Photo By Chad Watkins | Capt. Christopher Cook, Head Coach, and Master Sgt. Derrick Raley, Team Mentor, pose...... read more read more
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As the final seconds ticked off the clock in overtime, Coach Cook looked out at his team with a sense of pride and elation as the Warhawks captured a one-point victory over Peterson Space Force Base.
The 20 players for Offutt—16 active duty, a contractor, a dependent, and two retirees—had shown tremendous grit throughout the game, never holding a lead until the end. Coach consistently preaches the Air Force value of resiliency—there is no quit until the final buzzer.
The Warhawk basketball team has seen some massive improvements from last season, where they had a 2-8 record, with both wins coming from forfeits. After the previous coach of the team had quit late last season, Master Sgt. Derrick Raley joined the team as a mentor to help not only on the basketball side of the team, but also on the life side.
“The culture of the team wasn’t great,” said Raley. “The view around the league was that Offutt had a horrible program—one that doesn’t show up and doesn’t commit. We had skill, we just didn’t have discipline. Discipline determines everything. No one cares if you can do something great, if you only do it great one time. Names are built off reputation - and discipline determines your reputation. A good name is better than silver and gold, and your commitment discipline affords you opportunities that a lack of discipline would never. Discipline is doing what you are supposed to do, when you are supposed to do it, the way you are supposed to do it, every single time you do it. Our core value of ‘Excellence in all we do’ is often understood as an outcome - as if excellence is a level of performance. When, in fact, it is an input. IN all we do, we put forth excellence. Excellent is an input not an outcome.”
Enter Capt. Chirstopher “Wrath” Cook. Cook came on board as the coach early in the season and brought a new sense of structure and discipline to a program in disrepair. Offutt currently holds an 8-2 record in league play, ranking third in their division and fifteenth overall in the league.
“Most of the team members are the same from last year,” continued Raley. “But what coach Cook brought to us was a sense of discipline and teamwork.”
Cook played basketball growing up and throughout high school but found his true passion in coaching. He has coached at various levels: little league teams for his daughters, intramurals at the University of Houston, and the Tinker Air Force Base team for a brief period.
“There are few things in life more rewarding than witnessing your involvement positively impact the lives of your players,” said Cook. “I love the act of building a system that traverses more than just the game of basketball – a culture of success that impacts your entire life positively. A team that gives you the support you need in life, career, and sports.”
As he was leaving Tinker, he sat down with the Athletic Director to get some advice on trying his hand at coaching at Offutt. From the discussion they had, he realized it was going to be a challenge.
“The message I was receiving was that the basketball program here at Offutt was struggling,” said Cook. “There was little direction and a toxic atmosphere. The team had only won one game in three years, and many were telling me it was hopeless. Obviously, I brushed aside all the negative sentiment and took the challenge.”
Upon arriving at Offutt, he immediately reached out to some of the players and the assistant coach. He explained how he had limited coaching experience, but believed his years of leadership in the Air Force would translate well to change the culture within the team.
“It became the overarching theme for what I was promoting,” said Cook. “You can build a team, but teams don’t last. We needed to build a full program, one that could withstand the highs and lows of the seasons. We needed to build something people wanted to be a part of, a program that promoted more than just basketball: family.”
Over the next six months, that is exactly what he did. He moved to focus on players’ strengths, and to utilize those strengths towards the team’s success, eliminating the toxic atmosphere and promoting a culture of positive progression.
“To further the positive influence we were going for, we took the ‘Assistant Coach’ title away from MSgt. Raley, and labeled him the ‘Team Mentor’,” said Cook. “He and I both believed it was more important to build these men in a ‘Whole Airman’ concept than stack the coaching staff. MSgt. Raley was excited to take on the role of mentoring these men through career and life obstacles, and I knew we had something special brewing for the players. We are building a program, not a team. We are structuring a family that connects and supports each other in more than just the game of basketball. A biproduct of this program is the first winning record in quite some time.”
Senior Airman Jadien Spivey has played on the team for the past two seasons and has noticed the shift in priorities as well.
“The mentality is just different,” said Spivey. “We’ve got a lot more competitive edge. Coach brings a lot more structure to practice and allows us to play to our strengths. We’re not just playing street ball anymore; we are having better participation and the comradery we are building as a team goes beyond just basketball and into our everyday lives.”
The Warhawk basketball team is currently preparing to travel to the Military Basketball Association playoffs in Oklahoma City from April 25-27.
| Date Taken: | 03.07.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2025 16:53 |
| Story ID: | 492669 |
| Location: | OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, NEBRASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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