Salim King is a native of Hempstead, New York where he attended Hempstead High School (1993-97). During his tenture, he was a member of the swimming and diving team. Heavily recruited, King decided to attend Howard University upon graduation.
At Howard, he majored in Afro American studies and minored in elementary and physical education. As a member of the team, he became both a school record holder in the 1650-yard freestyle and a team captain.
After graduation, King became a teacher for the Prince George’s County Public Schools system. While working full-time as a teacher, King taught private swim lessons on occasion to friends and family but desired to begin coaching on a larger and more competitive scale. He spent the next four years as head coach at Central High School, where he produced the school’s first all-state swimmer.
King went on to coach the Kingfish Swim team in the Prince-Mount swim league for two seasons. As head coach, King led the Kingfish to a 14-2 combined record before being offered an opportunity to return to his alma mater.
For the last five years, King has worked with the program and enjoys working with the current crop of distant swimmers as they help move the Bison to new heights.
During the 2018-19 campaign, both teams were named to the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association (CSCAA) Scholar All-America Team. Individually, diver Christian Nickolas represented HU in the 2019 NCAA Diving Championships while earning a spot on the 2019 CSCAA Scholar All-America honors.
