Will Cooper King be the 2nd state-qualifying grandson that Mark King has coached at Lyons? Yes, a lot of history there.

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Lyons senior Cooper King says he began wrestling “right out of the womb.”

He’s exaggerating, of course. He estimates he didn’t begin formal training in the sport until he was 7 or 8.

But there is no doubt Cooper King was born into a wrestling family.

“I can remember at Christmas parties, I would get put in wrestling holds out of random,” he said. “It’s something we’ve grown up on, our entire family — just wrestling.”

Indeed, the King surname has been synonymous with Lyons wrestling since 1972. That’s when Cooper King’s grandfather Mark was hired to teach biology and chemistry and coach wrestling and football.

Mark King, 72, is an unassuming man who is quick with a smile and exudes an energy that belies his age. He is a revered figure at Lyons, where he has coached for 50 years, including 31 as the wrestling team’s head coach.

Mark King stepped down as head coach when he retired from teaching in 2005, but he been an assistant for his replacement, Griff Powell, ever since. He also has coached Lyons’ youth wrestling program for nearly 45 years.

“He’s had a tremendous impact on this community,” Powell said. “He’s been here 50 years, and the number of lives he’s had a positive impact on is countless. It is literally thousands of lives.”

Some of the people influenced by Mark King no doubt were in attendance Nov. 30, when Lyons dedicated the Mark King Wall of Fame at Vaughan Gym.

Powell said nearly 2,000 people attended the event and that 75% had been coached by Mark King.

“He’s been my mentor,” Powell said. “I’ve been with him for 18 years. I came in as a 20-something-year-old coach, and I really have learned quite a bit from Mark King.”

The son of a Northern Illinois University professor, Mark King began his wrestling career at DeKalb and later competed at Michigan.

He has spent the past half-century passing his knowledge and love of the sport down to two generations of kids, including many student-athletes from his family.

During his 31 years as head coach, Mark King had 26 state medalists, including four state champions. The Lions made the team state finals twice, finishing third in 1992.

Mark King coached his sons, Ben and Matt, in the 1990s. Now another generation of Kings is coming through the program.

Mark King has four grandsons and three granddaughters. All of the boys have wrestled.

Griffin, Cooper and Tucker are the sons of the late Matt King. Griffin King was a regional and sectional champion and a state qualifier as a senior in 2020. Cooper King fell one win shy of qualifying for state last season.

Tucker King, a sophomore, wrestled last season but is concentrating on football and baseball this school year. Ben King’s son, Louie, is a seventh grader who plans to wrestle for the Lions.

“It’s incredible,” Powell said. “I’ve been fortunate to be able to watch Mark coach his grandkids from the youth level all the way through high school and get to see them develop.

“One of the hardest things to do in high school wrestling is to qualify for the individual state tournament. It was really cool to be able to see Griffin and coach King share that moment.”

Mark King might get to share a similar moment with another grandson this season. As of Dec. 22, Cooper King was ranked seventh in Class 3A at 195 pounds, despite dealing with an injury.

Cooper King, a starting linebacker on the football team and a first baseman for the baseball team, demonstrated true grit as a junior after suffering a torn meniscus in his knee during the football season. He returned to the mat just a month after surgery.

“I came back earlier than expected, and I tried,” he said. “I just put some knee pads on and wrestled. I’m kind of going through the same thing this year with my other knee. It’s torn. But wrestling is a great sport, and it’s my senior year, so I’m just battling through it.”

Cooper King said he will need surgery but will wait until after this season.

“He’s a tremendous leader,” Powell said. “He’s already proven he’s one of the best guys in the state, just by some of the stuff he’s done in the first few weeks of the season.

“Every time he steps on the mat, he’s getting a little bit more experience. With some of the injuries he’s had, he hasn’t had as much mat time as some of the other kids that are at his weight class as a senior.

“I think every week we’re going to see Cooper get better and better — we’ve just got to keep him healthy — and I’m excited to see what he can do when it comes time for February.”

Cooper King has never known a time without wrestling. He has been around the Lions’ program since he was a toddler attending practices and meets with his grandfather.

“I can remember going to tournaments when I was a little kid, holding the iPad and videotaping the kids,” he said. “I feel like I’d always be around wrestling growing up.”

Many children, of course, toddle around after their fathers who coach. Cooper King and his siblings are the rare ones who got to be coached by their grandfather, who also coached them in football.

Mark King has coached football for the past 50 years at either the freshman or sophomore level. He’s the head coach for the freshman team these days.

“I’ve been lucky because I got to coach my boys and I’ve coached my grandsons in football and wrestling,” he said. “It’s special. I really enjoy it, and I think they enjoy it too.”

Indeed, Cooper King relishes the quality time he gets to spend with his grandfather competing in the sport they both love.

“It’s amazing,” Cooper King said. “He pushes me every single day in here. He knows exactly what I need to work on and how my body is feeling and what I need to do during matches to be successful.”

Mark King knows what it takes to be a successful wrestler and has seen the best in the state over the years. He’s pleased with how Cooper King stacks up.

“He’s pretty tough,” Mark King said. “He wants to do well, and he works hard at it.”

Cooper King has seen how hard his grandfather works. But Mark King said he is not the only source of his grandchildren’s toughness.

“All of them have grown up around athletics,” Mark King said. “They see what athletes do and how they act, and I’m sure they gravitate toward the better guys and see what they are doing.

“They get (their toughness) from them, they get it from their mothers and grandmother. I think a lot of times the mothers have a lot to do with how tough a kid is.”

Of course, behind many successful, long-tenured coaches is a supportive spouse who puts up with the long hours.

It was no different for Mark King. He gives credit to his late wife, Carol, who died Jan. 1, 2021.

“She was a tremendous supporter of all our endeavors,” he said. “She understood what it took to be a good coach and the time and effort you have to spend at it.

“I think she knew that because she was an entrepreneur. She had her own business, so she knew how much it took for her to do a great job. It was a mutual support system.”

Carol King owned the Design Studio shop in Western Springs. She designed and made Christmas decorations and household decorative accessories. But she always found time to cheer on the Lions.

“The wrestlers that I’ve had say, ‘We could always hear Mrs. King better than we can hear your voice,’” Mark King said. “And she knew what she was talking about. When they dedicated the wall, to a guy, they all mentioned Carol and how much she meant to them too.”

Mark King has no plans to retire, and nobody wants him to leave.

“My wife is not around, and my grandsons are still around,” he said. “Tucker is a sophomore, and Louie is a seventh grader, so I’ve probably got a few more years, at least. As long as I’m still having fun and I enjoy what I’m doing, why wouldn’t I do it?”

That begs a question: Why does he enjoy it?

“It’s addictive in terms of how much it takes to be a good wrestler,” Mark King said. “It’s a special competitive edge that you have to have to put yourself out there on the mat by yourself. I really enjoy trying to help these guys reach their individual goals and team goals.”

But his passion goes beyond merely coaching sports.

“I get a lot of satisfaction out of working with kids,” he said. “I love coaching football, and I enjoy coaching the freshmen. You can make as big a difference at that level as you can at any level. It’s their first experience in high school.”

The world has changed a lot in the 50 years since Mark King arrived at Lyons, but he hasn’t changed his coaching approach.

“The kids are different,” he said. “They have so many different options and things to do.

“People say they are soft. But I really think you can push them as hard as you pushed them 30 years ago, as long as you’re fair and they know you’re doing it because you want them to be better. If they see the results, they’ll do what they need to do. Kids react to consistency and discipline and hard work that pays off. They buy into it.”

Cooper King has bought into it from an early age and said he doesn’t feel pressure to live up to the family legacy.

“There are definitely some expectations, for sure, but it’s kind of fun,” he said. “It’s fun knowing that my last name is King and I have a lot of reps under my belt and a lot of experience.”

Having his grandfather as a guide is fun, too, he said.

“He pushes me past my limits,” Cooper King said. “I set my own limits, and he knows that my limits are higher than that.

“It’s so nice having someone that’s really focused not only on me, but the whole entire team. He focuses on everyone.”

Focus is something every wrestler needs. Lose it for a second, and your opponent will have the upper hand.

“It’s such a gritty sport,” Cooper King said. “You can’t make a lot of excuses when you’re wrestling. I played football and baseball, and wrestling really helps with those two sports. It makes me really tough. That’s what I love the most. It prepares me for pretty much anything in life.”

Cooper King has gotten some interest from college wrestling coaches, but he’s probably going to play football in college. He recently picked up his first offer from DePauw.

Whatever he does and wherever he goes, Cooper King will always relish the memories of his high school years.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “LT has set me up for success.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.