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Former Nebraska Volleyball coach John Cook spoke about training athletes like Harper Murray when they were new to the program. He revealed how multiple people told him to remove Murray from the program. However, he decided to trust his gut instinct and find a different way to handle the situation.
Coach Cook retired from the position of the head coach of the Nebraska Volleyball team after 25 years. In an interview with Hurrdat Sports, he spoke about his bond with the players and his mindset while coaching young athletes.
While speaking about recruiting Harper Murray to the team as well as her initial journey, Coach Cook stated how despite the initial struggles, he decided to put in his full effort while training her.
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Moreover, coach Cook shared how he had taken learnings from the various instances of his coaching career as well as other NCAA teams from Nebraska. He added that he developed a close bond with Harper Murray and other Nebraska volleyball players during tough training sessions.
"Harper was one of the gut checks as a coach, you know, how do you handle that situation because it could go a couple of different ways. A lot of people wanted me to get rid of Harper and kick her out of the program. Not many people said, 'Hey, are you going to help her?" I don't remember really anybody asking me that," he said.
"But I knew in my gut that I talked about it when I recruited her that I was going to be here for her and support her and she basically has you know, just her mom, so that was the time to step up. The more I learned about what was happening and got through the frustration part and disappointment part and the more I understood as she started getting help, I knew that there was only one way to do this and to go all in with her and hoped it worked out," he added.
Furthermore, coach Cook also said that he had serious talks with Harper Murray while developing a foresight for the future of the Nebraska Volleyball program.
Coach John Cook on telling Harper Murray about his decision to retire
John Cook spoke about breaking the news about his retirement to the Nebraska Volleyball players in an emotional press conference. He revealed that he decided to inform Harper Murray about his decision before everyone else as he knew it would be the toughest.
Murray broke down in tears when she heard the news and said that it took her a long time to come to terms with it.
"I called in Harper first because I knew that would be the toughest. She was very emotional, so once I got through that it was a lot more easier to go with the team because I knew that would be the tough one. They all responded really well but again it was tough," he said.
Coach John Cook initially pretended to have a pre-game talk with the players while breaking the news to them. He expected the players to immediately shift to transfer portal talks; however, no Nebraska Volleyball player entered the portal after his retirement.
