King’s 400th baseball win, and NOT counting

PEA RIDGE — When the Blackhawks won their game at Green Forest Tuesday, it was a milestone. Not for them, but for their coach - John King.

It was King’s 400th winning game.

Wednesday, as the team huddled around King during a change in the inning and while the team was behind, King quietly said: “If we loose, it’ll be because we don’t deserve it, because we’re not as disciplined as they are. And we will lose if we don’t do a 180 - let’s go!”

The boys hustled back to their places, just as King’s baseball players have been doing for the past 24 years and then the Blackhawks won that game against Huntsville 5 to 4 in 10 innings.

“I’ve just been at the right place at the right time.” King said. “You’ve got to have the right players - players who are willing to work and I’ve had both up to this point. We’ve had very good pitchers and catchers and that’s 90 percent of your game. With agood pitcher and a good catcher, you’re going to win games. They may not be good athletes, but if they can throw a ball, they can do well.”

Did he ever expect to win 400 games?

“No. Wins never popped in my mind. I just wanted to help the kids do their best,” King said.

“No coach that goes in and is any good thinks about the number of wins. They’re just trying to help the kids.”

King, a native of Charleston, Ark., came to Pea Ridge fresh out of the Army and college - a 24-year-old health and physical education major who graduated from Arkansas Tech University and served six years in the Army after ROTC and being commissioneda second lieutenant. He really didn’t plan to stay here more than about four years, but now, 24 years later, he’s still coaching, still teaching and still winning. King graduated from Arkansas Tech in 1985 and still owed the Army time, so he was assigned to Antlers, Okla.

Hired in August 1987 by Pea Ridge School Board, King was initially the head basketball coach, the assistant football coach and the assistant basketball coach. There were less than 600 students in the school system and only three coaches. He also taught health and science.

While teaching, King met Mary Mariano. They married in 1988 and have two children, Garrett, 12, and Allie, 7. Mary was a teacher in Pea Ridge then.

That first year, there were nine baseball players - the Iron Nine, they called themselves, King said. The Iron Nine were Mark Davis, Joel Easterling, Mike Davis, Shay Spencer, Brian Wright, Brad Mc-Math, Brian Stuart, Jason Harris and Darin Wright. Two of those nine have coached King’s son, Garrett - Mark Davis was Garrett’s first T-ball coach and Brian Wright coaches Garrett now on a traveling baseball team.

“I couldn’t think of any two better guys to teach my kid,” King said.

“I will never forget. The first year is such an adventure. You learn everything on the fly. I was lucky to have coaches (Kevin) Miller and (Larry) Walker helpingme out,” King said, smiling wryly.

“The neat thing about being here so long is I get to see kids who started and see them mature as an adult, as a parent, what kind of profession they go into. I like being a part of all that.

“There are kids who will stop by 15 - 20 years after they’ve left school,” King said. “I’m very curious about them and what they’re doing.”

“There are times of the year when they’re with you more than they are with their parents,” King said, reflecting on the intensity of baseball season.

“I get to teach them some life skills.”

“We follow the ‘Do right’ rule - Be where you’re supposed to be and do what you’re supposedto be doing. Take that into life,” King said.

“There are a lot of kids who come in as freshman and sophomores whose self-esteem is low and they’re not sure of themselves. I try to give them confidence and build them up. I believe that, at the end, they leave with more self esteem than they came in with,” he said.

Over the years, King has had volunteer assistant coaches who were a tremendous asset. Jim Cheek began the program in 1984-1985, King said, and he helped King until 1989. Other volunteer assistant coaches were Wayne Wood, 1994-2000; Mark Davis, 2001; and J.R. Cooper, 2002-2009.

King’s current assistant coach, Matt Easterling, graduated fromPea Ridge High School in 1997 and used to play under King. “He was a freshman in 1994 and became a starter his first year,” King recalled.

When he was in high school in Charleston, King played football and baseball. He was a pitcher and outfielder in baseball and a tight end and linebacker in football.

Also the cross country coach for both girls and boys, King believes the training for cross country is excellent for any athlete and encourages all his baseball players to participate in cross country. “It’s excellent training for an athlete to keep competitive and stay in shape,” he said. He is also the assistant football coach for the junior high team.