Ben Gaddis enters his second season as an assistant coach with the Augustana soccer program. In his first season as an assistant coach for the Vikings Gaddis helped lead Augustana to their first ever NSIC Conference Championship. The Vikings defeated Winona State 1-0 to win the championship and earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, the programs third ever trip.
With Gaddis’ help the Vikings broke numerous season records in 2015 including points scored (117), Game Winning goals (19), Assists (35), shots attempted (398), shots on goal (181), Goals against average (0.65), Wins (19), shutouts (11) and games played (23). The Vikings also set a record for All-NSIC honorees with seven and for the first time had an athlete selected to the NSIC All-Tournament team (4).
He has been coaching youth soccer at some of Minnesota’s top clubs for over 20 years, and at the collegiate level for the past 11 years; eight at DIII University of Wisconsin-River Falls and four at DII and NSIC member Concordia-St. Paul. Ben joins the Sioux Falls an assistant coach and as the Competitive Director for Dakota Alliance Soccer Club. At the club level, he has led multiple teams to sixteen Minnesota State Championship appearances, winning ten of them. Most recently, Ben worked for Dakota REV Soccer Club, coaching the U15 and U16 Premier girls’ teams, as well as developing and implementing the curriculum for the U6-U8 Little Revise program. Ben has been part of Minnesota's ODP/State Select Staff and has both a USSF National "B" License and a National "Youth" License.
As a player, Ben was a member of the 1990 U19 St. Paul Blackhawks McGuire Cup National Championship team. He was twice named to the Region II Olympic Development team and went on to play his college soccer at NCAA DII University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
It has been important for Ben to give back to his community when possible through being part of camps, clinics and, specifically, as the Community Outreach Coordinator at The Sanneh Foundation. Through his work with the Sanneh Foundation, Neighborhood House and Wellstone Center in his hometown of Saint Paul, Ben ran multiple after-school soccer programs and tournaments for inner-city and under-privileged youth.
