Julian Welling is ready to make the same impact on the football field that he has already done on the baseball diamond. (John Fisken photos)
Welling hangs out at a Wolf basketball game with Katrina McGranahan (center) and Mckenzie Meyer.
Julian Welling is ready for the spotlight.
Today he celebrates his 15th birthday (happy cake day, Jo Jo!).
Tomorrow, he returns to preparing for his sophomore year at Coupeville High School.
A two-sport athlete for the Wolves, Welling has already been a huge hit for the CHS baseball squad.
Scrappy in the field and at the plate, he started a number of games at third base last season, including the team’s playoff game, joining Hunter Smith as the leaders of an extremely promising group of freshman ballplayers.
And while baseball is his favorite (“It’s what I do!”) and has taken him the furthest so far — he’s been playing travel baseball since he was an eight-year-old in Florida — football is coming up fast.
Welling first stepped on the gridiron when he was five, eventually putting in four seasons before taking a brief break to focus on baseball.
Now, he’s doing both, and doing well at both.
In brief comments fired off from between workouts at a football camp the Wolf team is attending, Welling said he enjoyed playing defense (“Mostly, hitting is my favorite”) and wants to continue to work on fine-tuning his skill set.
“I would like to work on my blocking and speed,” Welling said. “I think my best ability is being able to read the line.”
He credits his parents for shaping him (thereby winning him crucial points at a time when they would be considering getting him birthday cake) and has a wide array of interests away from sports.
If he’s not playing baseball or football, Welling can be found hunkered down playing Halo, smacking the drums or watching funny movies.
Regardless of what he’s doing, the rising young star has a simple outlook at what’s to come.
“Over the next few years, I would like to be a better student and teammate,” Welling said.
Coupeville Sports 