Rob Griffin 
(Defensive  Coordinator, LB Coach) 
griffin.robert@slpschools.org

"I  would be the 3rd if not for my father and grandfather having different middle names."  Rob   grew up in north  Minneapolis and graduated from Edison High School where he played and lettered in Football and Basketball. He then attended  Ridgewater College and University of Arkansas Pine Bluff playing football. He is a retired Semi-pro football and has been named to an All-Star team 5 times. He came from a large family with 9 siblings. He is hoping to bring another level of energy to the great staff in place and be part of the great things to come on the field and in the community!

Clint Ewald 
(Offensive Line) 
 clintewald@gmail.com

Coach Ewald started in the St. Louis Park football program in 2003 after 20 years of high school coaching (Blaine, Kellogg, Roseville and Moundsview) and 14 years of college football coaching. He has his B.A. from Macalester and M.A. from Wake Forest. He and his wife, Judy, have three children, 8 grandchildren, and one great-grandson.

Jack Swanberg
 Quarterbacks, Special Team Coordinator

Jack Swanberg has been coaching at St Louis Park since 2016. He has been a defensive backs coach the past three years and will transition to the offensive side of the ball this year and coach the quarterback position. He currently teaches 4th grade at Susan Lindgren Elementary School. As a graduate of Hamline University in St Paul, Swanberg graduated with a degree in Elementary Education and Psychology. During his playing career as a quarterback and defensive back, he was a four year letter winner, two-time conference special teams player of the week, and D3football.com west region first team.

Alex Polk
(Varsity Defensive Backs ) JV DC

Coach Polk got his start at St. Louis Park High School when he was hired as a chemistry teacher in 2016. He then had the opportunity to begin coaching with the football program in that same year. Since 2017, Polk has served as a coach of the defensive back group for the Orioles, while since the spring of 2019 has served as an assistant coach for the girls lacrosse team. 

Polk graduated from Carleton College in June of 2015 with a teaching degree and a major in Chemistry. While at Carleton, Polk was a member of the Football and Track & Field programs, where he played safety and threw javelin respectively.

Scott Glover
(Varsity Running Backs) JV Offensive

 

Scott Glover- Moved to St Louis Park in 2002 from the Bahamas (I know, I know) with my wife Abby and two children Shannon class of 2009 and Skylor class of 2020.  Having grandparents who had been in St Louis Park since 1942 we knew it was a great place to raise our family.  Over the last 18 years, I have enjoyed coaching various sports and volunteering in the school system and the lifelong relationships that have grown from these opportunities. 

Parker Bretl
Varsity D-Line

Parker is a proud graduate of St. Louis Park High School, Class of 2015, where he was a two-sport athlete in football and golf. He began his coaching journey in 2023 as a volunteer with the Freshman team and is excited to step into the role of Varsity Defensive Line Coach for the upcoming season. Outside of football, Parker serves as a Data Technical Advisor at Infinite Campus, a leading K–12 education software company. In this position, he assists school districts across the country in addressing challenges related to their Student Information System.

Peyton Bretl
Freshman Head Coach & OC

Kam Manthe
Freshman DC/Varsity LB's

Coach Manthe graduated from New Prague High School in 2012 where he played linebacker in football and number one singles in tennis. He carried his sports career to college at Hamline University playing three sports: tennis, football, and throwing javelin for track and field. He also interned for a semester with the head strength and conditioning coach. In 2017 he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science and since then he has been a full time personal trainer with LA Fitness. Coach Manthe got his start at St Louis Park High School in 2020 becoming the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach. In the fall of 2024, he transitioned over to coaching sports at SLP. In the Fall season he coaches 9th Grade Football and assists with Varsity linebackers. And in the Spring coaches the throwers for Track and Field. His motto is to strive to get better, grow, and learn something new every day.

Brian Maliszewski
Freshman OL/DL

Former high school football player from Ohio, moved to Minnesota to attend the University of Minnesota.  He began coaching football when the Class of 2028 was in third grade and has since become a steady presence in youth sports, also guiding teams in baseball for six seasons and hockey for five. His coaching is grounded in years of multi-sport experience and a genuine commitment to building strong, confident athletes. Off the field, he’s a devoted husband to Heidi and proud dad to Jack and Walter, who serve as his daily reminder of the power of mentorship and teamwork.

All football players must have the following completed prior to the first practice session:
–      Physical Exam on file in the athletic office.
–      Participation fee paid.
–      Participation and eligibility form read and signed by player and parent.
*Meet academic eligibility requirements for MSHSL and SLP schools.

Locks can be acquired through athletic department. Full registration is required to obtain an approved lock. We share the locker room with other athletes. “My locker is my locker, your locker is your locker” is the guideline for locker room usage. Stealing in the locker room is forbidden. Players are expected to keep the locker room clean.

A rigorous strength and conditioning program plays a critical role in the success and development of our team. We expect our players to participate in 1 of 2 available strength programs. Either Tria Gameface or SLP S&C program in the offseason. Understanding and mastering the movements will help reduce injuries and increase overall athleticism. Hard work, mental toughness and discipline are all great byproducts of the program. Players that participate in lifting weights and conditioning are more likely to have a positive contribution to their teams, they are also more likely to enjoy their season and avoid injury.

All practices will begin on time, it is a good habit to always be at practices at least 30 minutes early. Players should come prepared with all necessary pieces of authorized equipment. Equipment that is in need of repair should be brought to the attention. Practice sessions are designed to be up-tempo, competitive and fun. Players are expected to have a good attitude and play the right way. 

Football is a contact sport that can result in a variety of injuries to the player.  The player must understand that he is risking injury by playing this sport and take the necessary precautions.  Anytime an athlete is feeling pain or feels discomfort of any kind he must make the coaches and trainer aware of his situation so that necessarycare can be provided. All injuries no matter how small will be handled by the training staff once reported.  The trainer should be consulted before a player is taken for advanced injury by a doctor.  Any player who is under medical care by a physician will not be allowed to participate in any practice sessions or games without written clearance by the doctor.  All injured players that cannot take part in practice and/or games will still be required to be at practice or games.

The training room is a place to get taped before a practice/game. It is also a place to do preventative and rehabilitative exercises. It is not a place to meet or hangout with other athletes and socialize. If at anytime a player becomes injured he must inform a coach and also get checked out by the trainer before leaving school.

Any player who does not follow through with the rehabilitation program set forth by the trainer will not participate in the upcoming game. If a player gets injured during practice, he may immediately get checked out by the trainer. After getting checked out by the trainer, each player is expected to return to his position coach or team activity to participate if cleared, or observe if not cleared. All injuries no matter how small will be handled by the training staff once reported.  The trainer should be consulted before a player is taken for advanced injury by a doctor.

Absence Form

Attendance at practice and games is vital to our team’s success. Each day we are covering something that our athletes need to know in order to be prepared for the upcoming game. If a player misses practice, it hurts our team in a number of ways.

College visits, vacations and weekend trips are not an excused absence. Only those absences cleared by the head coach are considered excused 

Academics is part of our formula for success. Schoolwork comes before football. No athlete should ever use football as an excuse for not completing obligations in school in order to meet both obligations. Athletes should try to schedule make-up work before school if possible or during study hall periods.   

We must be informed if a player is going to be absent. Detentions, suspensions, and job conflicts are considered unexcused.

Illness may be cleared by communication to the head coach via Hudl or absences google form. Players who do not clear their absences may be considered unexcused and subject to the penalties that go with that infraction. 

The following guidelines cover absences and playing time:
Excused:  A player who is excused from missing a practice or a game will maintain the status of a regular player.  He may, however, lose his starting position as a result of missing the practice session.
Unexcused:  A player who misses a practice session that is deemed "unexcused" by the coach will have a consequence .  If a second violation occurs it may result in loss of play time during games. A  third violation will be a meeting with player, guardian and head coach.

Players need to be in designated areas at designated times. All SLP Football players that are in good standing with their coach will dress and stand on the sidelines for home games. Players will not socialize or interact with spectators of the game. Players are to carry out their duty of the game with pride and enthusiasm. All players 10-12 will dress for regular season homegames.


Player Expectations
[*]     Be the Best Man You Can Possibly Be
[*]     Treat Everyone with Respect
[*]     Succeed in the Classroom
[*]     Accept Responsibility
[*]     No Foul Language or Excuses
[*]     Develop Mental and Physical Toughness
[*]     Work Hard to Improve in All Aspects of Your Life
[*]     Make good, healthy choices


We expect our players to be committed to their team, in their actions and words. We expect players to support each other on the field, in school and in the community. Student-athletes should understand that their actions and behaviors speak for the collective group.

Closely monitor your son’s academic progress

Notify his coaches and teachers if you think there an issue that needs addressing.

Make sure your son gets proper rest and nutrition

​Meals before and after workouts and practices as well as proper hydration is essential to keep the body performing at top levels. Athletes that are participating is athletics should be getting a minimum of 7-8 hours of sleep per night.

Be Supportive of the Program

The goal of the program is to make each of the young men a better person and to become the best they can be. Each and every member of the program should be completely supportive of that aspect of the what we are trying to  do. The coaches, parents and support staff should help each other in the positive development of the young men in the program.

Be Involved in the Program

A common thread in each successful program is strong parent involvement.

There is much that needs to be done to run a successful program, so the more people involved in the program, the better. The larger the involvement of parents, the more meaningful experience the players have with the support staff. Make it a point to attend games in a positive way.

Understand the Role of Parents

The role of a parent in a program is to cheer for their son and contribute to the positive development of the athlete academically, physically, mentally, and emotionally. This does not include speaking negatively about other players in the program, coaches in the program, play-calling, or game-planning. Too often, parents think that it is part of their responsibility to “coach from the stands.” Any parent who feels as if they would like to help with the coaching aspect of the program is more than welcome to apply to become a coach in the program.

Parents may want to attend practice sessions.  We welcome this situation but we would appreciate cooperation in doing so.  All parents and friends who come to observe our players in their practice sessions are asked to remain on the sidelines away from the drills.  We appreciate having people watch and not distract the players or coaches from their preparation.  Areas provided at all games allow spectators to get a good view of the action.  It is unacceptable to have anyone who is not a part of the team inside roped/fenced off areas.  Fans should not be on the track area behind the player's bench (grass field), inside of the fence, or inside the locker room.  We expect parents to be positive and to show their support in a positive and sportsman like manner.  Anytime parents feel less than positive, a meeting with the head coach is encouraged.  Remember your child cannot be positive about situations in which you do not show positive support.

Away games are viewed as a business trip. Players will only be taken on away trips if they have earned the right to go as participants. Players will be taken if they show a desire to cooperate and willingness to follow expected behavioral guidelines. Players are expected to keep the buses clean and to follow all of the normal district and state rules regarding bus travel.  All players who ride the bus to games will also return home on the bus unless previous arrangements have been made by the parents through the head coach.

Anytime a player has a concern for any aspect of our program he should first make arrangements to meet with the head coach and anyone else deemed appropriate as soon as possible.  Misunderstandings and problems can be cleared up quickly and efficiently this way.  We hope that if a player's parents or guardians have any concerns they will communicate first with their son to see what the problem is and if their son has talked first to a coach.  If the coach and player meeting has not solved the problem then a meeting with the player’s head coach, player, and parent may then take place to resolve the situation.  No problem is too small to discuss with the coaching staff.

Game Night- In game dress code will be determined by the coach with input from Team Captains. We will look like one team, not a group of individuals. All players will wear matching uniforms and socks. We will only wear and use accessories approved by the head coach. Undershirts and sleeves need to be black or white. Visors must be clear.