When former American Fork swim coach Kathy King stepped onto the floor of the school’s basketball arena between the boys and girls basketball games on Feb. 4, she said there was a rush of memories.

“I feel like all of a sudden time was just condensed and time just stopped,” King said after the ceremony. “I really feel like, gosh, 19 years and it’s done. I didn’t always feel like that in the middle of any particular season but, wow, the fact that it was that long and all sweet. I remember the good stuff, a lot of good stuff.”

King, whose boys and girls teams combined to win five state championships during her time at the helm, was inducted into the Cavemen Coaches Hall of Fame.

She said it was a tremendous honor to be joining the other members of the Cavemen Coaches Hall of Fame, including the three who were at the ceremony.

“It’s been not only a pleasure to do this, but a privilege,” King said. “I feel like these guys have always set the mark. The fact that it’s Davis Knight and Bob Eccles and Corey Clayton, they just have always kind of been there and to be able to feel like I’m one amongst them is a huge honor. It’s one that’s really far above me honestly, in terms of what they’ve sacrificed.”

The school invited King’s former athletes to join her on the court for the ceremony and dozens showed up to support their former coach.

King said it was wonderful to see them and she recalled seeing them go through the ups and downs of both the sport and high school life.

“Some of them are well into their 30s and have children of their own now,” King said. “There are challenges that I think just come with working with young people, whose desires dictate choices and choices then determine actions.

“I always try to keep a perspective that this is more than just swimming. We all have great moments, and then we have missteps. There’s always redemption. I am a mama bear when it comes to my kids, my swimmers. I defend our program and everything it stands for. As long as they’re doing right, I’ll defend them.”

King smiled as she talked about how she worked hard to see the best possible outcomes when working with the athletes.

“I really, truly believe that optimism is probably my greatest strength, to see through all of the mire,” King said. “It was about knowing what we can be and working on that and not allowing other things to consume all my energy and their energy. You control what you can control, and let go of other things. And I think that’s a life application as well.”

King has stepped back from coaching high school swimming in 2024 but didn’t leave the sport entirely.

“I teach a summer team that is a step above swimming lessons,” King said. “It’s really an entry level swim team. They get to compete four times throughout the summer, and they get to track their times and learn all about competition. It’s appealing to some and others not so much. But I love it. I love being on that end. I just love teaching.”

Her two sons are now the swim coaches for the Cavemen, so she gets to still catch a glimpse of what is going on without all of the responsibilities and commitments.

“It’s a little bit closer to home and to my heart,” King said. “We’re in touch all the time and they work well together. I’ve left them in as good hands as I can can find, and I feel good about that. We’re different coaches with different methods, but they are very well versed in what they are doing.”

She hopes they and all the other swimmers at the high school level keep in mind how important each contribution is to the team.

“I always told my kids that every swimmer matters, and every swim matters,” King said. “Don’t relegate yourself to thinking you are just a beginner can’t contribute anything. You do contribute.

“We work together as a team. We’re in the trenches together. We celebrate together. We would do a traditional shoutout after every meet and swimmers would have to not focus on themselves so much, but focus on another’s story. They would name something that they saw them do that was a very positive. It drew the kids together across all abilities and grade levels.”