John Cook never meant to be a volleyball coach. Harboring the dream of leading the football team at San Diego high school back in the 70s, it was the school’s athletic director who made an unusual request: “Could you also coach girls volleyball?” Cook thought, “How hard can it be?” Soon after, the coach started a club team that trained at Mission Beach next to former player and Olympic gold medalist Karch Kiraly and the U.S. men’s national team practices. Slowly watching and learning the tricks of the trade, Cook had a new blueprint in mind that would rewrite his life’s trajectory forever after he joined Nebraska as an assistant coach in 1989…

36 years later, John is seated in his living room with his daughter Lauren Cook-West on the other end of the Zoom call, reminiscing the last couple of decades. “I saw an article, and it said former Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook, and I thought, ‘Whoa! That’s that sounds weird..” she further said. Although her father retired at the end of January 2025, the feeling that Coach Cook is no longer coaching hasn’t sunk in.

But it’s not just Lauren, but the community at large. Despite the 68-year-old’s successor and former Nebraska player and assistant Husker Dani Busboom Kelly taking over the reins, not everyone is over Coach Cook. After all, who can forget the man who’s been at the helm for a staggering 25 seasons, leading his team to four national titles. However, after a whirlwind of a career—with 12 NCAA semifinal appearances, nine Big 12 titles and five Big Ten titles, a 883-176 (.834) career record that was the fifth-best winning percentage all-time for a Division I volleyball coach—there wasn’t much for the 68-year-old to accomplish. Even back at home, some unfinished business remained.

For a long time, the coach’s four-year-old granddaughter had been ticked off. As per the veteran, the little girl would enquire when she’d be able to spend time with her grandfather during phone calls. “That starts wearing on you a little bit,” Cook had honestly confessed once. So he did what he had to do. Through tears and gratitude, the HC called it a day, packed his bags and moved to Atla (a rural outpost in northwest Wyoming with a population of 429) with his wife Wendy to be closer to his daughter. However, after things finally worked for the best in the end, Lauren had a very important realization…

During the podcast conversation, the daughter asked: “What do I even call you now? I’m thinking about this. I think I can finally call you just dad,” said Lauren Cook-West while discussing her father’s retirement. “I don’t have to call you coach Cook anymore,” added the Kicking Back with the Cook’s podcast host. While that may sound surprising, Cook-West explained why she addressed her father as coach.

The former Nebraska volleyball player, who trained and played under her father’s tutelage, recalled how their conversation played out in 2010. “I remember the first thing you said is, ‘I’m coach Cook anywhere that involves volleyball. Off the court though, at home, you can call me dad’,” explained the former All-American and John Cook’s pupil. She further confessed, “I feel like…through my radio broadcast, through my playing career, and up until now, it’s always been…I’ve always referred to you as Coach Cook. But now I can finally say, ‘How are you doing today dad?’ It doesn’t have to be, ‘How are you doing today Coach Cook?'” before adding:

“I don’t know if you remember this…Hopefully you do. It was memorable for me. We went on a coffee date back in February, shortly after you announced that you were retiring. We were there for 2 hours…and we weren’t interrupted once by a phone call. That has never happened.” The confession brought a smile to her father’s face, who’s now busy living a life surrounded by mountains and slow mornings in a five-acre ranch. But don’t think volleyball is going to forget The James Cook so fast!

Everyone in Nebraska loves John Cook

While the 68-year-old has officially retired, you can still spot his shadow on the Huskers’ door. That’s because of arrangements regarding how the ACVA Coach of the Year could continue to advise the Huskers were already underway even before he handed over the proverbial baton to Dani Busboon Kelly. At least that’s what Nebraska Athletic Director Troy Dannen hinted at.

“I have asked John to stay on — we’re working through the contract,” Dannen said. However, John Cook’s new role would be nowhere near as hands-on as his previous one. As per Huskers Extra, Dannen asked Cook to stay on as more of a role model and an advisor. The athletic director even outlined why he made such a proposal to the NCAA national title-winning coach.

“…For a lot of reasons. One, for his leadership, and his ability to teach leadership. We need that for our student-athletes, and not just for the volleyball team,” said Dannen. Dannen also added that he isn’t the only one who envisions Cook continuing to be involved in some capacity. “People trust his voice,” he informed, explaining how everyone at Husker volleyball will still listen to whatever advice Cook may have for them.

And at least for now, John Cook hasn’t completely put Nebraska in the rearview mirror, either. Besides hoping to regularly return to Nebraska to enjoy some college football, Cook has also shown interest in seeing through the projects he had worked on in the weeks leading up to his retirement. However, none of this would stop Lauren Cook-West from addressing Coach Cook as ‘dad’.