Photo by @photonut27
By David Tunis-Garcia
“The team goal is getting to the sectional title this year and getting a league title. We ain’t had one in a long time so I’m trying to make my mark there; leading my team,” said Dominick Welch, a sophomore at Cheektowaga High School, of the upcoming basketball season.
It’s tough to disagree with Welch, towering at 6 feet, 4 inches and speaking in those short, stream-of-consciousness blurbs typical of high school students who haven’t quite thought this whole “life” thing through. They just do and say what comes naturally. And for Dominick Welch what comes naturally is basketball.
“I originally wanted to be a football player, then I started playing basketball in middle school and I just started getting better and better, you know? And now I’m in the situation I’m in now.”
And what a situation that is for Welch. Part of the All-Western New York boys’ basketball second team and fielding scholarship offers from schools such as Canisius College and the University at Buffalo. Welch is unsure as to what collegiate path he will take at this point, but he knows for sure that he would like that path to end in a career playing the sport he loves.
Welch is optimistic on this future he has planned but understands that there is no guarantee stating, “Hopefully it can take me as far as it can.” Which is all anyone can ask for.
If basketball doesn’t turn into a professional career for him in the future, Welch would still like to be involved in the sports industry in some way.
“I’d probably just like… You know just like to be like ESPN speakers like that. Stay around sports and stuff.”
Additionally, Welch harbors dreams of philanthropy for his future.
“I’d like to, just like, help kids out. I like helping people.” It’s this desire to assist others that makes Welch such an asset to the Cheektowaga varsity basketball team and such a pillar to his teammates, even as an underclassman.
Before he helps others, Welch is sure to focus on improving himself. As he works on elocution for his back-up career as a sportscaster, he spends most of his time improving his skills on the court. In addition to the team practices that all players partake in, Welch makes use of his own time in his quest for basketball betterment.
Photo by Dave Deluca
“I do a lot of ball handling. Like, work on my weaknesses and stuff. Just like, things I need to work on just to improve my game and get better.” Welch trains for “about two hours, then I’ll take a break and get right back to it.” It’s that sort of dedication that ranked Welch the 175th player in the state of New York by maxpreps.com.
Welch’s abilities can only grow from this point on, ensuring that he will be a force to be reckoned with in his remaining two years of high school basketball and beyond to whichever college he ends up attending.
In high school, students are constantly plagued by unanswerable questions regarding what the future will hold. A select few are able to forgo such worries and concern themselves with what is right in front of them, a basketball for instance, and see how far that can take them. And that’s all they can ask for.
WNY high school hoops 15-16 