UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State women’s soccer coach Erica Walsh has promoted Ann Cook to Associate Head Coach. Cook has spent the last five years on the Penn State staff as an assistant coach.
Cook, who assumed the position on July 1, enters her sixth season with the Nittany Lions after helping guide them to their 14th-straight Big Ten title, a women’s athletic record in the conference. This will also be the sixth season Cook will be coaching under her former teammate, Walsh. The two combined for many wins on the field at William & Mary and have already shown their prowess on the sidelines together as they led the squad to four consecutive Big Ten titles.
For the sixth consecutive year, Cook traveled to Nicaragua with an organization called Soccer Without Borders, bringing along a few Nittany Lions in the process to help out. The organization focuses on using soccer as a tool for youth development around the world. The Nittany Lion players helped collect numerous pairs of shoes prior to Cook’s departure and accounted for about 50 young girls in Nicaragua getting new shoes and a new appreciation for soccer.
Prior to Penn State, Cook was an assistant coach at Nebraska, for two seasons. Cook was responsible for numerous tasks while at Nebraska including individual and team training, recruiting, video analysis and scheduling. She also worked closely as the staff’s liaison to the Huskers’ athletic support staff.
During her tenure at Missouri State from 2004-05, she handled training, recruiting and team travel duties as well as supervising the strength and conditioning program. The head coach at Drury University from 1999-2000, her squad ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Division-II poll among new programs in 1999.