After a lengthy tenure as the Eastside Lady eagles head basketball coach, Gladys King will be stepping down.
King started her Eastside coaching career 10 seasons ago in 2015, but her name has been involved in the Newton-Rockdale basketball scene for decades.
“It's been really great, and I have been blessed with that,” King said. “A lot of people know that I group up here in Covington[and started at Newton]. We moved in my ninth grade year of high school and we went to Rockdale and I ended up graduating from Rockdale High School. To be able to contribute to the community in Rockdale and the community in Newton has been a blessing. I wouldn't take it or change it for anything.”
The decision to step down was not an easy one, but it came down to King wanting to take a break after dedicating years to the game.
“I’ve been in the gym for over 20 years,” King said. “I coached volleyball and basketball when I was at Rockdale High School. I have been at Eastside for 10 years now and I have had 10 seasons. It has just been a lot, not taking a break or anything like that. In my 24 years of teaching, I have only had about four years off, so it’s been ongoing and I needed some time to just get myself to regroup. Just me needing some time for myself and my family.”
Although she stepped down from her coaching role, King still plans to have a presence in the classroom. She is a special education teacher at Eastside in the English Language Arts department for juniors.
During King’s tenure with the Lady Eagles, the program has seen a steady rise from her initial season in 2015-16.
After a 6-20 record in her first year, King led the Lady Eagles to nine wins in 2017-18 and then 11 wins in 2018-19.
In 2019-20, King led Eastside to a 14-9 season, the program’s best win total at the time since 2013-14.
After a few setbacks in 2020 and 2021, the Lady Eagles have improved their win total in almost every season since.
Eastside’s 31 wins across their last two seasons are the most during any two-year stretch of King’s Lady Eagles’ tenure.
For King, the recent success for the Lady Eagles’ program has just been consistency across the board in all facets of the game.
“The biggest factor has been consistency in terms of starting with camp in the offseason,” King said. “Doing things in the offseason — the conditioning. The camps — going to camp each summer each year. Being in the gym practicing — don't miss practice. You have to be consistent about practice, that is where you get better. You can’t take days off.
“That’s the thing. If anyone is going to get into coaching, they have to understand that they can’t just take days off. You have to be in the gym, they have to be working. Especially if you have girls that aren’t used to always playing. I know it can be hard sometimes when things come up, but in all my years of coaching, I don’t think I have ever missed a practice. I am just big on being consistent, being in the gym and getting better.”
King has seen just about everything there is to see at the high school level, but she detailed that her last 10 seasons have helped her become a better coach.
“It’s been a learning experience,” King said. “I have had to learn to adapt to grow and adapt with the hand that I was dealt, with some players not being able to play the game, having to teach them from ground zero. You may get some players that have a little bit of experience, but not a whole lot of experience. That has taught me a lot, because I have had to start from scratch with a lot of them and then had to build them up.”
Regardless of the type of player she coaches, King’s love for her team was something that never changed.
“I am proud of all the players that I have had the opportunity to coach,” King said. “Players that are serving our county and living productive lives in the community. I will never forget any of them.”
King’s ‘why’ to wanting to coach girls basketball is much more than just a love for the game.
In fact, she gave the credit to the people that coached her during her playing days and how she just wanted to use that knowledge to help today’s players.
“I had some great coaches,” King said. “I love basketball, I am a basketball junkie. This is actually my time of year since it’s March, it’s time for March Madness and everything that is coming about. For me, I want to be able to teach them what I learned, and what I learned from different coaches, playing experiences, travel and all of that. I just want to give that back.
“I think a lot of people look at it[coaching] and think it’s easy, and it’s not easy. You have to figure out certain things and if you can't figure out those things, sometimes that can determine a win or a loss.”
After 237 career games of coaching the Lady Eagles, competing in the rivalry with Newton brought back some of King’s favorite moments.
“What sticks out to me the most is when we were being competitive and playing our rivalry, and you know our rivalry is Newton,” King said. “What stood out to me the most is when we played Newton and there were times when we beat Newton. Little Ol’ Eastside, who no one has thought would beat Newton. That was a good thing for the girls, it was good for the community and people like seeing that. They want us to be competitive. They don’t want us to come out and they run the score up on somebody and things like that. I take pride in that, because we were not a big school, but we were competitive.”
Even though she coached for the rival team, King made sure to give credit to the Class AAAAAA Champion Lady Rams, the first team she played for when she began high school.
“I also want to shout out Newton because I am very proud of Newton County,” King said. “That's where I started as a player in ninth grade. I played for coach Wright and I want to shout out Newton. I am glad they won the championship and congratulations to them as well.”
King’s Eastside coaching career may be in its final chapter, but King shared that the door is not closed on her coaching career at the moment.
“If the right opportunity came available, and if it was something that was a fit for me,” King said. “More than likely, yes.”
