Coaches and athletes sometimes use the littlest things, real or perceived, to motivate them. They try to prove that other people cant put limitations on them.

Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook is one of those people who is motivated by things others say cant be done. Years ago a booster said the volleyball team wouldnt be able to go on foreign trips if not for all of the money the football program brings in for the Nebraska athletic department. Now, because of a larger arena and the success of the four-time national champion Huskers, the volleyball program covers its own expenses.

Now Cook has written a book, Dream Like a Champion, that will soon be in bookstores in Lincoln. The books cover says the book is about wins, losses and leadership the Nebraska volleyball way. Cook and Hail Varsity magazine managing editor Brandon Vogel wrote the book together.

Cook says one of his motivations for writing a book goes all the way back to when he was in high school in San Diego.

Cook's mom was in high school when he was born. Nobody in his family had ever gone to college, and it wasnt on his radar, either. He was a pretty good football and basketball player, and some of his coaches said he should think about playing in college.

He took the SAT, a college admission exam, but didnt have a good enough score on the English section. So Cook thought he couldnt go to college.

But a teacher tracked him down, he got enrolled in two English courses that semester, and he worked at it. He took the test again and got the score he needed and received a scholarship to play basketball at Linfield College in Oregon.

That kind of always stuck with me, Cook said during a recent interview. Well, its one of the reasons why I wanted to coach, but it also stuck with me like, OK, some test determined I wasnt smart enough. The English teacher -- her name was Judy Corbin -- I always felt like someday I wanted to prove that all that was worth it, and one way I could do that would be writing a book. So thats just something that planted a seed a long time ago.

Cook said another motivation for the book is for the fans of the program. We met in his office, where he can sit at his desk and look out on the arena at the Devaney Sports Center. When he talks about the fans, Cook sometimes looks out on the arena, where those fans sit during the matches.

This book to me is also a payback to our fans, and the support that weve had, he said.

After Nebraska won the national championship in 2015, Cook decided it might be time to write that book. He got hooked up with Vogel, and they began writing in the summer of 2016.

During the writing process Cook and Vogel had long interviews, and then Vogel would write. But Cook also sat at a computer and wrote a few of the chapters himself. He said ideas for the book would come to him while he was riding his bike on the MoPac trail in Lincoln, near his home.

One of the neat moments since the book was finished was when Cook got a copy of the University of Nebraska Press catalog, listing books that were about to be published.

I opened it up and the book is in there, along with other professors' books, and everything, Cook said. I felt like, Thats pretty big-time right there.

Cook tried to write about what has worked for the volleyball program and what he believes in, and share stories that back that up.

I enjoyed the book. Ive written about the volleyball program for several years, but there were still some stories I hadnt heard before.

The bombshell was Chapter 7, where Cook writes about the day he almost died on a mountain near Lake Tahoe. Cook, admitting he was young and a little obnoxious, fell about 100 feet off a cliff while he was rolling boulders off the cliff, and he landed on some rocks. He writes about his long rehab, and what he learned from it.

You also get insight into how no detail is too small for Cook, including going to Dallas to help find a vitamin for the players to take to strengthen their bones.

Another great story is about Kelsey Fien, once considered by the coaches to be a RM recruiting miss. But she improved a lot, and ended up having the kill to clinch the Huskers national championship in 2015 in front of 17,000 fans in Omaha.

Cook writes about his regrets, one of which details why he says that ever since a high school match he coached in 1983, his approach is that the best players always play, regardless of their age, or the situation.

One thing youll notice is that the names of the players still on the team aren't listed in the book. Cook said there was a concern from the athletic department that players could later take legal action. Most fans will know whom Cook is writing about, though. Some of the answers to those missing names are Mikaela Foecke, Kelly Hunter and Olivia Boender.

Cook also said he made an agreement that he wont be paid for writing the book.

As we talked, I was curious about Judy Corbin, the teacher who helped Cook get into to college. Cook doesnt know if shes alive, but hes sent a copy of the book and a note to a leader at the school, in hopes they can find her.

Writing the book was more of a motivation to prove to myself I could do it, and for that English teacher and coaches that believed in me, and got me to college, Cook said. Because Id hate to think what my path would have taken if I didnt go to college.

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