WASILLA — Glenn Nelson was destined to become a coach.

His father is a coach. His wife is a former coach. Even his father-in-law is a coach.

So when the position of head coach of the Wasilla High School football program suddenly became open, Nelson talked with his wife, and they decided this is an opportunity he couldn’t refuse.

ROBERT DEBERRY/Frontiersman Glenn Nelson, a member of the Wasilla High School football coaching staff for the last three seasons, was promoted to head coach of the Warriors program on Monday. Nelson succeeds Jim Shetter, who resigned after three seasons as head coach.

“My wife and I both grew up in a coaching family,” Nelson said. “This is what we do.”

And on Monday, Wasilla High officially named Nelson as the head coach of its football program. Nelson succeeds Jim Shetter, who is taking a step away from football after leading the program for the last three years.

Nelson spent three seasons with Shetter, and last year as the head coach of the junior varsity squad, Nelson led the Warrior J.V. to an 8-0 record.

A native of Montana, it has long been Nelson’s goal to solidify himself in the coaching ranks. After arriving in Alaska in 2002, Nelson landed a job on the Colony football staff and served under CHS head coaches Tom Lincoln, Randy Magner and Jamie Mayo.

Nelson said his time with those three men and the last three seasons with Shetter prepared him for the position he has now.

“What a privilege,” Nelson said.

Nelson said he had thought about the chance to one day find himself in the position of head coach, and each year he felt he was getting closer and closer to his goal.

After Shetter decided he needed to take a step away from coaching for health and family reasons, administrators at WHS thought it was a good time to give Nelson an opportunity.

“Glenn’s been doing a lot of work,” Wasilla assistant principal Dan Michael said. “He’s bee stepping up.”

Even though Nelson has not been the head coach of a varsity team, Michael said the Wasilla administrators were also impressed with his work at the junior varsity level.

“He’s kind of fun his own teams for a number of years at the J.V. level,” Michael said. “He’s got a good football mind, he keeps himself up on the current teachings and he knows the fundamentals.”

Michael said the WHS administration also took advantage of the fact there was a qualified candidate teaching in the building.

“It was kind of a natural pick,” Michael said.

During the Shetter era, the Warriors enjoyed a football resurgence. In 2007, Wasilla advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. The Warriors also beat rival Palmer in the Potato Bowl since 2001.

Shetter also led the effort to purchase more equipment, solidify the booster club and get the football program active in the Wasilla community. Nelson said he hopes to continue where Shetter left off.

“He really put a good program together,” Nelson said.

“I feel like I’ve got the keys to a car that’s ready to race.”

Nelson said he doesn’t expect a great deal to change under the new leadership, and hopes to retain a good chunk of Shetter’s staff.

“Shetter put together a pretty good staff,” Nelson said. “He hired a lot of good people I hope to keep around.”

Nelson is Wasilla’s third head coach since longtime Wasilla mentor Nathan Ford resigned in 2003. Before Shetter, Joe Gardner coached the Warriors for two seasons.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.