Coach's awareness high as he prepares for surgery

September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Harry Welch became very aware of prostate cancer last month.

Welch, Santa Margarita's football coach, was diagnosed with a moderately aggressive form of prostate cancer some weeks ago. Surgery is scheduled for Oct. 4 for the 65-year-old Welch, who coached Canyon of Canyon Country to five CIF-Southern Section and one CIF State championship and then led St. Margaret's to three CIF-SS and one state title before taking the Santa Margarita position this year.

He didn't even know there was such a thing as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month until recently. Even before learning about this dedicated month, Welch decided he would make it his cause to inform men about prostate cancer by revealing details of his treatment and recovery.

What Welch wants you to know: Sixty-five percent of all prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over the age of 65. It is recommended that men aged 50 and older have a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test and digital rectal exam (DRE). Men in high-risk groups, like African-American men and men with a family history of prostate cancer, should undergo a PSA test and a DRE at age 45.

As Welch said, "Get screened, get tested. Do it for your loved ones so they can keep on loving you."

Here is the latest on Welch's journey: Two weeks ago he underwent an endorectal coil MRI, which determines if the cancer is confined to the prostate or has spread outside the walls of the prostate gland. The exam usually is completed within 45 minutes, but to Welch it was among the longest 45-minute periods of his life.

"That brought to me so much respect for people who have cancer and what they have to do to fight it," Welch said.

The exam discovered an additional lesion in the area.

"That means there is something else to be aware of and concerned about," Welch said. "That's bad, but it's also good. We know more about where and what to address during the surgery."

He has been taught pelvic floor muscle exercises, designed to help deal with incontinence issues after surgery. Laughter indeed is powerful medicine, so Welch got a kick out of it when a Santa Margarita player texted his mother that "Coach Welch might have problems with incompetence" after Welch told the players about potential incontinence and impotence after the surgery.

Welch underwent a cardiac ablation procedure a few years ago to deal with heart rhythm problems he experienced. Because of that, a thorough examination of Welch's heart condition is part of his preparation for surgery. An EKG came back with an abnormal reading, so Welch had an echocardiogram Tuesday, the results of which will be available to him later this week.

Keeping Welch's spirits up during all of this is the support of wife and family, and the great way Santa Margarita as a community has rallied around him. Then there was Santa Margarita's season-opening game last week. The Eagles won, 56-0.

Welch was more pleased about the way the players handled the victory then the victory itself.

"In the first half, the boys got a little too high and their focus was inappropriate," Welch said. "In the second half, when it was clear we would be victorious, the boys maintained their support for each other and their enthusiasm for the game. I loved the way they interacted with each other.

"That is what is most important," he said. "It's the consistent, great growth of these young men in areas that supersede athletics."

That was Welch's goal for the Santa Margarita football team. His larger goal is spreading awareness of prostate cancer, this month and next month and in the days and weeks to follow.

Taking a look around Orange County high school sports:

• Tickets for the Santa Margarita-at-Tesoro football game Friday will not be on sale at the game site on game night. Santa Margarita will sell tickets Wednesday starting at 8 a.m. at the Moiso Pavilion. Tesoro will sell tickets Wednesday from 3:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. at the ticket window in front of the Tesoro main gym (prices: $8 adults, $5 for children 13 and younger; contact participating schools for more information).

• The CIF-Southern Section has not yet ruled on the athletic eligibility of basketball player Xavier Johnson, a 6-foot-6 junior who was All-CIF last year at Chaparral of Temecula and is attending classes at Mater Dei. Johnson's father changed jobs, so a move to Orange County was necessary – but this "athletically-motivated transfer" business that is halting many transfer attempts could get involved in this one. Really, though, anybody whose son is a dynamite boys basketball in O.C. of course might find Mater Dei or a school with a similar program attractive, and there should be nothing illegal about that.

• The Southern Section leader in transfer requests, in terms of school and sport: Crespi of Encino, football. CIF-SS spokesman Thom Simmons said the section office received transfer paperwork on 21 football players who transferred to Crespi.

• Newport Harbor, ranked No. 10 in county football, plays its first 2010 game Thursday at home against Trabuco Hills. The Sailors are still without senior running back Cedric Whitaker, who moved to the county from Oakland last September and had an All-Sunset League season. Harbor coach Jeff Brinkley said Whitaker moved back to Oakland in early summer, did not return and did not communicate with Brinkley or any other Harbor coaches.

• In Servite's 31-7 victory over Oceanside, the Friars defense made 14 tackles for no gain or a loss of yardage. That's pretty good defense.

• There is an emphasis in football on not allowing players with concussion symptoms to return to action. Game officials, working closely with a team's medical personnel, will rule on whether a player is done for the game. The situation will be treated somewhat like an ejection, in that game officials will note the time and number of the player and notify county liaison of officials Speed Castillo of the suspected concussion and relevant details.

• The Palm Springs Coaches Clinic is Friday through Sunday in Indian Wells. All coaching staffs are invited to the event that will include several college coaches in baseball, basketball and softball. For information, go to palmspringscoachesclinic.com.