University of Massachusets Athletics
Weinberg Hires Welch as Assistant Field Hockey Coach
July 27, 2017 | Field Hockey
England native joins UMass staff following head coaching stint with Canterbury Hockey Club
AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts field hockey head coach Barb Weinberg announced the hiring of Ed Welch as an assistant coach on Wednesday. Welch joins the Minutewoman staff to guide the UMass offense following a tenure with the Canterbury Hockey Club in Canterbury, England, as the Ladies 1st XI Head Coach.
"To experience field hockey in the USA via the unique college system at a time where the sport is on the up and experiencing great growth is extremely exciting," Welch said. "I'm particularly delighted to be at UMass with its long tradition of success, but at the same time, to be joining a program with plenty of room for growth nationally, under a new head coach and leadership team. To experience the level of support, resource and intensity that goes into a successful program is a great privilege and I look forward to helping the squad grow its success of recent years in the Atlantic 10 and hopefully to improve our postseason results in the coming years. With preseason just around the corner, I now can't wait to get started."
As the leader of the Canterbury Ladies Hockey Club 1st XI, Welch guided the squad in Women's Premier Division action, as well as to a sixth place finish in European Cup play, European hockey's premier club event, held in the Netherlands. His role included planning and executing team training sessions, match day preparations and coaching and postgame video review. He also served as a liaison for Great Britain and England Hockey's "High Performance" programs with a focus in assisting with training and development of prospective national team athletes.
"We feel extremely fortunate that Ed embraced the decision to continue his coaching career at the University of Massachusetts," Weinberg said. "He coached and played at the highest level in Australia and England over the past 15 years and Ed's vast knowledge of the game, along with his energetic teaching style, will certainly propel us toward success in our 2017 campaign. He adds to the already well-rounded dynamic of our coaching staff and we are excited to start this season with his tremendous addition."
Welch holds extensive coaching experience in addition to his tenure as Head Coach to the Canterbury Ladies Hockey Club 1st XI, including with the Western Australia [WA] Diamonds women's team, WA State U21 men's squad and Westside Wolves Women's 1st XI, as well as, multiple strong school programs in both Australia and England.
Welch generated success at each of the programs he coached over the last eight years in Australia. The WA women's indoor team took home the Australian National Championships gold medal under his tutelage in 2009, the same year the Westside Wolves women's 1st XI won the WA Premier League outdoor with Welch as the coach. In 2010 and 2011, Christchurch Grammar School collected PSA Championships while the WA U21 men's team was the Australian National U21 Championships gold medalist. Most recently, Welch guided the Westside Wolves Women's 1st XI to a second WA Premier League victory in 2015 and a semi-final appearance in 2016, while the WA Diamonds state team earned fifth at the prestigious Australian National Championships.
Simultaneous to his coaching tenure, Welch excelled on the field for a variety of programs. From 2007 through his arrival in the United States, Welch dressed for the Westside Wolves Hockey Club, in WA's Premier League, both indoor and outdoor. Welch also suited up for the Canterbury Hockey Club in 2008 and 2016, in the English Premier Division. Prior to his move to Australia, he competed collegiately for the University of Birmingham from 2003-06 after he started his playing career with Watford Grammar School and West Herts Hockey Club, from a young age.
A dual citizen of England and Australia, Welch holds representative honours in both nations. He played for the East of England between 1997-2006 and represented the WA State Indoor team between 2007-15. Welch also trained with the Australian Indoor team after a number of successful Australian National Championship campaigns.
The Minutewomen open their 2017 season at home at the Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex against Holy Cross on Fri., Aug. 25 at 1 p.m. Follow the team on Twitter (@UMassFH), Instagram (umassfieldhockey) and Facebook (UMass Field Hockey).
"To experience field hockey in the USA via the unique college system at a time where the sport is on the up and experiencing great growth is extremely exciting," Welch said. "I'm particularly delighted to be at UMass with its long tradition of success, but at the same time, to be joining a program with plenty of room for growth nationally, under a new head coach and leadership team. To experience the level of support, resource and intensity that goes into a successful program is a great privilege and I look forward to helping the squad grow its success of recent years in the Atlantic 10 and hopefully to improve our postseason results in the coming years. With preseason just around the corner, I now can't wait to get started."
As the leader of the Canterbury Ladies Hockey Club 1st XI, Welch guided the squad in Women's Premier Division action, as well as to a sixth place finish in European Cup play, European hockey's premier club event, held in the Netherlands. His role included planning and executing team training sessions, match day preparations and coaching and postgame video review. He also served as a liaison for Great Britain and England Hockey's "High Performance" programs with a focus in assisting with training and development of prospective national team athletes.
"We feel extremely fortunate that Ed embraced the decision to continue his coaching career at the University of Massachusetts," Weinberg said. "He coached and played at the highest level in Australia and England over the past 15 years and Ed's vast knowledge of the game, along with his energetic teaching style, will certainly propel us toward success in our 2017 campaign. He adds to the already well-rounded dynamic of our coaching staff and we are excited to start this season with his tremendous addition."
Welch holds extensive coaching experience in addition to his tenure as Head Coach to the Canterbury Ladies Hockey Club 1st XI, including with the Western Australia [WA] Diamonds women's team, WA State U21 men's squad and Westside Wolves Women's 1st XI, as well as, multiple strong school programs in both Australia and England.
Welch generated success at each of the programs he coached over the last eight years in Australia. The WA women's indoor team took home the Australian National Championships gold medal under his tutelage in 2009, the same year the Westside Wolves women's 1st XI won the WA Premier League outdoor with Welch as the coach. In 2010 and 2011, Christchurch Grammar School collected PSA Championships while the WA U21 men's team was the Australian National U21 Championships gold medalist. Most recently, Welch guided the Westside Wolves Women's 1st XI to a second WA Premier League victory in 2015 and a semi-final appearance in 2016, while the WA Diamonds state team earned fifth at the prestigious Australian National Championships.
Simultaneous to his coaching tenure, Welch excelled on the field for a variety of programs. From 2007 through his arrival in the United States, Welch dressed for the Westside Wolves Hockey Club, in WA's Premier League, both indoor and outdoor. Welch also suited up for the Canterbury Hockey Club in 2008 and 2016, in the English Premier Division. Prior to his move to Australia, he competed collegiately for the University of Birmingham from 2003-06 after he started his playing career with Watford Grammar School and West Herts Hockey Club, from a young age.
A dual citizen of England and Australia, Welch holds representative honours in both nations. He played for the East of England between 1997-2006 and represented the WA State Indoor team between 2007-15. Welch also trained with the Australian Indoor team after a number of successful Australian National Championship campaigns.
The Minutewomen open their 2017 season at home at the Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex against Holy Cross on Fri., Aug. 25 at 1 p.m. Follow the team on Twitter (@UMassFH), Instagram (umassfieldhockey) and Facebook (UMass Field Hockey).
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