Q&A: New University of Minnesota volleyball coach Keegan Cook: 'I can do this'

New Gophers volleyball coach Keegan Cook was running on a bit of adrenaline when he took time out of a whirlwind 36 hours to discuss his difficult decision to leave the University of Washington after eight years for Minnesota.

He was pragmatic about the challenge, and benefits, of taking over a program that Hugh McCutcheon ran with constant success for over a decade — and about having McCutcheon staying on the athletic department staff. It is a process Cook is familiar with. When he took over as coach of Washington he replaced Jim McLaughlin, a legend in the game who had reached four Final Fours and won a national championship with the Huskies.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: You already have shown that you can not only run a program but inherit a really successful program and maintain it. Was there any part of taking this job that felt like a unique challenge because it will come in the wake of a coach like McCutcheon who had a great deal of success here?

A: I'm not sure. The way I have described it is there was just a calling that happened that I wasn't expecting. Obviously, I was not expecting this. I had recently signed a contract extension. I have loved all of my time in Seattle at Washington, but I was really struck when the position opened unexpectedly. It kind of caused me to investigate that feeling. I think we all have that intuition when something is calling us and we can't articulate it and we have to investigate it. That is what started. As I looked into it I thought, this is a situation that I have been in before. I have confidence I can help this team transition.

Minnesota volleyball matters. That is what I told [Gophers athletic director] Mark Coyle. Making sure this program continues the legacy that [former Gophers volleyball coach] Mike [Hebert] and Hugh built is important for our sport. I thought, 'OK. I can do this. I probably am the one who should do this.' So, let's look into it. Then the makeup of the team, it's a younger group with room to grow. That is really fulfilling when you get to spend multiple years with athletes and it's in a city that is not too dissimilar from Seattle. A lot of things kind of lined up where I started to think I couldn't have designed a better job if I tried.

Q: There is a team full of high-level collegiate talent. Can you speak to what you see from the roster?

A: Some of the things that stood out to me with the group, besides just their youth and talent, is a number of them have been involved with USA Volleyball. It's important to them. It's important to me. Each of my years at Washington I tried to take time to contribute to USA Volleyball in whatever space that I can — whether it's camps or teams. These are athletes that share that passion with me of being part of things that are bigger than themselves.

When I watch them play, I can see spaces where I can help them. If I were to look at the film and say, 'Oh I have nothing to add,' then I wouldn't be in this situation. But as I watched them I thought, 'They have a lot, and I can help.' That was a big part of it for me.

Q: Explain how you got on this trajectory, from an assistant at St. Mary's to an assistant at Washington, then you take over for McLaughlin and now Minnesota. Was this planned?

A: If there is a plan I would like to see it. I think what people might misconceive is they might see the career path and say, 'Oh my gosh what an ambitious person.' The reality is you don't find positions like these with ambition. You find them with vocation. They call to you. There is an element of maybe risk and courage involved and then you do the best you can day after day. I am a big believer in just the power of compound interest in our lives. Not only in finance, but how we live our lives. If you can have a good day and another good day and stack good days and great things start to happen. I want that for our players. I want that for myself and our family.

I started coaching really young. I was an 18-year-old coaching a high school freshman team. I was a 19-year-old coaching a varsity high school team. Then I was a 21-year-old coaching 18- and 21-year-olds. I have been coaching for more than half my life. It has always been who I am and what I'm called to do.

Q: Your wife [Sarah Ammerman, a former collegiate All-America at Texas A&M and professional volleyball player] has been involved with the sport for seemingly her whole life and volleyball seems to have a pull on people and families. I have to imagine that helps with some of the transition, but what role does the sport play in your family life?

A: The sport gave me my family life. My sister [Meghan Herr] was a huge influence on my life. She was my first boss at a volleyball club in California that she has run. She's the reason I got into the sport. I followed her — she played collegiately at St. Mary's College in California — I followed her there. It started with her. My wife, Sarah, you know I just didn't know that women like her exist. I kept waiting to be surprised by something and when I realized that she was as amazing as she is, I had to make sure that I don't mess this up. She laughs a lot, which I think you need when you're in high-level college athletics. She really has a lot of grace for time commitments and she's a really good traveler.

I have always thought coaching is a two person job, and Sarah has been the most wonderful partner here. That was a big part of this. She joined me in Seattle, but we're making this move together. That to me has a lot of meaning, too. We're starting a journey together.

Q: If your success is vocational, what is it that you bring to volleyball coaching that helps you to continue to be successful at it? Is it a process? Conceptual?

A: People ask what makes you successful and maybe a better question is what do I hope that the players I coach would say about me? That there is sincerity and intentionality and that I am committed without conditions. I'm very proud of the women who grew within the program at the University of Washington. I don't know how many at this point — somewhere between 40-something athletes came in and 40-something athletes left — never had a player transfer in my time at Washington.

Q: What are you excited to bring to this Gophers program that can help them build on the success they have had?

A: The margins are really thin. I think I've heard Hugh say that. When I look at the film there is not huge absences. The run that Hugh and the athletes over the past 10 years have had is simply astounding. It's a hard question to answer. I am in awe of what Hugh has accomplished, and the athletes.

People would think there is just huge expectations for what Minnesota volleyball fans and supporters and administration expect, but players and coaches at this level they don't have expectations, they have aspirations. Expectations are joyless. Whoever met an expectation and thought of it as a joyful moment in their life? But when you achieve something that you aspire to do, that's when it's really good.

Q: What do your next few weeks look like?

A: I think that the order is always people, values and then volleyball, in that order. I have about a month here before the athletes return to begin training so primary focus is people. Getting a staff in place and building a relationship with the athletes. That's at the very center of what we do. With values there is a portion of that where I need to understand Minnesota volleyball. It's one of the first questions I asked the athletes last night: What do you hope never changes? What is important to you?

Q: Have you thought about how you'll navigate having McCutcheon in the athletic department?

A: One of the most influential people for me in the last two years has been Chris Petersen at Washington, who has operated in a role kind of a coach for coaches [Petersen, a former Washington football coach, is the Fritzky Chair in Leadership at Washington]. I don't know exactly how Hugh's role has been defined, but I imagine there is going to be some interaction. One thing I thought is: Who wouldn't want time and shared conversation with Hugh? I'm not a finished product. I have hopefully many years of coaching ahead of me. To have someone like that down the hall or in the building next door has tremendous value to me in my own development.