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Harry Edward Welch, Jr. is an American football coach entering his fourth season as the Head Football Coach at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. Coach Welch is considered one of the most successful coaches in California prep football history, as he has averaged over 10 wins per season and has won nine California Interscholastic Federation - Southern Section (CIF-SS) Championships and three state championships in his 24 years as a varsity head coach. He has also coached 17 CIF-SS Divisional Players of the Year in his career.

His career accomplishments include a 46-game winning streak, a 30-game winning streak, nine CIF sectional titles - including four in a row from 2006-09, a Division 1 California State Championship in 2006 with Canyon High School in  Santa Clarita, a second California State Championship in 2008 in the Small School Division (IV) with St. Margaret's Episcopal School and finally a third State Championship with Santa Margarita Catholic High School in 2011 (Division I). He is 9-1 in CIF-SS Championship games and 3-0 in California State Championship games.

Early years
Harry Welch was born in Baltimore, Maryland on April 4, 1945 to Harry Edward Welch Sr. and Marie Snow. He moved to Tarzana, California at age 9 and attended Crespi Carmelite High School where he played quarterback before graduating in 1963. He attended Santa Clara University for one year before returning to the San Fernando Valley, where he received his bachelor's degree from California State University, Northridge in 1968. He later earned a master's degree.

Coach Welch began his coaching career as an assistant at Crespi High in 1969. One of his notable players was Randy Cross, an offensive lineman who would go on to play at the University of California, Los Angeles and for the San Francisco 49ers. He later moved on to become an assistant coach at Los Angeles Valley College, where he served from 1974-75, before returning to the high school ranks in 1976 at Canyon High.

Canyon High School years
In 1982, at age 37, Welch was named the Head Coach of the Canyon Cowboys and served in that capacity for twelve seasons from 1982 through 1993, winning three consecutive CIF-SS Championships, posting a 46-game winning streak along the way (1983-85), and playing for a fourth title in 1988. He led Canyon to the 1983 Northwestern Conference title, defeating Bishop Montgomery High School 40-24 at College of the Canyons. The following year his team defeated Santa Maria High School 33-6 for the Northwestern Conference title at College of the Canyons. In 1985, the Cowboys made it three in a row with a 9-7 win over Antelope Valley High School at Canyon High School. In 1998, Canyon lost the Division II title to Antelope Valley 22-28. In 1993, after twelve successful seasons, coach Welch retired.

In 2001 he returned as the Head Coach at Canyon and led the Cowboys to two consecutive CIF-SS Division III titles in 2005 and 2006. In the 2005 Division II title game the Cowboys defeated William S. Hart High School 21-13 at the  Home Depot Center. His 2006 team defeated Moorpark High School 24-22 in the Northern Division Championship game and rolled past De La Salle High School 27-13 on December 16, 2006 in the State Division I Championship for the first of his three state titles. By this time he had accumulated a career record of 179-46-2 in 18 seasons. He then retired again from his position at Canyon, and the football facility at Canyon High School was renamed Harry Welch Stadium in 2007. .

In addition to being an accomplished football coach, Harry Welch was a distinguished English Literature teacher at Canyon and he became popular with students for his engaging Bible as Literature course.

St. Margaret’s years
In 2007, he moved to Coto de Caza, California and shortly thereafter accepted the Head Coaching position at St. Margaret's Episcopal School in San Juan Capistrano, coaching there for three seasons until 2009. Coach Welch led the team to a 42-1 record, including a 30-game winning streak and three CIF-SS Championships over those three seasons. In 2007, his team finished 14-0 and defeated Brentwood School 37-6 at  Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks to win the Northeast Conference title. The Tartans scored a then Orange County record 674 points.

In 2008, the Tartans repeated as Northeast Conference champions with a 17-3 win over Twentynine Palms High School at St. Margaret’s. The following week the Tartans achieved a memorable 59-7 win in the 2008 State Division IV Championship game on December 19, 2008 against Hamilton Union High School at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California to finish the season 15-0. A highlight of the 2008 season was the 742 points the team scored – the Orange County record and fourth best total in CIF-Southern Section history.

In 2010, with his career record now at 221-47-2, Coach Welch resigned from his position at St. Margaret’s and accepted the Head Coach position at Santa Margarita Catholic High School. That same year, he was named the Crespi Man Award winner and selected to be entered into Crespi's Hall of Fame.

Santa Margarita years
Coach Welch was named the third Head Football Coach at Santa Margarita on January 21, 2010. 2013 will mark his fourth season at Santa Margarita, his 25th season as a Head Coach, 42nd year of high school coaching and 44th overall in coaching (including two years at Valley College). He will enter the 2013 campaign with a 31-8 mark at the school. Coach Welch currently has a 252-55-2 (.819) lifetime mark. His .821 winning percentage is second best in California history among coaches with 250 career wins. He is also the active leader among California high school coaches in winning percentage for those with at least 250 wins.

After posting 3-7 seasons in 2008 and 2009, Santa Margarita hired Coach Welch to return the program to greatness. His 2010 team finished 9-3 and posted the single best increase in year-over-year wins (six) in the school’s history. The 2011 team finished 13-2 and ranked as high as no. 10 in the nation. The season culminated with a memorable 42-37 win over Bellarmine College Preparatory in the CIF Division I State Championship game at the Home Depot Center.

The 2012 team began the season ranked as high as #1 in the nation by several national publications and bolted out to a 6-0 record before finishing 9-3. The Trabuco Hills High School game in week three of the 2012 season was Coach Welch’s 300th game overall, and the 55-0 victory gave him 246 victories in his first 300 contests.

Coach Welch's most memorable wins at Santa Margarita were a 27-13 victory over San Clemente High School in the 2011 CIF-SS Pac-5 Championship game and the dramatic 42-37 win over Bellarmine in the CIF Division I State Championship Game on December 16, 2011. His team finished the season 13-2 and ranked as high as no. 10 in the nation. His 2012 team began the 2012 season ranked as high as no. 1 in the country and held that spot for the first six weeks of the season.

He has totaled 31 wins after three seasons and 39 games with Santa Margarita.

Awards and accomplishments
Coach Welch was named the 2009 and 2010 Orange County Coach of the Year by the Orange County Register and 2010 Coach of the Year by the Los Angeles Times. In 2007, the California Coaches Association, an organization that includes high school, college, and NFL coaches, named him Coach of the Year. At the end of the 2009 season, the Los Angeles Daily News selected him as their Football Coach of the Decade. He was named the 2011 ABC 7 Southern California NFL High School Coach of the Year.

Coach Welch is the only coach in California history to win three State Championships with three different schools: Canyon High School in 2005, St. Margaret’s in 2008 and Santa Margarita in 2011.

Coach Welch has six CIF-SS Championships in the past seven years. As part of this impressive run he has won 84 of his last 92 games (.913) dating back to week 4 of the 2006 season. He has also won 27 of his last 29 playoff games dating back to 2005, with his last three post-season losses since then being a 21-27 overtime loss to St. Bonaventure High School in 2012, a 28-31 setback to Mission Viejo High School in 2010 and before that a 28-29 loss to Upland High School in 2004.

With 252 career wins, Welch is currently ranked 10th among active California coaches in career wins. With a win over Lutheran High School of Orange County in week 8 of the 2012 season, Coach Welch became the second fastest in state history to reach 250 wins (in both fewest number of games: 305 and fewest seasons: 23½).

Coach Welch’s record with Orange County teams is 73-8 (.901) in just six seasons. His career winning percentage of .819 also ranks as the fourth highest for coaches with at least 200 career victories.

Personal Life
Coach Welch is married to Cindee Welch and he has two daughters, Lisa St. John (married to Scott) and Julie Adam (married to Jack), and five grandchildren, Nicholas, Nathan, Kara, Evan and Riley. When not coaching football, Coach Welch enjoys reading, travelling, fine dining at many of our local restaurants and walking his St. Bernard, Ruby. He lives close to the high school in Coto de Caza.