Cook Answers When Opportunity Comes Knocking

According to Charles Cook, the transition was an easy one.

With a hockey background, he decided to take a shot at his middle school lacrosse team as a sixth-grader. Little did he know at the time that he was setting out on a path to becoming one of the top lacrosse players in history.

“Lacrosse is actually a mix of both basketball and hockey,” Cook said. “Defense is similar to basketball and the pace of play, along with multiple substitutions, is a lot like hockey.”

Finding His Niche

Trying to find his niche in the sport when he entered high school, Cook approached the freshman coach to find out where he would have the best opportunity of making the squad. He was told to become a long stick midfielder, or middie.

“I just wanted to make the team,” said Cook, now a 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior.

Cook figured he was destined to play on the junior varsity as a sophomore. Because of the high school’s hockey schedule, he had missed all of the lacrosse tryouts by the time he came out for the Blue-Gold scrimmage.

“After the scrimmage, one of the assistant coaches asked me if I would like to play varsity,” he said.

Cook played well enough in his first varsity season to earn honorable mention All-Conference honors. From that point on, hockey became an afterthought as he joined Team One, a club team consisting mainly of players from New Trier and Loyola Academy, in the offseason to hone his skills.

Difference Maker

“You see Charles in street clothes and he doesn’t impress you as an athlete, but once he takes the field, he’s a difference maker,” Scout coach Dan Maigler says. “He has such great coordination and body control ,and you can’t coach the kind of field awareness he has.

“He’s not a big player like most defenders, but we put him at long stick middie because he’s the best defender we have. He goes up against the other team’s best player and usually shuts him down. Not only does he have the ability to take the ball away, but he has the speed to start our fast break.”

Cook had a breakout year as a junior, securing All-America and All-State honors. He is on course for another stellar season for the Scouts, who are ranked 10th in the state.

“Those honors were like rewards for all the hard work I have put in,” Cook said. “I’ve spent a lot of time in the weight room with my football buddies, and I think that has helped me a lot.”

Although Cook is humble about the accolades he has received, Maigler said he can become a bit of a “class clown” during practice.

“He’ll go out there and do some silly things,” the coach said. “It lightens the mood, but some of the others think they can follow along. The trouble is they don’t have his ability, and Charles knows how to turn it up a notch when he has to.”

Dealing With Tragedy

Maigler said there is an equally serious side to Cook few people know about. During a troubling year at , where three students have taken their own lives, the senior has volunteered to be a sounding board for other students who may need advice.

“My own father took his life when I was in sixth grade,” Cook said. “I just want to be available to help others. I talked to one of my friends, who was a good friend with one of those students who committed suicide. I just wanted to make sure he understood there was nothing he could have done to change it, and there was no reason to feel guilt.”

Recently, Cook learned he had been accepted into the University of Michigan, where he plans to study civil engineering and try out for the lacrosse team as a walk on. Cook believes he will be arriving in Ann Arbor at just the right time because the Wolverines are playing their first season as a scholarship program.

“They already have a huge recruiting class, something like 21 freshmen,” he says. “The coach told me to come out for tryouts because there will be open spots. If I don’t play, it won’t be the end of the world because I will be getting a degree from a great school.”

“I think it (Michigan) will be a great fit,” Maigler said. “All Charles needs is an opportunity.”

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