Her son past due, Cook coaches Marian to title
On a weekend where it seemed like Birmingham Marian was a clear favorite to repeat as Division 1 volleyball state champions, the Mustangs had one chal- lenger that seemed to threaten their crown more than any other. That challenger was Abraham Cook. Marian head coach Mayssa Cook was over a week past her due date for her third child, leaving everyone in connection with the program worried that she could miss the state finals while delivering her son (“most likely” to be named Abraham). “I found out I was pregnant sometime in February. We (Mayssa and James, her husband) wanted another and I was hoping to have a September or October delivery, so I would have plenty of time to be back for the playoffs. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as we hoped and my due date was Nov. 13.” [related_articles location=”left” show_article_date=”false” article_type=”automatic-primarysection”]The pregnancy was an underlying storyline throughout the season, but as the postseason approached, there was a growing concern that the newest addition to the Cook family could have his say in how things ended.
As Marian was playing its best volleyball in mid-October, Cook decided to put her foot down and take all worry out of the mind of her players. “With about a month to go in the season, I just decided that I wasn’t going to have the baby until after the season was over,” Cook said very matter-of-factly. “I don’t know if I really had any control over it, but I just kept telling everyone, ‘it’s not happening, it’s not happening.’ I just kept assuring the team that the
baby would come after the season.
“Sure enough, here we are.”
For Cook, there wasn’t ever much doubt in her team’s ability to win without her.
A veteran roster that already won a state championship together in 2020, combined with veteran assistants Dianne Phillips and Vince Muscat, left Cook with plenty of confidence.
However, it would be her absence for a 2020 tournament that left the doubt in her team. “I had all the confidence in the world that they would be just fine if I went into labor and couldn’t be there. I had all the faith in my coaches and my players, but I think it was just a mental thing for everyone.
“There was a tournament I had to miss last season for my nursing job, and it just so happened to be the tournament where they played the worst,” Cook said.
“The players and coaches believed that it was because I wasn’t there.
“I think it was just a fluke, but for them, I think it just became a comfort thing.” Abraham will be the third child for James and Mayssa. They have two daughters — Juliana (4) and Raven (2).
Mayssa’s “decision” to have the baby after the season wasn’t fought by James.
“He just laughs at me and says, ‘whatever you say,’” Cook said with a laugh herself.
“He’s always been extremely supportive of me. He’s also a coach himself, so he understands the stress of the season and the difficulties that come with schedules changing on the fly.
“He’s been very accommodating and helpful for me.
“He’s more of the evenkeel one in the relationship, so he’s been a good calming presence. He’s very excited to be having a boy.”
During the season, Cook tried her best to keep the pregnancy out of her mind while with the team, but as the season progressed the physical challenges of being nine months pregnant were hard to overcome.
“There wasn’t a lot of mental or emotional stress, it was more a physical stress.
Thankfully, we had 14 players on the roster this year instead of 10 like last year because last year coaches had to step in and help scrimmage during practice and be a lot more hands-on,” Cook said.
“This was a tougher pregnancy physically. With the other two, I still felt pretty agile.
“This time around, I felt more pregnant is probably the best way to put it.”
This past weekend, Marian and Cook pulled out all the stops to keep Abraham from stepping into the world.
As her players were getting taped up for injuries and game preparation, Cook was right in line.
“One of the coaches approached our trainer about using some KT tape to take pressure off my belly.
“I was having a lot of cramping this weekend and I showed up to practice and there was a role of tape there and our athletic trainer Dawn (Thrasher) took me back to the locker room and taped my belly.
“It stayed on for three days and I felt it helped tremendously,” Cook said.
In the end, Cook didn’t miss a point on the sideline and the Mustangs lived up to their top ranking, as they dropped just one set on the weekend and claimed a second consecutive Division 1 state championship. With a 53-1 final record, Marian was recently named the second-best prep team in the country by PrepVolleyball. com and MaxPreps.com. Now, with the 2021 mission complete, the Marian volleyball program can now turn its attention to welcoming in its newest member.
“The Marian community and my fellow coaches have been so wonderful and supportive all season for me, especially this past weekend.
“Everyone was trying to do their part to make sure I was comfortable and not in any position to put me in more likelihood of going into labor,” Cook said.
“I am just so grateful to have such wonderful players and parents and coaches to be working with. It just makes me so happy to know my son will have such a great support system around him.”
After welcoming her son, the question will be how many more titles will Cook lead Marian to?