CROSS COUNTRY: KING TO STAY AT HART : SOCCER PLAYER CHOOSES LOYALTY.

Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News

Coby King selected courses for his senior year at Hart High as scheduled last week.

Deciding whether to stay at Hart or transfer to Birmingham High in Van Nuys, though, was a much more difficult choice for King.

``I spent the whole night thinking about it and couldn't sleep,'' King said. ``I am pretty relieved.''

The odyssey began for King in June when he decided to apply for an open permit to attend Birmingham where his father, Scott, is the cross country and track coach.

For nearly three months, Coby, a member of Hart's soccer and cross country teams since his freshman year, wavered between Hart and Birmingham before enrolling at Hart on last Tuesday's deadline.

Loyalty to his teammates was the deciding factor.

``I knew I would be successful if I went to Birmingham but I felt I had a leadership role to fill with the (Hart) soccer team,'' Coby said. ``I wasn't really sure. I really like it at Hart and I feel at home but my potential to be on a winning team is better at Birmingham.''

The Hart cross country and soccer programs are in the midst of rebuilding phases this year. The Indians cross country team has not advanced to postseason competition for the last two years after winning 13 consecutive Foothill League titles.

The Indians soccer team finished second and third in the Foothill League in 1997 and 1998 but this season's prospects are uncertain after Robert Benavidez, coach for the past eight years, was replaced by Ron Lindberg.

That's when Coby started thinking about making a move to Birmingham.

``I like the new coach but I was pretty upset when my soccer coach got let go,'' Coby said.

This summer, King trained with both the Hart and Birmingham cross country teams. Although he already knew most of the Birmingham runners, Coby grew closer to them this summer. He helped out at weekly all-comer track meets at Birmingham and ran with them at the L.A. Watts Summer Games where he won the individual cross country title.

``(Coach) King didn't treat him any differently than anybody else,'' Birmingham sophomore cross country runner Melissa Astete said. ``We all liked him a lot and wanted him to come here. He would have really helped the team.''

The addition of King could have helped land Birmingham a berth in the State cross country finals. Birmingham, which placed third in the 1997 City championships, has won nine consecutive conference championships under Scott King.

The track team has won 84 of its last 85 dual meets over the last 12 years. But Coby, an All-Foothill League center/halfback who started running to stay in shape for soccer, said challenging for a City soccer title was most appealing.

Scott King said he did not try to sway his only child toward Hart or Birmingham.

``I left it completely up to him,'' Scott King said. ``We didn't talk about the negatives. We talked about the positives about going to each school. There were a lot of positives on both ends.''

The obvious one at Birmingham is the opportunity to run under his father.

``It's every father's dream to coach his son,'' Scott King said. ``Most of the time it is a positive experience but it could also be very negative. There is a lot of pressure on me and on him.''

Coby echoed his father's sentiments.

``I enjoy being with my dad and I think it would help me excel,'' Coby said. ``There are times when you have a bad race and you want to get away from your coach instead of sitting in the car and talking about it on the ride on home.''

This summer, Coby kept his possible transfer a secret at Hart except from best friend and teammate Eric Peatman.

Peatman and King, who train together several days a week, are projected to be Hart's top runners this season. As a sophomore, King placed 11th in the Foothill League finals. As a junior, he finished fourth in the 1,600 meters in the Foothill League track finals in May.

``I would like him to stay at Hart but at Birmingham I thought the team had a lot more potential,'' Peatman said. ``He was going back and forth. I wasn't sure where he was going to go.''

At the start of July, Birmingham was a sure bet. By mid-August, it was 50-50 between Birmingham and Hart.

``I could just see things going in that direction,'' Scott King said. ``It is just a big relief knowing where he is going. It was getting to the point where it was affecting my team. Now we can get down to business and work with what we have.''

So can Hart coach Larry David. Coby trained on his own instead of going to the Indians weeklong training camp in Lake Tahoe last week. David, however, asked King for a commitment before the team departed.

``It wasn't a big deal,'' David said. ``He had already decided but I wanted to make sure we were on the same page.''

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PHOTO (Color) Coby King, right, has decided to stay at Hart High instead of joining his dad, Scott, a coach at Birmingham High.

Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News