Dec. 13, 2017

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -

CARVER MEMORIES -- Nov. 5, 2005

Popular Viking assistant Terry Todd coached 22 years at WWU

BELLINGHAM, Wash. --- Terry Todd posted some impressive numbers during his 22 years as an assistant football coach at Western Washington University. He was a part of six conference championship teams, five national playoff teams, and 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, 85, 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 did more than net wedding invitations -- it made 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 former Western head coach Rob Smith. "They stay in touch with Coach Todd. And that says everything you want to know about the relationship he built with the players in this program."

Todd, who worked with the running backs, kickers, punters and long snappers at Western, also was an assistant at Bellingham High School, his alma mater, for 13 seasons and at Squalicum High School for two years. He is a local businessman and volunteered his time throughout his coaching career.

Though he retired following a home game on Nov. 5, 2005, against Western Oregon, he continues to make an impact on his former players.

"By the time players have been with me for four or 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."

A tradition Todd continues to this day is to call his former players on Christmas morning.

And while he prepared his players for the world outside of college football, Todd also did a pretty good job of readying them for life inside it. Todd coached six All-Americans -- running backs Jon Brunaugh, Scott Lohr and Ryan Wiggins and kicking specialists Peter LaBarge, Wade Gebers and Michael Koenen. Brunaugh became the school's all-time leading rusher with 4,073 yards, and Koenen punted in the NFL for 10 seasons. One of Todd's long snappers, Matt Overton, also plays professionally.

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

"He believes in 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 worked particularly well when applied to the kicking game.

"He worked not only at the physical end of that craft, but just as much he worked 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.

But to Todd, the people themselves were always been more important than any awards or seven-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 as important as their character. It's the relationships that are important."

After leaving the coaching ranks, Todd has made time to travel around to see many of his ex-players -- and their wives and children, of course.

He also had more opportunities to watch three of his grandchildren compete in the game that he began playing in a leather helmet more than 65 years go.

And Todd has attended numerous more weddings.

A 2007 inductee into the WWU Athletics Hall of Fame, Todd and wife Kitty have three grown sons, Rock, Terry II and Rick, all WWU graduates.

Originally written by WWU sports information intern Matt DeVeau and updated by Paul Madison who served 48 years as sports information director at WWU from 1966 to 2015