Faith
If there is one thing that drives Milwaukee Marquette’s Coach David Cooks, it’s faith. You do not need to talk with him for very long to see just how influential and important his faith is to every aspect of his life.
I was told that Coach Cooks was a man who lived by his faith in Jesus Christ, but I truly experienced it after I was able to talk with him.
I asked Coach Cooks how important his faith is to him, and his first answer sentence summed up everything,
“Christ supersedes everything I do”
Coach Cooks explained to me how everything he does, whether its teaching, coaching, etc, falls under underneath living for Christ because this belief provides the boundries with which he runs his life.
He can’t help but let it be seen because to Coach Cooks and so many others, its proves that you can be a Chrstian, be successful, and not have to succumb to certain practices that are a “norm” in the coaching arena. This does not mean that he is judging others by any means, but that he chooses to try to live by a set of higher standards. Coach expressed that:
“Who I am is because of who Christ is to me”
The faith within Coach Cooks is what drives him to do his very best, because of his belief that he is attempting to do his best for God’s glory. You cannot give a subpar effort, if you have a Christian faith, because you are not doing it for yourself or for others, but for God.
With this foundation built on faith, I asked Coach Cooks what he hopes to pass onto his players once they graduate. Coach Cooks four solid principles that he hoped he could give to his athletes.
1. He hoped to live out what he preached. He wanted to show his athletes that God is real and also Coach Cooks wanted to show his players that he loved them through the life that he lives.
2. He hoped to stress the importance of family, and of being part of a family. A family does not simply mean those immediately related to you, but instead extends to both teammates and coaches. Coach Cooks hoped that players would realize to rely on family, and to always be there for your team when they need you.
3. He hoped to help his players realize the importance of perspective, because when you have a correct perspective of the situation, you being to appreciate the things that you do have.
4. Finally, he wanted his players to understand that there is no substitute for hard work. When his players do what is right with all their might, no matter what the outcome they can be satisfied.
Coach Cooks understands doing what is right no matter what the situation. He was been in a wheel chair for the past 32 years of his life, but has refused to let that prevent him from coaching or living for Christ. This same determination transfers to the basketball court where he believes that players should never quit, but continue to fight till the end. Coach stresses how there are so many lessons that be learned through the process of improving skills and working hard.
Overall, I believe that Coach’s Cooks life and his philosophy can be summed up this statement:
“Do everything with all of your might and strength unto God”
Coach Cooks should be a great example to all of us. Anyone who puts their faith and trust in Christ can live for a higher purpose. It is then possible to play for a purpose that is more important that the scoreboard.
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