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Zach Welsch named Al Welling award winner

By Michael Trzinski, WiPH Staff & Submitted, 03/13/19, 7:30PM CDT

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Fond du Lac Springs forward earns prestigious honor


From left to right: Andrea Welsch, Zach Welsch, John Welsch, Jeff Schmidt


Senior forward Zach Welsch of Fond du Lac Springs was named the 2019 Al Welling Memorial Scholarship Award winner in a ceremony held at the Fond du Lac Blue Line Ice Center last weekend.

Welsch, in addition to his hockey career, also played football and ran track during high school.

He is the class valedictorian with a GPA of 4.158 on a 4.0 scale. He was a National Honor Society member his junior and senior years.

The Welling award was presented by Jeff Schmidt, a member of the Al Welling Scholarship committee.

al's story

The legacy of Al Welling and the way he positively impacted every hockey game he officiated is what we continue to celebrate by recognizing a young man or woman who is chosen each spring!

Al always said, "The best games you officiate are when no one knows you're on the ice." Al accomplished this by communicating, befriending players and coaches.

When Al walked into a rink with his skates and whistle, everyone was thrilled he was there to officiate their game. All knew Al had a crew of officials along side him who would call the game the way he and his brother Denny taught them.

With a sense of enthusiasm and an approach that made all players and coaches realize Al wanted to have fun and enjoy a hard fought hockey game that was to be decided by the players on the ice and not the officials!

It's our second decade of awarding a scholarship in his honor to a WIAA senior who most represents what Al stood for.

Al, we will never forget your grace and how you made each game of hockey and every day of life special...we will carry on your legacy forever!