Santa Margarita’s Harry Welch is The Times’ coach of the year

Harry Welch won state bowl championships at Canyon Country Canyon and San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret’s, but his best coaching job might have been this season, his first at Santa Margarita.

Despite dealing with his own off-the-field troubles in fighting prostate cancer, he used his leadership and organizational skills to unite a community and a team. The Eagles went from 3-7 a year ago to 9-3 overall, finished second in the Trinity League and probably gave Pacific-5 Division champion Anaheim Servite its toughest regular-season game.

“I had to get the young men to accept a new coach, a new philosophy, try to get them to accept my culture and have new coaches bond together and make sure I fit in with a new environment,” Welch said. “I’m so into teaching them about life more than football, and sometimes that’s a difficult time for young men. I’m very proud of them.”

Just getting the Eagles to believe they could compete against the best was a triumph for Welch, 65, who shows no signs of slowing down.

“I still love it,” he said.