The Central York women’s basketball team drops to Central Dauphin 40-36 in the District 3 6A title game.
York Daily Record
Growing up, Emery Cook taught her parents to treat others the way you want to be treated.
To this day, the Florida native lives by this saying. Father and grandfather, Cook always wanted to be someone that people admired.
His trip to Pennsylvania began in 1977 as a transfer student at West Chester University, just outside of Philadelphia.
Cook was a member of the basketball team and played a point guard.
“There was a reason I came to school and it was because of Dr. J,” Cook said of the great Julius Irving of the Philadelphia 76ers. “He was my favorite player at the time and living in the region where he played was like a dream come true for me.”
For much of his life, Cook has been a high school basketball coach in the Harrisburg area who has had an impact on his players not only on the field, but also outside.
And as a former teacher, he wanted to instill life values and lessons in his students so that they could have a prosperous future.
His success was recognized statewide as he was inducted into the Capital Region chapter class of PA Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 and West Chester Sport’s Hall of Fame in 2009.
“I wanted to help leave a mark on everyone I have met as a coach and player,” said Cook.
Cook would even help other teams and spend his time making sure they got better.
“Whenever I played against Cook, he was always respectful and showed support regardless of the outcome of the match,” said Chris Sattele, who played against Cook as a player at Palmyra High School.
Sattele later became a high school coach, and Cook would come to help him at his basketball camps.
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“He had a positive outlook on everything and you’ve never heard of anyone else,” said Sattele.
Cook moved to York in 2015, wanting to explore a different field for a while.
Emery Cook has had an impact on coaches, players and students throughout his career as a basketball coach and teacher. Now he has an impact on people through his books as an author. (Photo: submitted)
Now that Cook is retired from coaching and teaching, he has found other ways to help people, even though it was difficult for him when he retired.
“A year after I retired, I fell into an unproductive routine,” said Cook. “I had to change this.”
It was then that he started writing and tackling subjects that are still relevant in the world today.
Cook, who won a state championship as a boys’ basketball coach in the township of Susquehanna in 1997, published two books in 2017 and 2019.
“I write about the things that bothered me a bit when I taught, issues like bullying, depression in teens and children struggling with grief and loss,” he said. declared. “It is not easy to be a child and sometimes we think it is.”
At a local restaurant or cafe in the West York area, you might find Cook sitting at a table alone or talking to someone.
It’s a different scene for Cook, who has been sitting on the sidelines with a clipboard in his hands for most of his career.
But he always finds a way to make an impact on the lives of others.
A coach who wanted the best of his players
When Cook started his coaching career, he knew how much he could make a difference. He spent 27 years in high school and three in college.
Coaching was his passion, and Cook said he didn’t remember too many bad days when he was a coach.
“I came from a family of educators, my siblings were educators,” said Cook. “Coaching was a way for me to teach and mentor, it was my ministry.”
Cook thought it was his responsibility to expose his players to more than just throwing a ball in a hoop.
“Our team’s priorities were faith, family, your education and then basketball,” said Cook. “Basketball was the last thing I wanted them to worry about, I wanted to make sure their personal lives were in order.”
His head coaching career began at Central Dauphin East High School where he began coaching the junior university team from 1984. His next stop was at Susquehanna Township where he took a group of young players and took them fashioned into a state championship team.
Towards the end of the 1995 season in Susquehanna, Cook seated his team and gave a motivating message.
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“If you commit, we can produce something in a few years, that’s exactly what I told them,” said Cook.
And his team did just that.
“Winning this state championship is a moment I will never forget,” said Cook. “These boys deserved it and I was happy to share this experience with them.”
Maurice Pittman had the opportunity to play under Cook’s direction in the Susquehanna Township State Championship team. He then played at the University of Millersville in the early 2000s.
“Coach Cook was the best coach I have ever played for,” said Pittman. “He is an amazing guy and uses the game to teach you life skills.”
Pittman’s father died in 2008, and Cook was the only person he always sought advice for.
“He’s like a father figure to me,” said Pittman on Cook. “We are still talking to this day and the advice he gave me in high school is still current.”
Cook did one thing with his teams: the players, the coaches and the parents all signed a contract.
“I had something that I called power to agree,” said Cook. “Now everyone on my team had to respect it and follow it if they wanted to stay on the team.”
In his agreement, he said that all team members would put the team and the union above themselves.
Pittman said the power to make a deal always has an impact on his life.
“I’m glad he made this deal because it helped put my family ahead of me,” said Pittman. “Whenever I go through something, I always think about this deal and it helps me go through everything I go through.”
Obtain respect from other coaches
Emery Cook has had an impact on coaches, players and students throughout his career as a basketball coach and teacher. Now he has an impact on people through his books as an author. (Photo: submitted)
The way Cook has coached his teams has caught the attention of other coaches in the game of basketball.
After spending his last season at Carlisle High School, Cook received a phone call from someone he coached against in high school.
Mike Gaffey, currently Bishop McDevitt’s head coach, was the head coach of Penn State Harrisburg while he reached out to Cook.
Cook was an assistant to Gaffey’s father, Bill Gaffey, in the township of Susquehanna, and Mike Gaffey coached Cook when he was at Palmyra High School.
“We have developed a special relationship over the years,” said Mike Gaffey. “When there was an opening at Penn State Harrisburg, I contacted Cook immediately.”
From training against him to training next to him, Gaffey had a lot of respect for Cook.
“I admired Cook as a young coach,” said Gaffey. “It is not only a teacher who teaches the game, but he has a personal relationship with the children he meets.”
Todd McCall, assistant coach of the Susquehanna Township State Championship team, said working with Cook was an experience he will never forget.
“He was a major mentor to me,” said McCall on Cook. “The kids bought 100% and they knew Cook was leading them to be more than just ball players.”
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Cook contributes much of his success with the help of his assistant coaches.
“Without them dedicating their time and effort, I could not have accomplished what I have done,” he said.
McCall is no longer a coach, but said that if Cool started coaching again, he would no doubt join him.
“Cook was an exceptional coach who led the game the right way, you couldn’t ask for a better coach,” said McCall.
It shows how much respect people had for Cook.
Don Friday, head coach at Penn State Harrisburg, knew Cook when he started coaching in 1990. Friday has been at Penn State Harrisburg since 2013 and learned a lot from Cook.
“Cook was a defensive coach and played with a goal,” said Friday. “He created a very competitive atmosphere during training.”
“There are many excellent high school and college coaches in the Mid State Pennsylvania area and in my book, Cook found a spot on this list,” said Friday.
When Cook moved away from basketball, he knew it was the right time.
“Over time, the game has changed for me and I think I made the right decision,” he said.
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Become an author and always have an impact
Cook found inspiration and content throughout his years as a teacher and coach, and he just needed to find a way to express what he had experienced.
In 2017 Cook self-published “Hiding in the Light: The Hunt”, the first book in his trilogy, under the author name Cy Emery. And in 2019, he published his second book, “Over the Tracks: The Hunt”.
Both books are mature / young adult books, and the series focuses on real-life issues that Cook has gone through as a teacher and coach.
Cook has used the same method since he coached and taught to write his books.
“I always make sure I put my best foot forward in everything I do,” he said. “It is no different from when I was a coach, I can still make an impact on people and leave a mark in their lives.”
In his first book, one of the issues that Cook addressed was bullying.
“It is a sensitive subject for some people, but it is something I felt I should talk about,” he said.
Both books are written to give audiences a perspective on what’s going on in people’s lives, especially young children.
Since his retirement, Cook has spoken at many events, talking about his books and the lessons they teach in writing.
His impact continues to extend across generations, beyond the players and students he has taught.
Kevin Moore is the York Daily Record Sports Life Reporter where he dives into a rhythm by finding stories that have a deeper meaning than the sport itself. He can be reached at [email protected], 717-309-4814, or on Twitter at @ kevmoore93.
