When Dartmouth men's soccer head coach Jeff Cook isn't enjoying the outdoors of New Hampshire with his two sons, he is orchestrating wins for the Big Green and leading his teams to Ivy League Championships. On Sept. 16, Cook became the second head coach in program history to reach the 100-win mark as his team (3-4, 0-0 Ivy) defeated Missouri State University in double overtime at a tournament hosted by the University of New Mexico.
Cook's 100 wins place him 43 behind Thomas Dent, who coached the Big Green for 35 years from 1924 to 1959. During Cook's tenure at Dartmouth, his teams have compiled a 100-71-31 overall record and earned a total of 54 All-Ivy selections.
"It's really pleasing it's a landmark," Cook, who is beginning his 12th season, said. "We've had some success in the last couple years, so hopefully it's the start of another phase in our program's history."
Since arriving at Dartmouth in 2001, Cook has made a tremendous impact on the Big Green men's soccer program. During his first 11 seasons, the Big Green has won five Ivy League Championships and has made eight NCAA tournament appearances, including two trips into the Sweet Sixteen.
"There's an expectation that Dartmouth men's soccer should be the best in the Ivy [League] and that we should be competitive nationally," goalkeeper Sean Donovan '13 said. "The level of success during Cook's tenure has not only attracted more prospective players, but it has also led to our facilities being markedly upgraded. That's all a testament to Coach."
Cook's career in college soccer spans three decades, beginning in 1990 when he became an assistant coach at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has 19 years of experience as a college soccer head coach, including time spent at Wheaton College, the University of Cincinnati and Dartmouth, and has had an overall winning record at every program that he has coached.
"I made my way up the coaching ladder by starting out in Division III and working my way up to Division I," Cook said. "Coaching at Dartmouth has certainly been my longest and most significant experience. It really feels like home, and I feel very fortunate to be here."
For the last five years, Cook has been working on attaining the Union of European Football Association's pro license, the highest coaching qualification available.
"Coach will be one of the very few, if not the only, Division-I soccer coaches who have this license," co-captain Kevin Dzierzawski '13 said. "As part of his course, he's been on Liverpool's training ground in England watching guys like Steven Gerrard play."
It is not a coincidence that Cook consistently manages to produce strong results. His historic success largely derives from the emphasis he places on the human component of soccer.
"One of our greatest strengths as a program is that Coach Cook focuses on developing an incredible culture on the team," Donovan said. "The bonds we have on our team are something I've never witnessed during my many years of being on soccer teams. Our team culture allows us to achieve much more as a unit than we could as individual players."
A large part of Cook's consistently strong results over his 12 seasons with the Big Green men's soccer team comes from his recruiting prowess. The coaching staff constantly watches games and goes to countries like Zimbabwe and Sweden to discover the best soccer players and students who will represent Dartmouth well, according to assistant coach Chad Riley.
Even though Cook and his staff manage to attract the best players they can, the nation's top recruits naturally end up at big universities. The result is a discrepancy in talent between Big Green soccer players and soccer players in some of the most elite programs, a variability for which Cook must find ways to account in order to be competitive at the national level.
"Cook is an extremely tactical coach, and he runs very detailed practices," Dzierzawski said. "He is really good at accomplishing through the tactical side of the game, by making sure that each player understands his role in each given situation. We never rely on one or two really talented players it's always a team effort."
Unlike athletes at many other Division-I schools, athletes at Dartmouth and other Ivies often have non-athletic aspirations in addition to their athletic goals.
"Coach Cook has shaped my Dartmouth experience more than anyone except my closest friends," Donovan said. "He makes a point that regardless of what your role is on the team, he should be the number one resource for you on campus. He is heavily invested in the holistic development of his players."
Despite his long list of achievements, Cook understands that his accomplishments on the soccer field are just part of living a well-balanced life.
"We do a lot of work with Upper Valley youth soccer community," Cook said. "We run camps in the summer and a clinic program in the spring for kindergarten through fourth grade kids. It's really as much about our players being role models and reminding them that they're part of something bigger than just winning or losing a game. Our outreach is really important in fostering that understanding."
Cook and the Big Green men's soccer will next take the field at Princeton University on Sept. 29.
