Our Rock

With graduation season in full bloom, schools all over the country are saying goodbye to seniors who are moving on to the next chapter of their lives. Basketball coaches, like every other school coach, director, or sponsor are accustomed to this bittersweet process. The “sweet” side is knowing in ways both big and small we have played a role in shaping our athletes; not only for the battles on the court but also to equip young adults to embrace the opportunities and attack the challenges in life.

The East Scarlets were blessed to have Scott Cooper as a senior/leader on our basketball team.

Scott meant so much to our team and to me personally.

It’s no secret our team struggled this year. We faced adversity in just about every way imaginable. If we had a Rock of Gibraltar keeping us grounded, it would definitely have been Scott. He was one of the first players I met at the introductory meeting with players. From that moment, through open gyms, into summer and fall workouts, and throughout the season Scott stood out for all the right reasons.

He was almost always present. When he wasn’t, it was with a very good reason, and always with plenty of advance notice of an expected absence (as in weeks!).

He was always on time. Like his coach, being ‘on time’ for something actually means being several minutes early!

He always worked harder than anyone else.

He wasn’t just open to coaching, he was eager for it. At our first open gym, he approached me for feedback. I had to admit to not watching him in particular close enough to say anything meaningful. So a week later at the next open gym I did watch and told him exactly what I thought. He was an excellent listener because he made diligent effort to work specifically on what was identified right up to the very end of the season.

There was never even a hint of senior entitlement. He treated every player, even freshmen, with respect. He learned names quickly and would  take younger guys under his wings with kindness and gentleness. The same great attitude held true with the entire coaching staff. If one of the sub-varsity coaches said something to him, he always acted as if it was the head coach talking.

So far I haven’t mentioned that he was a “new kid” having enrolled at East during the middle of second semester his junior year. It would be normal for a student in a new setting to either withdraw into himself or put on a front of false bravado. He did neither. In fact, he embraced the program and the people associated with it as if he had grown up as an East Sider.

He took on multiple roles for us. Frankly, we asked more of him than we should have, but on our team there was not much choice. We needed him to be a primary scorer, primary ball handler, as well as taking on defensive match ups against terrific players throughout the CIML. He never complained.

In a season in which our roster was the basketball version of a revolving door, he was our lone source of stability as he was the only player to start every game. 

He never made excuses. Never whined. Never pointed fingers at others.

We took it on the chin early and often and he never gave up.  Despite the constant disappointments, our team actually got better as the season unfolded. We played three solid halves in our last two games against exceptionally rugged opponents and that could not have happened without his constant leadership and outward displays of hope (see Romans 5:3-5).

This leads back to graduation. Scott was a star in the classroom and around school. His GPA is tremendous, he had no discipline referrals, and made it to classes with near perfect attendance. He has set very high and imaginative goals for himself for life after school. He is the type of person who will be a pillar of the community someday. 

He was our Rock.