Aug. 30, 2005

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Terry Todd has posted some impressive numbers in his nearly 20 years as an assistant football coach at Western Washington University. He has been a part of six conference championship teams, five national playoff teams, and has coached six All-Americans - three running backs and three specialists.

But Todd also has put up big numbers in another surprising category - wedding invitations.

Todd, 70, said he has lost count of how many of his former players have invited him to their weddings, but the number is huge. In one year, he and wife Kitty went to 28 ceremonies for couples both inside and outside the Viking football family.

But Todd's quick smile and positive outlook does more than net wedding invitations - it makes him both an outstanding football coach and a lifelong friend.

"The thing that sticks out is the number of players who have stayed in touch with him - players that he's coached directly and players that he hasn't coached directly," said Western head coach Rob Smith. "They stay in touch with Coach Todd. And that says everything you want to know about the relationship he has built with the players in this program."

Todd, who works with the running backs, kickers and punters at Western, also was an assistant at Bellingham High School for 13 seasons. He is a local businessman and has volunteered his time throughout his coaching career.

Though he will retire following the 2005 season, he will continue to make an impact on his former players.

"By the time players have been with me for five years, that's over 20 percent of their life," Todd said. "There's a camaraderie there, call it a father figure or whatever, because about 50 percent of my players come from single-family homes. But that's what the game is - it's a tool for a coach to use to affect young men throughout their whole lives."

And while he prepares his players for the world outside college football, Todd also does a pretty good job of readying them for life inside it. Todd has coached six All-Americans - running backs Jon Brunaugh, Scott Lohr and Ryan Wiggins and kicking specialists Peter LaBarge, Wade Gebbers and Michael Koenen. Brunaugh is the school's all-time leading rusher with 4,073 yards, and Koenen is currently listed as the starting punter for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons.

Smith said Todd's positive attitude was instrumental in developing the players as All-Americans.

"He has believes and has confidence in those that he's coaching," Smith said. "He's a quiet motivator who speaks with a very calm voice. He's someone who can really get players to view the positive in what they're doing."

Koenen said Todd's demeanor - which rarely resembles that of a football coach - was a factor in his decision to attend Western in addition to his development as a player.

"I was there for five years, and he didn't yell at me once," Koenen said. "That's where our personalities work well. I don't need to be yelled at to be motivated, and he didn't need to yell at me."

Smith said Todd's approach works particularly well when applied to the kicking game.

"He works not only at the physical end of that craft, but just as much he works with them mentally," Smith said. "Kicking is like being a golfer, where you're always tweaking your swing a little bit. But it's also about the confidence with which you approach that task. "He's going to put his arm around you and give you a hug whether you make it or miss it," Smith said. "I think kids need that and appreciate that."

The results show that Todd's approach works. Between 1985 and 2004, Western had a string of five four-year starters at place kicker - one right after the other. In all, the group that also included Dan Clemensen and Josh Bailey made an all-conference team 16 times in 20 seasons. After college, Gebers received interest from several NFL teams, and Koenen will almost certainly be punting on Sundays this fall.

But to Todd, the people themselves have always been more important than any awards or six-figure salaries they might possess.

"It's the players as a group that you just love," he said. "Whether they're All-American or not really isn't important as their character. It's the relationships that are important."

After this season, Todd won't be starting new relationships - not of the player-coach variety, anyway. He will have time, however, to catch up with some old ones. He hopes to travel around to see many of his ex-players - and their wives and children, of course.

He also will have more opportunities to watch three of his grandchildren compete in the game that he began playing in a leather helmet more than 50 years go.

And Todd can count on attending at least one more wedding. Koenen is engaged to Western softball player Devin Dykstra, and although no date has been set, Koenen is sure of one person who will be on the guest list.

"Coach Todd will be in the front row of my wedding when it happens," he said.