Coach Cheek’s ‘life story’ available now for sale
A legendary coach revered by all who know him for his knack for telling stories about his life has shared them for all the world to see.
“No Holds Barred: Frank Cheek’s Life Story” recounts Cheek’s life through his perspective from early childhood through his 40-plus year coaching career.
Cheek and the book’s co-author Tom Trepiak will host a book signing on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Redwood Teen Challenge’s Club 5:17, located at 2212 2nd street in Eureka.
The book launched on Jan. 15 and can be purchased at Club 5:17 or through Amazon.com.
Trepiak, a former Humboldt State administrator who worked with Cheek for a good portion of his career, met with the coach almost daily over the course of several months in an effort to transcribe every memory the coach could harness.
“Everyone knows (Cheek) is an excellent storyteller,” Trepiak said. “The book starts with his childhood and covers his adult life, and is told through (Cheek’s) voice and his perspective.”
Cheek began his coaching career at Humboldt State in 1969 as the university’s wrestling coach, a position he held for 22 years. In 1989 HSU revived its softball program and put Cheek in charge — a wise choice as the coach guided Lumberjack softball to two NCAA national championships (1999, 2008), 19 conference championships and 20 trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Cheek said some of his favorite stories from the book focus more on his family, childhood and his time in the Marines.
The coach recounted teaching his daughter, Teresa, how to pitch over the course of several years and how he learned to overcome quitting in the Marines after enlisting in 1955 at the age of 17 — stories which are well documented in the book.
As for his overwhelmingly successful coaching career, the hardnosed coach noted to this reporter several times his teams were unfairly denied victory and said, simply, “that’s the thing — you remember the losses much more than the wins, the losses are what eat at you.”
As for the generations of young men and women the coach had a hand in molding, Cheek said “I was fortunate to have a bunch of tough kids.”
The book, published by Christian Faith Publishing, also documents Cheek’s mid-life spiritual transformation and his “coming to the Lord moment,” as Trepiak described it.
Matt Maiocco, who currently covers the San Francisco 49ers for NBC Sports Bay Area and covered Cheek during his early reporting years at the Times-Standard, wrote the book’s forward.
“When asked to name a short list of the most competitive individuals I have covered in my line of work, Coach Cheek — this one unforgettable person — is the short list,” Maiocco wrote.