Family:
Wife – Wendy
Children – Lauren and Taylor
Head Coaching Career:
University of Nebraska (2000-present)
• NCAA Women’s Volleyball National Champions (2000, ‘06, '15)
• AVCA National Coach of the Year (2000, ’05)
This story appears in FCA Magazine’s November/December 2014 issue. Subscribe today!
“... Consider the sower who went out to sow. As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path … Still others fell on good ground and produced a crop ...” – Matthew 13:3-4, 8
Nebraska’s women’s volleyball coach John Cook has cultivated a storied tradition including multiple national championships and numerous conference titles and All-Americans. The San Diego native has a faith that anchors him in a program steeped in success as he strives to coach for more than wins.
FCA: Why do you enjoy coaching college volleyball?
JC: The beauty of volleyball is the girls can be dynamic and athletic. It might be the ultimate team game because there are six people working together on 900 square feet, and the ball is moving very fast. As a player, you have to possess all six skills; you have to be able to serve, pass, set, dig, block and hit. So you have to train for everything in the sport of volleyball, and I think that makes it a very challenging sport to coach.
FCA: Can you think of one of the most enjoyable moments you’ve experienced in your career at Nebraska?
JC: Our 2008 team. We had graduated four All-Americans from 2007, so we were in a total rebuilding mode. Something happened in the spring that really galvanized the group and brought them together. To see those ladies become as pure a team as I’ve ever coached or seen was so much fun, and they went all the way to the Final Four.
FCA: How do you remind yourself coaching is more than numbers and wins?
JC: Nebraska volleyball has very high expectations, and we have a great tradition of success. One of the challenging aspects is, how do you balance and continue that pace of success measured in wins, while at the same time keeping it fun and not overwhelming?
What I’ve done is surround myself with a select group of people that helps me keep my compass going in the right direction. To me, it’s my team within my team that helps us keep a great perspective. So I talk to those people quite a bit and run things by them; they’re kind of our checks and balances [system].
FCA: How is coaching an outlet for your faith?
JC: I work very hard to be a great example for our players as a coach, as a family person, and as a Christian. Periodically we use a lot of things from the Bible, simple things like “what you sow is what you reap.” There are some parables we use, but what I have found works best is incorporating things from the Bible but mixing them in with other examples in life. I’m constantly trying to intertwine all that, so the message is still the same but hopefully comes across to the whole team. Bible verses are constantly being shared around me, especially at Nebraska because FCA’s very strong here.
FCA: How have you seen God teaching and developing you throughout your coaching career?
JC: I think if you’re open to learning and seeing all the great things that are being done around you, there are so many things that are God-like moments. I look at it as I’m looking for inspiration, what’s happening around me, why it’s happening. It’s the open mindset of being a teacher and watching your students learn. Through that, there are a lot of really cool things you get to see and learn. I would like my legacy to be that I was a really good teacher, I cared about our players, and we tried to dream big every day.
FCA Staff Quote:
“Coach Cook has really connected with our FCA staff and resources, especially 3D Coaching, because he truly sees the importance of coaching to the heart of his players. He realizes that the significance of his program will be measured in terms far more important than just the scoreboard or the win-loss record.”
-Chris Bubak, State Director, Nebraska FCA
–This article appears in the November/December 2014 issue of FCA Magazine. To view the issue in its entirety digitally, click here: Nov/Dec 2014 FCA Mag Digital
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Photos courtesy of Scott Bruhn- Nebraska Media Relations