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OK, Maybe it’s not the oddest occurrence in recorded history. After all, Alexander the Great became king of Macedonia at age 20. But it’s still sort of unbelievable that West Rowan High grad Chaz Welch, who just turned 22, will be the pitching coach for Division I High Point University’s baseball program this year.
“The coaches thought I might like the chance to jump right in at a Division I school,” said Welch. “They offered me a position and it’s hard not to go for it.”
And he will.
Welch has known that baseball would be his life’s work since he was seven or so. Even at that tender age, he knew as much about old-timers like Don Larsen as new stars like Don Mattingly. He could spell “Yastrzemski” without batting an eye. Even then he could tell you that the Dodgers used to be in Brooklyn and that Steve Carlton threw sliders, while Tom Seaver favored curves.
Welch was a rare boy in the ‘80s — completely immersed in baseball the way kids used to be hooked on the diamond and its stars in the ‘60s. Back then, every respectable third-grader knew Mickey Mantle’s batting average and Willie May’s middle name, and that the Orioles’ John Powell answered to “Boog.” Chaz was like that.
In fact, he’s still like that. His fondest memory this summer is shaking hands with Whitey Ford and Bob Feller in Cooperstown.
But then, he never really had a choice when it came to the baseball bug. His dad, Charlie, used to be an American Legion pitcher and has always been a walking, talking encyclopedia of baseball trivia.
To the surprise of no one, Chaz turned out to be a star pitcher as a kid, but then he hurt his arm the summer he turned 13. He went on to play some first base for West and pitched a little. But just a little. If you ask him, Chaz will laugh and tell you that his “mound career” with the Falcons amounted to a grand total of 14 innings.
Everyone figured that his playing days were over when he graduated high school in ‘96, but he went down to Wingate and somehow hooked on with its jayvee team and got to keep right on wearing a uniform.
Welch had that perfect baseball birthday, August 1 — the cut-off date for one last year of eligibility— so he came back home the summer after his freshman year at Wingate and threw a little for the Rowan County American Legion team in ‘97 . He wasn’t a star by any means — 1-0 with one save in 29 innings — but he was as happy as any kid on earth, because he was soaking up scraps of baseball knowledge on a daily basis from coaches Jim DeHart, Paul Benfield and Jim Gantt.
Welch didn’t get many chances at Wingate, so eventually he transferred to High Point. He finished his last year of eligibility there this past spring and put the lid on his playing career in a relative blaze of glory. He tossed 86 innings for the Panthers, after never having thrown more than 30 in a season at Wingate.
Welch got the chance to finally get on the mound on a regular basis simply because he outworked others who had more talent. His coaches noticed the time he put in and rewarded him. And then they realized that if he could get other players to work like he did and live and breathe the game like he did, then he might make one heck of a coach. And they told him they’d love to keep him around.
“The best coaches,” says South Rowan Legion head coach Allen Wilson, “are usually the ones that aren’t blessed with all the God-given ability in the world. They’re the ones that worked the hardest, the ones who studied the game. And no one’s worked harder or studied more than Chaz.”
Wilson shocked a lot of people when he signed up Welch as his South pitching coach this summer. It was tough duty for Welch, who had to ride herd on players not much younger than himself. But Wilson says Welch did an outstanding job.
“He was great. He took all the pitching concerns right off my shoulders,” said Wilson. “He had schedules for everything.”
“The hard part was balancing being approachable and still letting them know about it when they were doing something wrong,” said Welch. “Sometimes you’d just have to jump on them and tell them they were messing up.”
There were some stressful moments, but Welch’s coaching debut was a success.
“I was nervous at first, but it turned out to be fun,” said Welch. “I learned from Allen. He knows a whole lot and was a good example for me.”
Welch still has a year’s worth of classes to take at High Point in order to get his degree in sports management, but when he reports back to school today, he’ll officially be on the coaching staff. He’ll meet with incoming Panther pitchers and hand them their workout schedules and let them know exactly what he expects of them.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” says Welch, “because they’re all basically my age.”
“He has the people skills to pull it off, though” said Wilson. “And if something comes up that he doesn’t know, I guarantee Chaz will find the answer.”
Welch knows some players will test him. He’ll be like the green second lieutenant who just got out of military school and must now convince the troops he knows what the heck he’s doing.
“I’m not looking to change everything,” says Welch. “I’m just looking for small victories every day.”
Wilson is certain that Welch is taking the first step down a road that’s going to lead to bigger and better things.
“I loved having Chaz as my pitching coach and I’d love to have him back,” he said. “But I won’t be surprised if he gets a coaching job at a higher level than Legion ball for next summer. He’s going to make contacts at High Point that could lead to all sorts of opportunities.
“I know this. Chaz is a born coach. If he wants to be a Division I head coach for the next 30 years, that’s what he’ll be. He’s a kid that loves the game.”
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Mike London