By james art 
Lincoln – After a perfect goodbye from John Cook, there is only one question left.
What type of inheritance should he give him a Nebraska?
I say, go to the building where Cook did his best work, where he lifted the Nebraska volleyball bar to unprecedented heights. A place where all future Husker volleyball fans can pay tribute and remember his contributions.
Another option is a statue in front. Now I see the old cowboy coach, hands on the hips, in bronze from his Adidas shoes to his six gallon hat.
Something will be done. Nebraska’s administration will understand it. But this is certainly not the inheritance that matters.
Cook leaves several inheritance. He took the program and made it better. It transformed it.
He won and won a big one. But at the end of the coaching career, victories are not what people talk about or remember. This is the impact.
Cook told everyone to dream more more. Then he put his money where his mouth was, and moved the Husker volleyball brand into a building that looked too big for sports. This convinced everyone, including the coach that this program could be greater than someone imagined.
He leaves to fight for sports. It helped to create a movement, fighting for a better television coating, tournaments during the season and improving the treatment of players. He created a movement.
He affected a generation or two of young women who fell in love with volleyball, who saw that they could attract attention and respect, usually gathered for football or men’s basketball.
This is all meaningful, but this is not the most important legacy left by the legend.
Cook has written his own heritage. And on Thursday, he revealed it to Nebraska.
The way the coach said goodbye may not say much about what he did, but usually talks a lot about him.
The cool John Cook never showed much emotion around the media. But when Cook started talking, he had to pause several times to catch tears. Clear your throat.
We hadn’t seen this side of Cook.
But what the tears and the trembling voice showed were the passion and the love he had for Nebraska, for his huge family of players and for work.
No one loved Nebraska as a volleyball coach, more than John Cook.
But then he began to explain why he was retiring now. And that said a lot about the man, more than the final matches or matches at the stadium.
He spoke family. He talks about his daughter to have another baby. He said, “I want to be there for these grandchildren.”
We are thinking of these coaches regarding the fact that they retire after the national championship or break a record. Because we would do it. What we sometimes forget is that they are grandparents like everyone else.
Then Cook mentioned that “he always wanted to go out to the top – and I enjoyed this group.”
Going to the top had nothing to do with the national championships. Most of these coaches are not in it for the trophies. They are in it for players and relationships. The fun on the road.
“That was the time to come out,” Cook said. “I feel like I’m on top.”
Then came the other piece of his decision.
“The coach (Terry) Petit left this program in a great place for me,” Cook said. “And I feel that Nebraska’s volleyball is in the best place that has ever been.”
Going out of the final four appearances and Big Ten titles and with an elite talent team you return, you bet.
Why didn’t an old coach want to come back again to coach this team, like the players he adored, and more history to chase?
Because for some of these coaches – many of them – much of their inheritance is the creation of their heir. Especially if the coach has done the same for them before.
What is the benefit of her inheritance, if you leave and watch how everything you have built is falling apart? Deep, the coaches see their work as a way to help players and improve them.
When Danny Busbum Kelly takes the stick, she will have a package. This is a legacy. Tom Osborne did it. Bob Stops did it. A legion of coaches who managed to leave under their own conditions did the same.
But how many of them can convey to one of their own players, who is already fulfilled, one of the best coaches in the country?
Asked about his biggest achievement, Cook did not say the national title in 2015 or the match at the Memorial Stadium.
“I’m going to hand over this program to a former player, someone from Nebraska,” Cook said. “For me, this is the biggest achievement that someone who has played here is the coach here. This confirms some pretty cool things in coaching that these guys want to come back here and train and continue this thing.
“For me, this is the biggest achievement I could do.”
Put them all together. More time with the family. Leaving from above – when he is still able to leave his way. Adjusting his ex -player to take him further than he.
It was as if Cook woke up one day and saw all his priorities and the best scenarios were aligned.
“It was a feeling,” Cook said. “What is left to do?”
Not all coaches are lucky. Some older coaches remain too long. They can’t or won’t leave. In the end, the door is shown. There are not many happy endings for older coaches.
This is the most liable close -up career that I remember. This is a holiday.
In the Classic Cook, the coach cites a verse of a song from Neil Young’s song: “It’s better to burn than to fade.”
I don’t think Cook does none. I think the man still has something to give. Cook once told me that he thought he would be glad to be a “coach coach” for the athletic department. Someone bounces around and working with coaches on their mental health, stress, pressure, etc.
Nu Athletic Director Troy Dannen must register in this.
I hope they put the name of Cook on this building. I also know that after all, it doesn’t matter. The largest legacy of a person is his family and how they remember him, how they made them feel.
In the case of Cook, he is not only his wife, daughter and his son. He made the whole country and a fan base feels like a family.