Lombardi family leaving for WDM

CEDAR RAPIDS -- The Lombardis are leaving.Washington High School volleyball coach Kari Lombardi has resigned her post, effective Monday. The family is headed for West Des Moines, where former Warriors football coach Tony Lombardi has taken an unspecified job, according to Paul James, the school's athletics director and football coach.Amy Faulkner is the new volleyball coach."It's been a pretty emotional morning," Faulkner said during volleyball practice. "It's a little overwhelming (to take the head position) on the first day of practice, but this is a great group of kids. We have 10 seniors, and I've been with them since eighth grade."Tony Lombardi was the Washington football coach from 2006 through 2012. He resigned in April amid charges of mistreatment of players and students.He faces a hearing in September in front of an administrative law judge after officially being charged by the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners of four counts of misconduct."Tony has accepted a position in West Des Moines, in the business world," James told the football team Monday. "The family will be moving over there."The Lombardis have five children. The oldest, Rocky, will enroll at Valley High School in West Des Moines. He will be a freshman."They're great kids, all great athletes," James said. "Rocky had been working (as quarterback) with our varsity all summer. And Kari, she's a great volleyball coach. We hate to lose her."Neither Tony Lombardi nor Kari Lombardi answered when called for comment Monday morning. Faulkner said Kari told her she plans "to take a year off (from coaching)."Washington's volleyball program was at rock bottom when Kari Lombardi took the reins in 2008. Last year, the Warriors were 27-14 and regional finalists."We've got a lot of returners," said Faulker, 27, a 2004 graduate of Cedar Rapids Xavier -- she was a four-sport athlete -- who is employed as campus supervisor at Washington. "I'm confident in the kids we've got coming up."