Ex Nebraska Volleyball coach John Cook makes feelings known about Merritt Beason's suggestion that helped him connect better with players

Former Nebraska Volleyball team coach John Cook opened up about Merritt Beason's advice that helped develop a close bond with the players. Merritt Beason suggested that Coach Cook treat all the players like his granddaughter to connect with the players better.

Coach John Cook opened up about his professional life in his latest interview with Hurrdat Sports and shared that having a great bond with the players is integral to helping the team reach its full potential. Even though he explored other ways to strengthen the team's bond, Merritt Beason's suggestion stuck with him.

Since coach John Cook shared a very close bond with his granddaughter, Beason suggested that Cook consider the players to be his granddaughter, Madden. Moreover, this made him realize how, due to his busy coaching schedule, he missed out on many aspects during the growth of his kids.

"Merritt Beason made a comment to me like a year ago,'You just need to pretend we're Madden, you're grand daughter, you treat us like that and everything would be great.' That really hit me and probably a part of this is when you're coaching, you miss out on a lot of what your kids are doing and your wife has to kind of manage all that," he said,

"Madden is starting to do a lot of things right now and I just feel like I want to kind of be a part of that right now and be close to that and be around that support Lauren. So, helping out with baby sitting. Madden's at an age now where she wants to hang out with me. So, you know, we play volleyball of course , I'm the coach my wife's Harper and she's Merritt. We got a softball and we go at it," he added.

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Merritt Beason on being trained by John Cook

Merritt Beason competes in the NCAA VOLLEYBALL Division I Women's Championship - Teams vs Team - Source: Getty

Merritt Beason spoke about training under the guidance of coach John Cook in the Nebraska Volleyball team after losing in the semi-finals of the 2024-25 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championships. The American volleyball expressed how coach John Cook was very empathetic and truly cared about the players both on and off the court.

Beason further spoke about how Coach Cook was always willing to adapt and listen to the players' concerns and act effectively, which eventually contributed to the joint success of the team over multiple seasons.

"I didn't think it was possible to have a coach like that at this level, someone who truly cares about a human being and I didn't think that it was possible," she said.

Furthermore, she expressed how his contributions to the team's overall development in the past 25 years have been immense, and she hopes to see the program dominate in the upcoming NCAA season.