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Rugby Cat Senior Profile: Kevin Cook

By Jacob Novak '19, 06/04/19, 11:15AM EDT

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Cook (far left) holds the RugbyOhio trophy.

Kevin Cook was raised in Westlake along with his two sisters and two brothers, Sean Cook ‘21 and Brian ‘17.

Brian played rugby at Saint Ignatius. He was the scrum half of the team for his rugby years, showcasing great talent. All the while, Kevin was watching, and eventually his brother convinced him to play Rookie Rugby on the Westlake team. Kevin played with his fellow senior Michael Mangan ‘19, and Chris Matthews ‘20. Kevin was excited to follow in his brother’s footsteps, though he didn’t fully understand how rugby worked at first. But by the time he reached Saint Ignatius, Kevin had a solid understanding of how the game worked.

While Kevin was forming good relationships with his teammate, he was also learning his new position as wing.

“I really thought I’d be a scrum half like my brother. I was probably the smallest kid on the team freshman year, but I guess I was faster than some other kids, so I got put at wing and had to learn the position.”

During his days of playing 7’s with Rookie Rugby, Kevin played on half fields instead of a full field. That was just one of the many adjustments Kevin had to make to one he played full field 15’s rugby with more rules and more people. Kevin’s brother helped him out with the basics of the game, helping Kevin learn the game faster. Instead of worrying about being overshadowed by his brother’s career, Kevin made sure that he improved week-by-week, eventually earning a spot in the starting 15. Kevin will now look back on his Wildcat Rugby career.

Freshman Year: “My favorite memory from freshman year was the game against Cathedral at Ohio State. I was about 5’2 and only 95 pounds. I got put into the game and there is a guy twice my size running at me. Of course, he tries running me over so I get low. The other player basically takes me with him but I go for the legs and take him down. My teammates were pumped and were very encouraging.”

Sophomore Year: “ I decided not to play sophomore year.”

Junior Year: “My favorite memory was winning the state championship at Obetz against Saint Edward and sharing the experience of winning a state championship with my team.”

Kevin would like to thank the following people, “I thank my parents, my older brother Brian for getting me into the sport, my siblings, my Uncle Mike, who was the very first person to introduce me to the sport, my coaches, and my teammates.”