Brendan Todt grew up playing soccer in a town of 900 people, where the sports of interest were basketball and baseball. His own father called soccer “a disease”—until it was clear Brendan wouldn’t give it up. Despite his small-town roots, Brendan learned the game as his education took him to the Chicago suburbs for high school and then Knox College for his undergraduate degree. During his time at Knox, he played three years for the Prairie Fire. In his off seasons and after the injury that ended his playing career, he coached and refereed.
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In his early years at Knox, he dipped his toe into the coaching world by picking up YMCA rec teams. By the fall of his senior year, he was coaching—by himself—forty middle school players. That spring, he led, as head coach, his first proper club team, a group of U14 girls.
Brendan has learned a lot since then. After taking a few years away from the game, he became head men’s soccer coach at Tri-County Technical Community College in South Carolina. He left that position to begin his graduate studies at Vermont College of Fine Arts. He began coaching again after his son started playing. He coached those boys in recreational teams for three years before seeking more structure and rigor within the Interstate Soccer Club structure. Since bringing those boys over at U10, Brendan has completed various grassroots coaching courses. In the spring of 2025, he earned his US Soccer D-level coaching license.
In addition to coaching, Brendan has lots of experience in the game as a referee. After moving to Sioux City, he worked US Soccer-sanctioned youth and adult matches. Upon earning his state badge (Grade 6), he was a referee or assistant referee on a PDL (now USL League Two) and multiple NPSL matches. He represented South Dakota as a referee in the Midwest Youth Regional Championships for three years. More locally, he officiated high school soccer in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota. He was an assistant referee in the Iowa High School Athletic Association state championship tournament. He officiated NCAA (Division I, II, and III), NAIA, and NJCAA college matches. At various times, he served as a referee assignor, instructor, and assessor.
Brendan currently teaches writing at Morningside University, where he advises the student-run literary magazine that won first place in the 2025 Sigma Tau Delta (International English Honors Society) contest for college literary magazines. His creative work has appeared in many print and online magazines. Individual pieces have earned various types of recognition and prizes.
Brendan’s main life interest is teaching and learning. In recent years, he has pursued post-graduate work in creative writing. During the 2026-2027 academic year, he will collaborate with an editor to revise and improve a book-length manuscript of very short stories. He has employed the services of a running coach to help him navigate the physical, mental, and emotional turmoil that accompanies his ultra-marathon adventures. (He recently covered 52 miles at the No Bull Around Ultra in Pierce, Nebraska.) He will complete his US Soccer C-level coaching license this fall.
Brendan hopes to be to your soccer players what these kinds of mentors have been for him. He recognizes that we are all continually learning, that progress is not linear, and that the best rewards come after long and patient work.