Coral Gables Senior High is welcoming Mr. Welsh onto the field for the 2021-2022 school year. After a difficult last season in which the Gables boys football team went 3-3, the team is prepared to tackle the upcoming fall season with Mr. Welsh’s help as head coach.

Mr. Welsh is no stranger to the fast-paced game that is football. He himself was part of the football team when he was a student at South Miami Senior High School. In 2014, he arrived at Gables to teach Exceptional Education students and coach the football team. That year, under his leadership, the team had a successful season, winning 12-1.

Mr. Welsh’s passion for football does not stop after the bell rings, either. For five years, he coached Palmetto High School’s football team after school hours.

During his past six years at Gables, Mr. Welsh has also coached the girls’ football team, which made it to the District Championship Finals in 2017. Additionally, he served as the assistant coach to the boys’ soccer team for one year and the girls’ softball team for another year.

When he received the news of becoming head coach, Mr. Welsh was excited for what he saw as both a challenge and an amazing opportunity. He realized though that as head coach, there was still a lot of work to be done in order to get the program going in the right direction. Rebuilding the Gables football program will be no easy task, something he knows well from his previous experience at Miami Senior High School.

“This is a big adjustment to how our previous coach built our team but we are going to have to adjust and get better,” sophomore Patrick Keough said.

Mr. Welsh has already gotten to know the current team; he began coaching them midway through the Spring season, which falls in between April and May. After practicing with him during these months, players feel that their coach is doing an impressive job so far by keeping the team focused and active.

“When coaching the Spring season, I think Mr. Welsh did a good job, considering that he was rushed into the position after we lost our previous head coach. I am glad he tried to keep things the same so we could be more comfortable,” sophomore Lucas Paez said.

Mr. Welsh aims to make his players as competitive as possible so that they can put the best team on the field at every game and practice. He wants to build a team that can compete for the District Championship while also being responsible and hardworking students off the field and in the classroom.

When it comes to long-term goals, the seasoned coach hopes that each player on his team will have the opportunity to graduate and attend college. He wants to teach them to live life with no regrets and to become individuals who they themselves can be proud of.

“Next year’s team will be very young with a good group of kids. If we all stay focused and work hard to our goals we will be fine next season,” Mr. Welsh said.