Welch done after 2013

[scootermcray]

Just in from the LA Times. Many have been calling it for some time.

Santa Margarita announced Monday in a news release that Harry Welch will retire as football coach at the end of the 2013 season. Welch will be finishing his fourth season as coach and 25th year as a head coach in the high school ranks and 42nd overall.

Welch is the only coach in California history to guide three different schools to CIF state championship bowl victories.

Welch guided Santa Margarita to the Pac-5 Division championship two years ago. He has a 31-8 record with the Eagles.

In an email to Santa Margarita parents, Principal Ray Dunne said, "Coach Welch has had a long and distinguished career achieving significant milestones not only in wins and championships, but very importantly in the way he has had a lasting influence on the lives of young men. We are very fortunate to have had Coach Welch at the helm of our football program."

[downtothewire]

Let the countdown to the Elijah Asante era begin!

[Haroof]

Not surprising.

[cruiser]

Now we know why Asante is there.

[Dan Patrick]

Now we know why Asante is there.

Affirmitive Action?

[Trinitylguealum]

Nothing against Coach Asante...he will not be the next Head Football Coach...SM is going with the "shock & awe" factor on the next hire.

[SoMelo]

keep the uniforms under lock and key!

[Red]

keep the uniforms under lock and key!

Another hijacked thread. Or maybe you would like to explain your idiotic reply.

[BuckW]

Well the man is 65 years old and has coached for over 40 years so I guess it is not a surprise. Coach Grady, Coach Longshore and Coach Vedder from the current staff will also be in the running for the job. Don't rule out Jim Hartigan returning to SM. He regrets the day he left.

[cruiser]

Hartigan was made the permanent AD a while back, fyi and he is still the head FB coach, I believe,
I'm betting his salary was increased also, I don't know if he would go back to SM, still some hard
feelings in why he left but you never know now-days.

I'm thinking to get him back, SM would have to offer him the AD spot (with just compensation) also, most likely..........

[BuckW]

Hartigan is the AD at Jserra because no one else wanted the job. You can't be an AD and also coach a top tier PAC 5 football program. Just not enough time in the day. Jserra is in deep financial trouble and can't seem to keep management staff. In the 11 years the school has been open how many AD's and school principals have come and gone. If SM wanted Hartigan he would be back in a flash. When Coach Welch retires the SM job will be the most sought after job in So Cal.

[credofriar]

harry had to fight tooth and nail to keep his job. he is actually off the SM payroll as a couple boosters are paying his salary for these last few months. heard they might take the money they were gonna pay harry and roll in into a nice signing bonus for the next guy.

I had heard from insiders that harry was done this summer but they gave the old guy one last swan song.

fyi the reason they are announcing it now and doing in in the first place is to help with enrollment which is wayyyy down this year. their ad called our ad Clinton and SM already cancelled the freshman reserve games saying they have less than 40 freshman football players. (36 total as of last week)

sm has a very black eye, especially amongst football families in south county because of all the stuff harry has put the school through. the schools admissions and recruiters constantly hear that families do not want to go there because of "Dirty Harry" so it's not a surprise that #1 they let him finish out the season. It's not like the enrollment of freshman would go up this late in summer if he was fired and #2 that they announce it now so prospective 8th grade parents understand they will not have to deal with somebody like this if they enroll as freshman next year.

I know dunne very well from his days here at servite and we have talked football since his departure. he will open the job to see what they can get. if it stays in-house it will be Grady. But they will "try" to get a name to come in and take over the program. I still think hartigan coming back would be a long shot.
FYI jserra knew this was coming down the pipe which is why they gave jim the AD title a few weeks back. they are paying him to much for him to leave to SM.

[BuckW]

Your way off. SM's enrollment is at 1750 for upcoming school year which is at full capacity. SM usually has between 40-50 freshman football players every year. This season is no different. The league may drop B team games because Jserra has 20 freshman players for the upcoming season.

The true SM supporters can't thank Coach Welch enough for bringing the football program back after so many down years. He will be missed. I know many of the players want nothing more than to send Coach Welch into retirement with another Championship.

It was the football parents that fought for Coach Welch. If Welch was not brought back you would have definitely saw a decline in enrollment. Believe it or not there are still some parents that appreciate their sons learning the value of discipline and hard work.

[Grinder]

harry had to fight tooth and nail to keep his job. he is actually off the SM payroll as a couple boosters are paying his salary for these last few months. heard they might take the money they were gonna pay harry and roll in into a nice signing bonus for the next guy.

I had heard from insiders that harry was done this summer but they gave the old guy one last swan song.

fyi the reason they are announcing it now and doing in in the first place is to help with enrollment which is wayyyy down this year. their ad called our ad Clinton and SM already cancelled the freshman reserve games saying they have less than 40 freshman football players. (36 total as of last week)

sm has a very black eye, especially amongst football families in south county because of all the stuff harry has put the school through. the schools admissions and recruiters constantly hear that families do not want to go there because of "Dirty Harry" so it's not a surprise that #1 they let him finish out the season. It's not like the enrollment of freshman would go up this late in summer if he was fired and #2 that they announce it now so prospective 8th grade parents understand they will not have to deal with somebody like this if they enroll as freshman next year.

I know dunne very well from his days here at servite and we have talked football since his departure. he will open the job to see what they can get. if it stays in-house it will be Grady. But they will "try" to get a name to come in and take over the program. I still think hartigan coming back would be a long shot.
FYI jserra knew this was coming down the pipe which is why they gave jim the AD title a few weeks back. they are paying him to much for him to leave to SM.

What is your connection with Servite?

[credofriar]

it has gotten progressively worse every year. this year having less than 40 is an all-time low. according to the football website harry's first year they were in the high 60's. wins have gone up surely but the "program" has deteriorated. yes if harry left some would have been upset. he has such low numbers the guys there are mostly pro-harry. that is why a few high$ boosters are paying his salary for these last few months as he will not be receiving any salary/stipend from SM itself.
JSerra has low numbers as well but double what you said.
As for dropping B games? We, MD, Bosco and OLU are all going strong with freshman football player numbers.
It's sad harry (yes he has won, although he has been 3-2 in league every year ) has brought the SM program to were it is comparing itself to jserra.

Kinda hard to have a decline in enrollment when a whopping >40 kids come out for freshman football
but I will take your word on that.

[BuckW]

First if you spoke to Mr. Dunne you would know he is the principal. He runs the academic side of the school.
Mr. Carey is the school president who runs the business side of the school. Mr. Carey along with the AD Rich Schaaf make the decisions involving the sports program. If you know Mr. Dunne from Servite you would know he is the last person you want making football program decisions.

[credofriar]

Never said otherwise. I understand you want to spin it pro-sm and that is fine... spin it any way you want. I am not looking for a verbal confrontation like many of our other poster's do.

just stating what I have heard (thru very reliable sources) of what is going on since on that other thread I posted last month said that harry was done and everybody was like yeah whatever. obviously things have changed in the past few weeks and they gave him a few more months to finish out this final year. How nice of them.

fact is sm frosh have ALWAYS had two teams including last year (check SM football website). this year they will only be having one team because enrollment of FRESHAMN FOOTBALL players has gone way down every year since Harry's arrival and SM admin know that even though harry IS a winner, he does it a different way and that is not what fits SM. Having the same freshman numbers as jserra shows the program is going in the wrong direction and a change needed to be made.

I will let our fellow posters make up their own mind.

[BuckW]

It is a fact that Jserra has 20 freshman this season. I know as a closet Jserra supporter you do not want that info out. Coach Welch has brought SM a PAC 5 and State Championship something no other South County team has ever achieved. The dedicated hard working players continue to support their coach and will gain even more apprecIation as they move on with their lifes and careers after football.

[CotodeCaza]

I agree...it does look like the Asante Era is taking over SM. Speaking from a parent's perspective I personally see how the parents and players respond to and love Coach Asante. There's been nothing but a positive outcome since he arrived here at SM. He brings with him a winning record against Mater Dei. He's beaten them twice as a head coach. Now he has been selected as the Head Coach for the Southern Section vs San Diego game. That's a pretty big deal if the southern section selects you to head coach and with the backing he currently has from the players and their parents here at SM we would welcome him in taking over our football program.

[Trinitylguealum]

I had heard from insiders that harry was done this summer but they gave the old guy one last swan song.

fyi the reason they are announcing it now and doing in in the first place is to help with enrollment which is wayyyy down this year.

sm has a very black eye, especially amongst football families in south county because of all the stuff harry has put the school through.

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Harry, like all diocese employees, are on yearly contracts that get renewed. Harry just went through that process...wasn't given "one last swan song"...and the school does pay his salary

This fall will be the LARGEST freshmen class in SM history...maybe the football numbers are down, but not the school.

The struggle with Harry is style...the South County "families" you speak about are all to involved with "little johnny"...those who are there for the other reasons understand that football is only a small part of the school