It's good to be King
4/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
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At 6’3”, 220 pounds, Jeff King is an imposing figure on the lacrosse field. He combines that size with tremendous speed, athleticism, and toughness, attributes that make coaches salivate when seeing him in action. Listen to Lehigh head coach Chris Wakely talk about King off of the field though, and it’s as if he is describing someone else. “Jeff just has this ‘aw shucks’ sort of attitude about himself. He’s a very humble, quiet, hard working kid. But then you see him on the lacrosse field, and he turns into an animal.”
Wakely is quick to point out that his three-time captain will apologize to teammates after a big hit at practice or help out with certain tasks usually reserved for underclassmen. “I’ll tell Jeff to have the freshmen move the goal and you look back over, and there’s King moving it himself. He doesn’t feel as if it’s his place to tell someone what to do.”
He continues, “Jeff’s not very vocal in his approach, but he’ll take a player off to the side of the field and explain what he’s seeing. He would never call out a teammate in a group, that’s just not his style. The team really responds to what he says though, because they see how hard he works and how much he enjoys being out there.”
Junior Blake Best echoes those comments from Wakely. “Jeff is all intensity but he’s also one of the nicest guys I know. His presence on the team has been unbelievable. He brings a spark to
every single game and a sense of comfort that every time we need a big play, we know Jeff will be there to make it.” Best adds, “He’s been a leader and a friend and there haven’t been many guys able to balance both of those as well as Jeff has over the last few years.”
An only child, King has always had a special relationship with his parents, Charles, a former lacrosse player himself at Adelphi University (N.Y.), and Susan. “My dad taught me everything I know,” explains the soft-spoken senior from
King continues, “It’s hard to put into words the connection I have with my parents. Back when I first started here (at Lehigh), my parents told me that there would be certain kids who would be able to do things that I couldn’t (socially). But they just wanted to make sure I stayed focused on why I was here, which is to receive my education and play lacrosse.”
He adds, “Whenever I have a tough day or need someone to talk to, I can count on them. I speak with my mom every single day and she’s helped me out with any jam I’ve gotten into, particularly when I was a freshman and had trouble adjusting to college life.”
An architecture major, King was turned onto the subject in high school by Mr. Gambitsky, who doubled as his design teacher and assistant lacrosse coach. “You had the option of either playing an instrument or taking some sort of design and drawing class in ninth grade, so I took Gambitsky’s class and really liked it,” he explains.
King says he enjoys the building aspect of architecture more so than the design side, and recently finished working with Lehigh’s ILE (Integrated Learning Experience) project. This project consisted of a group of students ranging anywhere from finance and accounting to civil engineering and architecture majors and their assignment was to finalize a business plan for the groundbreaking of a nine-hole executive golf course and driving range on Lehigh’s Goodman Campus.
An avid golfer, this was right up King’s alley, who called it “one of the best experiences I’ve ever had here.” “We had weekly meetings with (Lehigh Dean of Athletics) Joe Sterrett and (Iacocca Professor of Business and Economics) Vince Munley, and they served as our clients. I was in charge of the clubhouse design, and really had a lot of fun with it.”
A two-time All Patriot League selection, King has developed into one of the best defensemen in the entire league in this his final season. It was this potential that caught the eye of both Army and Navy when King was still in high school. “(Former Army coach) Jack Emmer called me up one day and said I had a package waiting for me at home. It was a presidential nomination to the
King, who also considered Penn and Drexel, was drawn to the school on South Mountain for its academics, particularly the architecture aspect, and the opportunity to play Division I lacrosse. Wakely is grateful to have King as a part of his program.
“Even now when we play Army or Navy, their coaches will speak with Jeff at length following the game. They had the utmost respect for him then (during the recruiting process), and continue to do so now. He is a tremendously talented player that has meant everything to our program.”
With his senior season winding down, King takes a moment to reflect on everything he’s been through during his time at Lehigh. “Looking back at freshman year, and how hard it was, from the academics to lacrosse practice. It makes everything seem so much more worth it now.” He continues, “I remember having early practices (as a freshman) and then having early classes. We started with 25 freshmen and now there are just eight of us left as seniors, but the program is where we want it to be.”
“Looking back on my time here, I will never forget all of the memories I’ve made with my teammates, the relationships we’ve formed. Just going into battle with them has been a great experience, and something I’ll never forget.” He concludes, “This year has gone exactly as we’ve planned, we’re right there. It has always been about fun and I’m just trying to roll with it.”
King and his Mountain Hawk teammates return to action on Saturday afternoon on Senior Day, welcoming the Crusaders of Holy Cross to the Ulrich Sports Complex. Game time is scheduled for 1:00.
