Courtside royalty in Post Falls

Post Falls High's biggest sports fan may not even be in the stands.

Rather, he's in the heart of the action pumping up the crowd and giving Trojan basketball, football and baseball players belly bumps, high 5s and his 2 cents during timeouts.

Athletes and coaches wouldn't have it any other way with Anthony "A-Train" King.

He's a slim, smiling 22-year-old with special needs who has assisted 40 teams over the past eight years with volunteer duties ranging from digging up why a player isn't at practice to ensuring supplies are on hand. His face is synonymous with Trojan athletics.

"I like to be challenged and am ready for anything that the coach brings," King said. "I am dedicated because I take time out of my day to get these boys ready to play.

"I've always had a dream to be a coach; I am trying to work toward that."

Whether he's cheering or running errands, King gives all his one lung will handle. It's a far cry from the boy born with a diaphragmatic hernia, a birth defect with an abnormal opening in the diaphragm, the muscle that helps you breathe.

King's father Bob, a Post Falls graduate and ex-Trojan athlete, said doctors didn't expect Anthony to live past 2.

"He was one of the first kids born with that who actually lived, and here he is," Bob said. "He's a pretty tough kid."

Trojan coaches and players want King around for as long as he'll stay and he has no foreseeable plans of leaving.

"It makes me feel like I'm a part of the coaching staff, which makes me help these guys get better," King said. "I hope down the road that I'll find a good career in some sport because I'm not able to play."

The 2007 PFHS graduate has helped the varsity basketball, football and baseball programs along with JV football and basketball.

With basketball, he's the director of operations, which isn't simply a feel-good title.

He manages student managers, travels with the teams and is available if players or coaches need anything.

"He's a major cog in our wheel," said Mike McLean, varsity boys' basketball coach. "He's not just a manager for us; he's a member of our staff. He puts in as many hours as our paid people and is there before and after practice."

Baseball coach Mick Zeller said King never complains nor loses enthusiasm.

"It doesn't matter if it's 30 degrees and snowing during the first game of a doubleheader, he endures everything and always has a smile on his face," Zeller said. "If I get a call before 7 a.m., I know exactly who it is. It's Anthony telling me why he can't be there."

"He's got the second-longest tenure in our baseball program, so he's outlasted all our other coaches."

'Ultimate Post Falls fan'

Beyond his call of duties, King's love for Post Falls High, and local high school sports in general, is unwavering.

"He's the ultimate Post Falls fan," McLean said.

King belly bumps with players during introductions and timeouts. And he has a knack for knowing when to turn and signal to the crowd when the team needs it the most.

"I have fun doing that, and people seem to like it," he said with a wide grin.

King said it's another way for him to make a difference.

"He's been around us long enough to know what we want, and he's not afraid to tell the players," McLean said.

When asked if the players listen, King said: "Some of them. If I tell them not to foul, they'll listen."

He has a deeper message that he likes to remind athletes of.

"I like to tell them to play hard and give it everything you've got because you can't turn back," he said.

'Rock star status'

Marc Allert, assistant varsity basketball coach, was King's elementary PE teacher.

"He couldn't do all of the activities as the other kids, but he'd always be on the side cheering everyone on," Allert said. "He would have given anything to be out there as a player. If you could put his heart and desire into a player, you'd have the best athlete around.

"We've never had to wait for him. He's always where he needs to be and is ready to roll."

While attending Post Falls High, King had "rock star status" with the staff and many students, Allert said. While no one, including King, can recall how he became nicknamed A-Train, King drew the biggest ovations during coaching staff introductions at pep assemblies.

Allert recalls a day when a student flicked King's hat off in the hallway.

"Six other kids had (the possible bully) up against a locker so fast before I could even react," Allert said.

Bob King said he and his deceased wife Lisa wrestled early on with how their son would handle the variety of demands and challenges, but those have been alleviated with good hands at PFHS.

"Every year, in each sport, there's kids who treat him very well," Bob said. "He also knows everyone on staff at the high school. If he could spend every day up there, he would."

Trojan influence?and beyond

Post Falls basketball senior Malcolm Colbert said his memory of hoisting King up with the regional tournament trophy after a win at Lewiston last year won't leave.

That game, along with when the baseball team placed second at state his sophomore year, are some of King's best memories.

"I sat on the bench at Lewiston for 5 minutes and couldn't believe we'd just won the regional title," King said. "I thought it was a dream."

Whether a team is touring the capitol building while at the state tournament, soaking in a loss or fighting through harsh weather, King is in the middle.

"When he gives us a bump before every (basketball) game, he's just as serious as the players," senior Shawn Reid said. "It's almost like, if we don't bring out our own energy, he creates energy for us."

Coaches and players say every game is like a state championship to King. He's that focused.

"His catch phrase every game is, 'Let's go,'" senior Jeremy Cragin said.

King helps players realize their abilities aren't a given.

"Sometimes we'll come to practice not thinking we feel well or not wanting to do a hard drill, then we'll look at him and realize that he never even got an opportunity to play high school basketball," Cragin said.

Cragin got to reverse roles with King last summer when King participated in a division of a 3-on-3 basketball tournament for those with special needs. Cragin assisted the players.

"He knew what he was doing," Cragin said of King.

Players also rooted King on when he participated in a basketball league at Real Life Ministries.

Those from other schools realize Post Falls has something special with King. Coaches ask about him if he doesn't make a trip.

Ironically, one of King's best friends lately has been Coeur d'Alene High basketball player Connor White. The two met during a game and have been in touch since.

"Every time we've played Post Falls I'd watch Anthony give high 5s and bump chests," White said. "He's just so fun and has amazing energy and passion for the game. He's one of the nicest and happiest kids I know and is an inspiration to a lot of us."

While King bleeds orange and black of Post Falls, he supported Coeur d'Alene during its recent Fight for the Fish game against rival Lake City with signs in hand.

"Every school wishes it had someone like Anthony," White said.

King takes life skills classes to continue to learn how to be more dependent. He had a part-time kitchen job at Post Falls High before budget cuts set in. He said he'll continue to seek work and wants to assist Trojan teams indefinitely.

King's mother Lisa, who worked at the Kindercenter in Post Falls, died more than four years ago after she was struck by a vehicle. The tragedy stunned the community.

King said he's confident his mom's questions of how he'd work out with the teams would long be gone.

"I think she'd be proud of me," King said. "I'm sure she's watching up in heaven and seeing how I've made it good in life."