Aug. 11, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving head coach Tim Welsh was a contributor to a recently published book titled `Coach Them Well: Fostering Faith and Developing Character In Athletes’. The book was published by Saint Mary’s Press, which is based out of Winona, Minn. Welsh, who is entering his 22nd season at Notre Dame, has guided the Fighting Irish to consecutive BIG EAST Conference titles.
“I received a call from St. Mary’s Press and they asked if I was interested and I certainly was,” says Welsh. “The purpose of the book is to be a coaching resource aimed at middle and high school aged student-athletes and coaches that work in a catholic environment. So it’s a pretty focused interest group.”
In this book you will find four college coaches’ reflections on the ministry of coaching. Each reflection contains the faith story of each coach as well as the insight gained through more than one hundred years of combined coaching experience. Each coach also shares compelling stories about the students they have coached. The four coaches represent the diversity of coaching itself. Included are the reflections of an NCAA Division I football coach alongside the thoughts of a Catholic university women’s basketball coach. An NCAA Final Four basketball coach considers the hurdles athletes need to conquer, and Welsh looks at the importance of mentoring.
Welsh owns an overall dual-meet record of 179-94 during his Notre Dame tenure as the men’s coach, which began in 1985. He also served as the women’s head coach for the Irish from 1985-95, recording a 93-51 mark. The two-time BIG EAST Coach of the Year will be entering his 29th season as a head coach this fall.
Along with Welsh, the other three coaches that contributed to the book were Dale D. Brown, David Cutcliffe and Kelly Herrmann. Brown was the head coach for the LSU basketball team from 1972-1997. He led the Tigers to the Final Four in 1981 and 1986.
Cutcliffe was the head coach for the University of Mississippi football team from 1999-2004. He was hired on by head coach Charlie Weis to become Notre Dame’s assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach in 2004, yet had to resign due to health reasons. Cutcliffe is back in the game as the assistant head coach/offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee, where he also coached from 1982-1998.
Herrmann is currently the coordinator of intramural athletics, as well as the women’s volleyball and basketball coach, for Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. From 1988 to 1991, Kelly served as the athletic director for Franciscan University.
“Writing for publication has long been a cherished dream, goal and desire of mine,” states Welsh. “Having the opportunity to do so was a great experience and I can’t wait to do it again. It was a learning experience for me and I just hope somebody gets use out of it.”
For more information on the book, log onto www.smp.org.
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