After two decades at the helm of the Gorham High School boys’ varsity soccer team, Tim King has made the decision to step down as head coach. During his tenure, King amassed a regular season record of 205-58-19 and an overall record of 231-75-19 while leading the Rams to multiple state championship appearances.
Gorham’s Athletic Director, Tim Spear, said, “Coach King led the program through a transition from Class B to Class A in 2005 and was able to accomplish this without diminishing the expectations of success.”
In 19 of 20 seasons, Gorham finished regular season play with a winning record. The boys’ soccer team qualified for post-season play in all 20 years under King.
Over the last couple of years, King had planned in his mind for this to be his last season. With his son, Kyle, finishing up his sophomore soccer season at Emmanuel College, King said, “I really enjoyed watching his games, but the time commitment it takes to run a varsity soccer team made it difficult to make as many college games as I would have liked. Now with my son Brady just finishing his last year of high school soccer and planning on playing in college next year, the time seemed right to step down and have more time to watch them both play in college.”
King came to Gorham in 1990, and his coaching career began immediately. He was the eighth grade coach at Gorham Middle School for a few years, he spent five years as the boys’ JV coach, and two years as the girls’ varsity coach. In 2000, King was hired as the boys’ varsity soccer coach.
Spear said, “Coach King was able to hold his players to an extremely high level of expectation while making both practices and games fun to be a part of. With this balance, the program participation levels have risen to the highest ever with over 60 student-athletes participating in soccer. Coach King has had a positive impact on hundreds of Gorham student-athletes and has been an outstanding ambassador for Gorham Athletics.”
Photo credit Amanda Landry PhotographyTim King is shown with his son, Brady, and his wife, Elizabeth, on Senior Night.
King has many special memories during his tenure as head coach which include four straight appearances in the Regional Finals during the last four seasons, the crowds, and the excitement generated during home play-off games. “Coaching in two state championship games was certainly a thrill, but regretfully we were never able to bring home the gold ball,” King said.
During his years as head coach, King’s sons Kyle and Brady both played on his team. “Coaching my two boys has also been something I really cherished,” he said. Brady, who was a senior captain this year during his father’s final season, said being a captain for GHS has long been a goal. “I have been around this program ever since I was born, so I’ve seen all the teams throughout the years,” he said. He had always dreamed of wearing the captain armband while his dad was the coach and that dream came true for Brady this year.
Though having your father as a coach isn’t always easy, Brady said his dad did a good job when presented with the challenge. “He never treated me differently than any other player,” he said.
Andrew Rent, Kyle Hamblen and Travis Matheson were also captains of the team this year. Hamblen said King was “always pushing his players to be the best and I believe that every year we went out there and proved it. He knew how to motivate us and improve upon ourselves when we were in difficult moments.”
Hamblen was also very impressed by the effort his coach put in to prepare their team for games. “He would scout other teams and send out very long and descriptive emails to the team on how we should play and what we would most likely expect from our opposition,” he shared, adding, “He will be missed for sure in the Gorham soccer program but will most definitely be remembered as one of the greatest coaches in Maine.”
Rent said Coach King is a great role model for all of the players, and someone their team has tremendous respect for. “I think his programs the past few years have really shown his effort and commitment to the team,” Rent said.
Though the boys didn’t win a gold ball and Andrew wished they could’ve done that for him. “Regardless he is still one of the most successful coaches around and there wasn’t a time I can remember when he wasn’t thinking about tactics to try and make us get better,” he said.
Matheson said King watched them grow in the sport as well as helping them become the players they are today. “My favorite memory of Coach has to be beating Scarborough 4-0 last year, in my junior season. To beat our rival school, 4-0, had never happened since he has been the coach,” Matheson said.
While it’s the end of an era for King, he is looking forward to the future. King and his wife Elizabeth plan to attend their boys’ soccer games, and visit their daughter, Whitney, who is a senior at URI.
“Next fall will certainly be different for me. I definitely will miss working with a group of young men and all of the challenges/accomplishments that come with navigating through a season,” he said.
“I’m sure he’s going to miss coaching a great deal, but stepping down will allow him to watch me play at Maine Maritime Academy, and my brother Kyle, at Emmanuel College,” Brady said. “Overall, I would just like to say that my time playing under my dad is something that I wouldn’t trade for the world.”
King said, “It’s been an absolute pleasure to have coached the Gorham High School boys’ soccer team for the past 20 years. I will miss it a great deal.”
“Gorham High School thanks Tim King for his dedication, hard work, and leadership of the boys’ soccer program for the past 20 years,” said Spear.
The search for a new coach will begin immediately.