This March, the Washington State Girls Basketball Coaches Association will induct six into its fourth Hall of Fame class, including King’s Head of School, Eric Rasmussen.
1997 State Champions
During his eighteen years as the Head Girls Basketball Coach, Rasmussen had an overall winning record of 373 wins and 99 losses, his teams placed in the top eight at the State Tournament eleven times, and won three State Titles.
With his exceptional coaching career at King’s High School, there is no doubt that Rasmussen is deserving to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“This induction means that I was blessed to have a lot of really good players,” Rasmussen said. “It’s a great honor and it has allowed me the opportunity to look back over those eighteen years and realize that those were some of the best seasons of life for me. It’s a great reminder of what a blessing it was to coach for all those years.”
When asked about his coaching philosophy, Rasmussen knew he was a tough coach. His teams worked hard day in and day out, and yet, he always found time to make sure the girls – and coaches – were having fun.
In the first year of the Rasmussen Era, the team delivered their first winning season in many years. By his third year of coaching, the Lady Knights qualified for the State Tournament. From then on, making it to state became a team benchmark and they qualified for state fourteen years straight.
“We just had so many good kids and good players that were fun to be around.. “We had amazing parents and a great community. It was a fabulous coaching opportunity for my entire eighteen years.”
In all of his successful years of coaching at King’s, there was never a time Eric Rasmussen didn’t want to be a part of the program. Reflecting back on his time as a coach for King’s, he hopes he played a small part in the character development of his players.
“I hope I was an encourager. I think that goes a long way,” Rasmussen said. “Mostly, I hope they knew I was their biggest fan.”