By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
Sean Welde is a basketball player at Camden Catholic High. In 28 games last season as a junior, he averaged six points per game and nearly six rebounds while leading the Irish to a 17-win season that included a trip to the Camden County Tournament championship game and a berth in the state playoffs.
He scored in double digits in points four times, with a season-high 16 in a win over Paul VI in late January, and hit double digits in rebounds three times.
So, um, why is he going to college to play football?
Because he is 6-foot-6, 240 pounds.
Even Welde is a little shocked about the idea of suiting up in shoulder pads and a helmet at Villanova University next fall, considering the fact that he’s only been playing football for two seasons. In real time, he’s only been a football player for a year and some change, as his first experience on the gridiron came in August of 2023.
Irish coach Wayne Gilliam II said he wasn’t sure Welde would ever come out and play football for Camden Catholic, but he’s glad he did. The Irish went 9-2 this season, earning a berth in the stacked Non-Public B state playoff bracket. Camden Catholic went 3-7 last year and hadn’t made the playoffs since 2021, and Welde has been a big reason for the turnaround. The tight end had 262 receiving yards and four touchdowns, and on defense he had eight sacks and two fumble recoveries as a defensive end.
“When I first took the job we had an assembly and I called down for the football team and about 10 kids walked in. School had just dismissed and I just saw this tall, lanky, lumberjack-looking kid and I was like, ‘you need to play football.’ He took down my contact information and then was a ghost. Camp started in June, you don’t hear from Welde from June until the end of July. He comes out in August, so this kid has only been playing football for a little over a year,” Gilliam II said after a midseason win over Overbrook. “He’s a blessing to have. There aren’t many 6-foot-6 unicorns walking around these days, so to have him out there and putting in the work every day is a blessing. After a while, I was like, ‘man, forget this kid, I just have to coach what I have — all 20 of my kids that were out there with me at practice.’ Then you just see his tall, lumberjack self running down with the helmet and shoulder pads, and I was like, ‘yes! Finally.’”
“Our coaching staff is in its second year, and knowing after a rough season last year we had to come back all summer and work harder. We have young guys who have to play and step up; just knowing everyone has to contribute,” said Welde, a Cherry Hill native who went to Cherry Hill East High as a freshman before transferring to Camden Catholic. “We don’t have a 100-man roster like some teams, so it’s ‘next man up.’ Freshmen are going to play and seniors are going to play. All summer we were putting in the work, and it’s showing.
“(Being successful) is a great feeling. Especially only winning three games last year, it’s a rewarding feeling.”
Gilliam II said that Welde’s impact on this football team has gone way beyond the stat sheet. He’s brought a winning mentality from the basketball program, and has shown younger guys how much hard work it takes to be a varsity standout in any sport.
“He’s been a great leader. He came with a little bit of edge because they were winning in basketball. He wasn’t used to losing, so the demand from him and Mike (Moritz, senior quarterback) and a couple of my other seniors has been extremely impactful,” Gilliam II said. “It just shows the level of hard work he puts in during the offseason. He wanted me to send his film out and he wanted harsh feedback, too. Everything that college coaches said as to why he didn’t have offers is what he went out and worked on. It’s crazy to think that when he first came out here he couldn’t catch a ball over his shoulder, and seeing him catch that touchdown pass over his shoulder (against Overbrook) just shows how much he wants to work.
“He stays after (practice) to work on his craft. If he dropped five balls in practice, he’s going to go out and catch 10 more. It makes everyone else their best. In high school football, a lot of kids don’t look at football like that, they look at it like, hey, practice is done, it’s time to go home. Now, I have kids staying after to get extra reps,” he continued. “If they saw something where they got beat on film, they are staying after to work on it with their teammates to make sure things are getting executed when it’s time to play the games. Welde demands that. If he sees somebody dogging it, he makes them stay after. And even with his body treatment, him and a couple other kids, it’s crazy — it’s like the tub club, they are always getting ice baths. That shows the level of care these kids have for their bodies and working on their craft.”
What makes Welde valuable to the coaching staff is they can point to him as an example of what a successful athlete looks like — somebody who is always willing to learn and wants to be challenged by the coaching staff.
“The coaches are teaching me every day and I’m still learning a lot of stuff,” he said. “I’d say I’m a raw player, not knowing everything, but I’m learning every day and trying to get better.”
The hard work and grind he’s been putting in the past year-plus has resulted in a college scholarship to an outstanding university, and that in and of itself is a crazy story. The basketball player who never played organized football in his life until his junior year of high school is now a football player who also plays some hoops.
“Coach saw me in the hallways, I was a basketball player, and he asked me to play and I said, ‘sure.’ I’m very excited (to play at Villanova). It’s kind of surreal,” Welde said. “When coach told me (about the scholarship offer), I was kind of shocked. I didn’t believe him, to be honest. I thought he was lying to me. Villanova was my first offer and I have a couple family members who went there, so I committed right away.
“I was always a basketball player, that was my thing. I was always a big kid. It’s not that I never wanted to play (football), I just never did. I was always the long, tall kid who played basketball.
Said Gilliam, “I think it’s been amazing, because now our kids understand what we’ve been saying, that if you put in the hard work somebody is going to find you.”
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com
