Moving money - Carolina Weekly Newspapers

Gym Rat
Vikings’ volleyball standout
has attained success
through hard work
by Chris Hunt
chunt@huntersvilleherald.com
To the casual observer, North Mecklenburg
volleyball player Ali Cooke fits
the stereotype of a coach’s daughter.
Davidson College baseball coach Dick
Cooke’s daughter is tough, works hard
and is always one of the smartest players
in the game. Cooke’s father describes
her as a typical gym rat who spent
most of her childhood in the shadow of
Davidson’s Wilson Field, absorbing the
college’s sports scene.
But there’s also something that sets
Cooke apart from a typical coach’s
daughter.
Instead of following in her father’s
diamond footsteps and playing softball,
the Viking senior took her own path,
falling in love with volleyball years ago.
Cooke discovered volleyball as a
seventh-grader. One day, she stumbled
upon a Davidson volleyball camp, and
that was it. The high-paced action
of volleyball immediately caught her
attention.
Volleyball wasn’t like baseball, or even
soccer, a sport Cooke played growing
up; it didn’t have the slow, deliberate
pace of either sport. The volleyball players
at Davidson’s camp were always on
their toes, diving, jumping and attacking
the ball. The speed of volleyball
matched Cooke’s drive and energetic
personality. It was a perfect match, and
Cooke’s been engrossed with the sport
ever since.
“I saw (the Davidson volleyball campers)
playing, and I said, ‘Dad, that’s what
North Meck volleyball player Ali Cooke is a dedicated athlete who will play at Wingate University next year.
I want to do.’” Cooke recalled. “It was
more exciting and you got to touch the
ball more than a couple times a game.”
It appears that Cooke made the right
decision.
Cooke is one of the captains on North
Meck’s volleyball team, which is undefeated
after 14 games this season. And
she isn’t exactly just chipping in, either.
The all-conference outside hitter is
North Meck’s top offensive threat. After
a 3-0 victory over I-MECK opponent
Lake Norman on Sept. 26, Cooke leads
the Vikings with 166 points.
“She’s our go-to girl,” said North
Meck coach Sandi Skidmore. “If we are
down, we want the ball in her hands.
She could always bang the ball, but now
she can use her touch to find empty
spaces on the court.”
Cooke’s rise to become one of the
most dominant hitters in the I-MECK
4A conference is even more impressive
considering her height. At 5 foot
Sports
10, Cooke isn’t as tall as most offensive
standouts. She makes up for her
lack of size with a 28-inch vertical leap,
which allows more than enough height
to enable her to drive the ball down on
opposing player’s defenses.
But Cooke is more than a finisher;
she’s made a conscious effort to become
a well-rounded player. Not content with
being just an offensive weapon, her
hard work over the years on defense has
(more on page 35)
Chris Hunt/Herald photo
www.huntersvilleherald.com The Herald Weekly • Oct. 2-8, 2009 • Page 33