By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine/TV
Tioga High School football coach Kevin Cook has been around Cenla football for years now, but the transplanted Texan is a unique figure not only in Rapides Parish but also statewide.
I know of only one other head coach who is also a minister – the veteran Denny Duron at Evangel Christian in Shreveport. Obviously, Cook takes his role as a mentor to his players and staff to heart, and while winning games and reaching the playoffs really matter, his priorities tilt toward a higher calling.
I thought it would be great to spend time visiting with this fascinating gentleman, who is a 1995 graduate of Pearland (Texas) High School, where he was a powerlifter and football player.
Because of his background, Cook knows his role at Tioga is more important than just what the scoreboard shows.
“My coaches from the two years I played in Texas had the largest impact on me. They were classy, yet old school, hard with a high demand for excellence on and off the field,” he said.
His start in coaching came in the spring of 2002 as a volunteer coach at Springfield High, where he volunteered for three years while going to college and holding a job. Since graduation he has coached at Menard and Tioga as an assistant, and was head coach at Buckeye before moving to take over the Indians’ program.
He has one of the greatest coaches of all-time as his role model, Dallas Cowboys’ legendary coach Tom Landry.
“The guy was nothing but class!” said Cook.
Landry was very active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Cook takes that commitment a big step further.
“God has blessed me with the opportunity to be the senior pastor at Reach Assembly of God Church. It is my second church to pastor,” he said. “Reaching lost people far outweighs any achievements I could accomplish on Earth .I love people and I particularly love helping other people.”
On the football field, there’s been plenty of success, but it didn’t take Cook long to point out his favorite team accomplishment.
“I don’t care if anything ever takes the place of your first season (as a head coach), especially when it’s unexpectedly successful, so probably the 2012 season at Buckeye,” he said. “However it is a tough question because each season and team is awesome in its own way.”
As he considers how Rapides Parish and Cenla football fit in the state’s pecking order, Cook sees progress – and potential.
“It’s become much more respectable. If politics would ever allow some school combinations we could be as good as anyone, anywhere,” he said.
Cook is proud of all of his players, but I asked him to single out a few who have done well at the next level or in other ways in the game. He is continually interested in adding former players to his staff.
“Jacoby Brock and Hayden Christman are both doing great at Louisiana Tech in football. We have a student coach, Ethan Christman from Louisiana Christian, who played WR for us on the quarterfinal team, and he is working with our kids for the summer,” he said, mentioning that adding another former Indian is imminent.
Speaking of his Tioga staff, Cook is confident.
“The offensive coordinator is Jonathan Landry, who will be able to settle in better in his second year with us. I believe defensive coordinator John Muder will keep the standards high as he has shown from past experiences and reputation. Our athletic director is Dan Christmas, who does a great job for us. We have very highly-qualified coaches at each position.”
In nine years at Tioga, Cook has kept the bar high and sees a lot of potential this season.
“Our expectations are high. We will have the largest senior class we have ever had. We don’t change a lot of stuff. We keep the standards high and let the kids just go be themselves and play ball,” he said.
How does Cook fit into the coaching staff? Does he get more involved in one side of the ball or the other?
“I view myself as a true head coach. I do not lean to one side or the other,” he said. “Many head coaches today want to keep the play-calling hat on, but I believe a program is best run by a neutral party who demands all the phases to be excellent. We do that by sharing athletes and time equally with all phases of the game.”
Lee Brecheen has operated Louisiana Football Magazine for over 30 years and is one of the state’s foremost experts on high school football and especially recruiting. Based in Baton Rouge, Lee travels statewide to watch practices and games and has broken down film and tape since the late 1980s. He has converted the printed product to an online website (Lafootballmagazine.com) that will preview every high school and college football program in the state before kickoff this fall. Lee also hosts a football-centric TV show on YouTube, The Sports Scouting Report, on weekdays, available also wherever you get your favorite podcasts.