Bowling Green State University Athletics
Photo by: JD Pooley
Tomic Names Alison Cooke Assistant Volleyball Coach
June 19, 2017 | Volleyball
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball program and head coach Danijela Tomic announced the hiring of Alison Cooke as Assistant Volleyball Coach on Monday (June 19) afternoon. Cooke has been the Volunteer Assistant Volleyball Coach at Duke University since March of 2015. Cooke will work primarily with BGSU's defense and passing."I am very excited to welcome Alison to BGSU and our staff. She comes from a coaching family and understands the level of love, commitment, sacrifice and hard work our profession requires," said Tomic. "Alison had an outstanding career as a student-athlete and spent the last two years gaining first-hand coaching experience at an excellent Duke program.
"Alison is a great fit for our team, BGSU and the Bowling Green community because of her character, passion for volleyball, learning, coaching and mentoring young women."
Working alongside Duke's head coach since 1999 in Jolene Nagel, Cooke and the Blue Devils went 21-9 in 2016, including a 15-5 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. In her first season in Durham, Duke went 17-13 (12-8 ACC) and ended the season with a victory over ranked North Carolina.
At Duke, Cooke played a large role in player development, and assisted with practice planning. In addition to her roles with player development and practice planning, Cooke tracked opponent's in-match offense. Cooke aided with administrative office duties, as well, on top of organizing summer camps. At Duke, Cooke assisted with recruiting visits. In addition to her duties with the varsity program, Cooke also served as the men's club volleyball head coach at Duke.
"I am so excited to be joining the BGSU Falcon family! I knew as soon as I spoke with Coach Tomic and after meeting with the rest of the staff, that this was a program of which I wanted to be a part of," said Cooke. "I sincerely thank Coach Tomic, the athletic department, and Bowling Green State University for this incredible opportunity. I am thrilled to begin this new chapter!"
Cooke has also spent extensive time at the club level, and most recently has spent time as a resource coach with Triangle Volleyball Club in Raleigh, N.C. Cooke worked with the elite 18 teams, running clinics and provided instruction and feedback for player development. Prior to that, she trained and worked private lessons at Carolina Union Volleyball Club.
A standout setter at Wingate University, Cooke led the Bulldogs to three NCAA Elite Eight appearances, and was a two-time AVCA All-American. Cooke averaged 10.50 assists per set across her senior year, setting up an offense that finished in the top 20 nationally in kills per set.
"I feel that I have a tremendous enthusiasm for the sport, and a great passion for coaching and developing players into strong leaders, competitors, and people," Cooke continued. "I truly enjoy learning from other people's experiences and sharing my own, and I look forward to contributing significantly to this program. While I will be primarily working with passing and defense, I have experience playing and coaching different positions, and am eager to contribute to this strong program!"
A native of Davidson, N.C., Cooke earned her psychology degree from Wingate in 2014. She is currently working towards her master's degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University Irvine. She is the daughter of Dick Cooke, who is the head baseball coach at Davidson College, where he led his program to an unprecedented trip to the Super Regionals this season.
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