He had never coached before.

His career was in the family lobster business in Sandwich, Mass.

It wasn’t until his daughters began to play women’s lacrosse that Marc Palombo realized his love of the game and the potential opportunity.

Palombo was a three-sport student-athlete for Massachusetts Maritime from 1974-1978. He competed for the Buccaneers in football, men’s ice hockey and men’s lacrosse. As a kid, it was hockey that made the most lasting impression on him due to one particular NHL superstar living in his hometown.

“I am from Nahant and Bobby Orr lived in our town his rookie season,” Palombo said. “That was during the Bobby Orr craze and everyone wanted to play. Having the best hockey player ever live in your town meant there was no question I was going to play hockey. One of the main reasons I went to Williston in Easthampton for high school was because they had their own hockey rink.

While hockey was a sport he grew up with, it wasn’t until high school when a team captain asked him to try lacrosse that he became interested in the game. As a student at Williston, he had to compete in three sports so football, hockey and lacrosse were it.

Transitioning to college life at Mass. Maritime was easy for Palombo. His father was a lobster fisherman so he grew up around the ocean and sports were his life. Although it may seem daunting, juggling the demands of his studies as a marine transportation major and athletics came a lot easier to him than it seems.

“It wasn’t that hard because I was always in shape,” Palombo said. “I didn’t have to train because it was taking off the football cleats, putting on the skates then picking up the lacrosse stick. It is challenging for a student now to play two sports because of the commitments that are required of them. I always felt that playing those sports were my releases from academic life. To get on the field and do something you really like to do and get your mind off class.”

Of the three sports, lacrosse holds a special place in Palombo’s heart. Under Coach Bob Shillinglaw, the Buccaneers won a Colonial League Championship and earned All-Conference all four years he competed. When he graduated in 1978, he held the school record for goals in a season and career while also serving as the team captain. In 1988, the Academy retired his #28 lacrosse jersey.

Following graduation, Palombo joined his father and brother in the family lobster business. After marrying his wife in 1986, the newlyweds branched off on their own and have been running their own lobster business out of Sandwich, Mass. ever since.

During the winter when the water gets cold, the lobsters hibernate and so does Palombo. It wasn’t until his daughters began playing women’s lacrosse that an idea popped into his head.

“I am a lacrosse junkie,” Palombo said. “I played the men’s game, but I didn’t know much about the women’s game until I had two daughters. Every time, my daughters played, I was asked to help. I had to learn the women’s game. My oldest went to Merrimack and youngest is at Stonehill. As they progressed through, I wonder if I could be a coach. My wife had a friend working at Mass. Maritime when they started the women’s program. Her friend asked if I would be willing to help and I decided to try it.”

In 2013, Palombo joined then head coach Leslie Bushy as part of the Buccaneers women’s lacrosse staff. Her first season as head coach, the team earned a spot in the MASCAC quarterfinals and each year continued to improve their win total. When Bushy decided to move on from the position, Palombo was up for the task which he began in 2017.

Now as he enters his second year at the helm of the women’s lacrosse program, Palombo hopes that he can help the student-athletes he coaches have some of the same amazing experiences he did years ago.

“I hope that I can pay it forward after my great experience at Mass. Maritime,” Palombo said. “The young ladies are such a great group. The whole feeling of developing a program from scratch to winning a championship like we did in men’s lacrosse is my goal. I want them to enjoy their Division III experience. Cherish all the moments. That is why you coach. If they can get a sense of accomplishment, that is what I hope we can achieve.”