Building a successful program is what every coach wants. In my young career as a coach I have had the good fortune of working with some really great coaches. Craig Hansen, the head football coach at MGSH, Darby Carlson, a football coach and head baseball coach at MGSH, Ron Zopfi, a long time head boys and girls basketball coach and the new AD at MGSH, and Kurt Maus, the boys basketball coach at MGSH, have all had an amazing impact on how I do what I do as well as why I do what I do and believe what I believe. In working with all of these great coaches I have been able to watch what they do and learn a lot about what it takes to build a strong program. Craig has been a state coach of the year and taken Maple Grove to multiple section championship and state tournament appearances. Darby continues to win conference titles and bring his baseball team to the state tournament. Ron led the 2000 Maple Grove boys to the state championship game. Kurt was section 8 coach of year last year and brought the boys back to the state tournament for the 1st time since 2000. The reason I bring up the accomplishments of these coaches is because they all have one very important thing in common. They teach their kids how to do things the right way, and let winning and losing work itself out from there. I have taken a lot from these great coaches. I am going to try to bring to Maple Grove Girl's Basketball this same philosophy.

The main goal that we have as a program is not to win State Championships. The main goal we have is to make this a positive and memorable experience for the girls. Holiday tournaments, conference titles, section championships, and state championships are a part of what makes the experience memorable. So are practices, pasta parties, road trips, inside jokes, exciting wins, disappointing losses, and friendships. I want the girls to walk away from the program better young people than they were when they first entered the program. We want to teach the life skills of honesty, integrity, hard work, dedication, making good choices, and commitment through the tool of basketball. So very few of the girls that will come through this program will ever play basketball at the next level, but all of them will be contributing members of the society in which we live. I want the girls to walk away from the program having had a positive experience that they can look back upon and recognize that it has helped shape them as a person.

Basketball is a great game. It is a great opportunity for these kids to compete and learn the lessons of success and failure. It is our job as a coaching staff and parents to support them through this journey. Sometimes things are going to be great. Sometimes things are going to be really hard. When things are great, our job is a lot easier. It is when times are tough that they need us so badly to help guide them in a positive way. Complaining about playing time in a negative way, yelling at and blaming things on officials, and making derogatory comments about coaches and other players on the team are all things that can help tear a team apart. We are never going to badmouth you or question your decision making as parents to the kids. We would ask if at all possible you pay us, the coaching staff, the same respect.

Decision making in high school is so hard. We know what’s out there. The scary thing is we probably only know the half of it. It is an interesting and challenging time to be growing up. There are a lot of negative temptations out there. We are going to do everything in our power as coaches to help you child make good decisions in basketball, but also in school, with family, with friends, and in the community.

How one lays the foundation for the building process is so important. I feel we are off to a great start. I look forward to continued growth and teaching, which I believe will bring about success. Regardless of what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, I want us to be able to walk off the court every night with our heads held high and our hearts filled with pride because we know that we did things the right way.

Thanks for all your support!

Coach Cook