Brooks Welsch caught Antioch football coach Brian Glashagel by surprise.
Glashagel posts offseason and summer schedules months in advance so players can avoid conflicts, and over the years he has heard different explanations for their unavailability. Not all of the reasons are original.
So when Welsch approached Glashagel at the end of track season to discuss a summer scheduling conflict that would force him to miss a week of camp, Glashagel figured he could guess Welsch’s excuse.
“I was ready to hear any of the usual reasons, and he told me that he was going to Guatemala with a church group to help work in a rural village,” Glashagel said. “My immediate reaction was, ‘Well, yes, you can go.’ I’ve never heard that one before. For a kid to go and do that is pretty cool.”
Welsch had other adjectives, including “eye-opening” and “inspirational,” to describe his trip. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior was one of 20 people, all affiliated with Immanuel Church in Gurnee, who traveled to a town in Guatemala in July. Welsch said they planted fruit trees and coffee plants, dug ditches along an unpaved road to help stave off erosion and moved a massive pile of concrete dust to make transportation easier.
Welsch waited until this summer to go on the trip because it was the first time he was eligible to participate without family members accompanying him, and he helped offset the costs with various fundraising initiatives.
“I sent letters out to friends and family, and that was very helpful,” he said. “The main emphasis of the trip was to focus on not just giving them things, but helping them with projects and teaching them techniques to self-sustain themselves in the future.”
Welsch said he also got an up-close look at what life is like for residents of the town.
“Their financial situation is absolutely horrible, and their day-to-day priorities are so different than ours,” he said. “It’s insane to see the sacrifices they make.”
Back in Antioch, Welsch has turned his focus to football as he tries to crack the rotation. The Sequoits (10-1) have multiple players returning, including all-state running back Martin Cohen, after winning the Northern Lake County Conference title and reaching the second round of the Class 5A playoffs last year.
Welsch spends most of his time on the scout team as a running back in Antioch’s potent double-wing rushing attack, but he has also gotten reps as a defensive back and a linebacker.
“He may be our third running back, but we know that he’d be fine if he was called on to be out there,” Glashagel said. “He’s a bit of a jack-of-all-trades who we know can handle whatever we need from him.”
Part of the reason for Glashagel’s confidence is Welsch’s athleticism. He competes in sprints and hurdles in track and can bench-press 185 pounds 10 times.
Welsch’s teammates also recognize what he brings to the table.
“He carries himself so well,” Antioch senior cornerback James Adams said. “He never has a down day in practice and always goes as hard as he can. I feel like he’s underrated. It’s good to see that he’s going to shine.”
Where Welsch plays on game day remains to be seen. But if the past couple of weeks are any indication, he could get on the field as the Sequoits’ placekicker.
Sophomore Jack Hulting had been expected to have that role, but he recently suffered a broken collarbone. In the absence of an established plan B, Glashagel figured it might be worthwhile to see whether Welsch could make extra-point kicks.
“He came out and nailed seven PATs in a row,” Glashagel said. “You would think he had been kicking forever.”
If Welsch does get the job for Antioch’s season opener against Schaumburg on Aug. 30, he’ll be in unfamiliar territory.
“I don’t normally like being the center of attention, and when you’re a kicker, if you flop, everyone sees it,” Welsch said. “The job has a lot of pressure, but it makes you feel good that people have trust in you.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
