GRAY DEYOSports Writer

Jason Welch, head coach of the Tullahoma basketball team, just received some great news. His son Cameron Welch is following in his footsteps by landing a head coaching basketball job in his new home state in Florida.

There was another layer to Tullahoma’s basketball that went widely unnoticed to the casual Tullahoma sports fan. Coach Welch, for the first time in his over 30-year career of coaching high school hoops, had his son sitting next to him, suited up and coaching.

When Cameron arrived at the Wildcat program as a part of the staff, it was clear that he had the makings of a great coach, like his dad. He has played basketball his whole life, starting at a young age and continuing into college, where he played at Motlow College. With this great experience of playing the game and being around his dad, who has coached his whole life, it allowed him to see the floor at a different level than other coaches. This skill will help him greatly in his new tenure, as will this.

The way he bonded with the Wildcats players and helped them develop was also part of what made him so good. If he saw a small mistake they made, he’d pull them to the side, tell them what they did wrong, and show them how to do it right.

Although it was just a one-year stint, Jason Welch got to coach with his son, the best basketball season in Tullahoma’s history was a pretty good year to do it in.

Cameron has left Tullahoma and the Wildcat program to move to Pensacola, Florida with his wife. He will be the head coach at Escambia High School there. He said the following on landing his first head coaching gig.

“I’m blessed to announce that I’ve accepted the position as Head Boys Basketball Coach at Escambia High School! I’m incredibly honored to be trusted with this role and am excited to get to work! Along with this, I will be teaching Geometry at the school, which is also an exciting opportunity for me. When I left Tennessee in May to join my wife in Pensacola, my future as a coach was up in the air. I trusted that God would provide a place for me to continue to impact kids through this great game, and it came in his perfect time! Thank you all for prayers and support in this journey! I’m feeling blessed and prepared to make a great impact on these players, this school, and this community! Go Gators!!”

Escambia last year went 5-15, and their last winning season was in the 2020-2021 season. Cameron will have his work cut out for him, in turning this program around, but he showed in his lone year at Tullahoma that he has all the skills to do it.