grove's first and only football coach, announced he was leaving after 14 years there, Lombardi could not resist the opportunity.

"I always preach to the Wayzata kids, usually the best things come from the things that are inconvenient, and that was inconvenient for me to go to Maple Grove," Lombardi said. "But there was something in my belly that was exciting and unbelievably challenging and scary – and I think that's kind of what made me say I think I've got to do this."

Robert Lombardi, now 74, helped guide his son through the process of accepting the Maple Grove job. His dad was proud of the success his son achieved at Wayzata, Matt Lombardi said, but "I think he was also proud that I left a comfortable situation and took a challenging one." Lombardi said his father told him the most fun he had as a coach was the building process.

At Maple Grove, that process will mean taking a team that finished 3-6 in each of the past three seasons and shaping it into a Northwest Suburban Conference contender. Lombardi said his first priority will be winning over the players and their parents, convincing them that there is "a method to [his] madness" and that he has the players' – and the team's – best interests at heart.

"I wouldn't have left Wayzata if I didn't think I was going to a place that could get to that level," Lombardi said.

Having grown up under the shadow of his father, Lombardi said he moved to Minnesota to make a name for himself. Fittingly, at Wayzata he became known as a defensive mastermind despite coming from what he described as "an offensive household."

"Matt's very aggressive," Anderson said. "He's going to get after people. ... He's going to look for ways to bring heat, and then change it up. He's the type of coach who's very analytical and so he's going to adjust as the game goes on and try to put his players in the best position possible to make plays."

Lombardi's knack for getting the most out of his players was not lost on Wayzata senior defensive back David Boegel, who will play for Minnesota Duluth next year.

"[ Lombardi] was the defense," Boegel said. "He has a lot of influence on all the kids that go to Wayzata and play for him. He's just a big father figure for everybody. ... I definitely wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for him."

Andrew Baker is a University of Minnesota student reporter on assignment for the Star Tribune.