Welch was born in Fort Worth, Texas. Since he was four-years-old he was into a competition. By the age of eight he was diagnosed with Legg–Calvé–Perthes syndrome. He won 100 major titles since 1992, which includes three U.S. Open titles. He also won 5 National championships in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association and also three MVP awards. He attended Paralympic games starting from 1996, but only won one silver medal for singles and one silver for doubles in the 1996 Summer Paralympics and won gold for singles and another bronze for doubles at the Sydney Paralympic Games. He also participated at the 2011 Parapan American Games where he won gold medal for doubles and a bronze one for singles. In 1996 and 2000 he played wheelchair basketball for the Olympics but didn't get any medals for it.