CHESAPEAKE, VA (WTKR)- Western Branch head coach Rashad Cook has seen all three of his sons grow from boys to men. On the football field, he's helped them grow from cubs to Bruins.
Now its the final chapter of Cook coaching his own children, as his youngest son, senior quarterback Derrick Cook, is beginning the last season of his high school career.
"It's kind of funny, we took a picture together coming to school for this morning's practice as his senior year," smiled Rashad. "Last time, last ride."
"I love it," Derrick said of being coached by his dad."He goes hard on me every day. He's trying to make me the best I can be and all I can do is listen, learn and grow from it."
The two share the common bond of football and have been able to find the perfect balance between father and son and coach and player that makes it all work.
"Every day we get in the car, we turn off football at least until we get home," Derrick noted. "We've got to make sure we have a connection outside of football so when we get back to practice, we know we're coach and player again and we're working."
"Whether it's football or we're going golfing, it's always competition," the elder Cook added. "It's fun to have, it's fun to enjoy, but we live it every day."
2024 sees Derrick as one of the players being looked upon to help the Bruins rebound after a sub-standard campaign. Following a Region 6A title and state semifinal appearance in 2022, last year's Western Branch squad stumbled to a 4-7 record. That's well below the expectations the program has established.
"We thought we were going to be the same great team last year, but we had to learn that we're going to have our own battles to fight," Derrick Cook pointed out. "We can't just ride off the season before. We've got to learn to get big ourselves, we've got to work to get big ourselves."
"One thing last season is we didn't have the mentality we have this season," added junior wide receiver and safety C.J. Frasier. "No one's scared or anything and when you're not scared and fly around and make plays, you win."
Leading up to camp during the offseason, Western Branch has been focused on reasserting the standard. They've been hitting the weight room to put on some pounds of muscle and are preparing to be a more physical, disciplined football team.
"Coming out you want to see Bruins play fast," Rashad Cook noticed. "You want to see them smile and have fun again. I think those things are key indications of how we practice. We say if we practice hard, Friday's should be easier."
This year's players know the weight sits squarely on their shoulders. The upperclassmen on this squad experienced the success of 2022, so they're hoping they can tap into what they've learned from that season to make an impact in 2024.
"We've got to be able to police ourselves," Derrick Cook pointed out. "Coaches can only do so much off the field and on the field because when a play start, a coach can't be there, so we've got to be able to police ourselves and make sure we're doing what we've got to do right."
"If you step up and lead by example, everyone is going to want to follow you," added Frasier. "You have Paul Billups, C.J. Frazer, Shamique Blizzard (in 2022), everyone wanted to be like them and be just as good as them. If you bring that up with this team, we're unstoppable."
Western Branch kicks off its season August 29 at Menchville.
