David King wears many hats at Trinity Episcopal Day School.

In addition to serving as the school’s head coach in football, basketball, baseball and track, King also holds the positions of athletic director and dean of students.

&uot;I’m pretty much the disciplinarian,&uot; he said. &uot;But the kids here are so good, there’s not much action in that avenue.

&uot;Besides, being an athletic director is pretty much a full-time job,&uot; he added.

So coaching virtually every sport at the school takes up an awful lot of his &uot;free&uot; time, King said.

&uot;The worst part are the hours away from home,&uot; he said. &uot;I can handle the losses. That’s a part of coaching.&uot;

Even with the time involved, though, King has no regrets about his career decision.

&uot;Coaching is the most rewarding job there is, besides maybe a clergyman,&uot; he said.

&uot;Maybe I can explain it like this,&uot; he said. &uot;I was golfing with two friends of mine, a doctor and a physical therapist, and I got to complaining about the time and the money.

&uot;And they said, ‘David, you touch more lives in one day than we will in our whole lives.’

&uot;I think teaching and coaching are the most important jobs in the world,&uot; King said. &uot;The competition and the games are just icing on the cake.&uot;

Orginally from Vidalia, King and his wife Stephanie moved to Natchez after he finished his education at then-Northeast Louisiana University and she was offered a job at Trinity.

&uot;I had a friend who was a coach there at the time,&uot; he said. &uot;He’s not there anymore, but I stuck it out.&uot;

King said he likes the intimacy afforded a coach at a smaller school.

&uot;You know the atheletes,&uot; he said. &uot;At a bigger school, you have different atheletes playing different sports. Here you have pretty much the same kids.

&uot;It lets you know what they’re capable of,&uot; he continued. &uot;You can push the right buttons.&uot;

But an athlete’s greatest drive comes from him or her self, he said.

&uot;In high school athletics, it’s a matter of desire,&uot; King said. &uot;The kids with the desire will excell.&uot;