Notre Dame Head Coach Lewis Cook has accomplished a lot over his 46 year coaching career.
Almost 400 career wins, 5 State titles with the Pios and Crowley High School and he's a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
Now, he has his own book to add to the list.
"I've probably heard from God many teams in my life, but most of the time I haven't known it," Author Gaylon White explains with a laugh. "On this occasion, there was a voice. There was something that said to me 'Ask coach Cook if he's ever thought about doing a book.'"
"He asked, 'has anybody ever done a book?'" Cook added. "I said no, not really. One was started. He said what do you think if I help you do a book. I said yeah, if that's something you want to try."
The book is titled "Coach of a Lifetime: The story of Lewis Cook Jr."
The book is being published by Rowman and Littlefield. It's written by White, with the foreword coming from legendary Alabama and former LSU Head Coach Nick Saban.
The overall theme of this piece takes a dive into how winning a game or title isn't the ultimate victory.
"If it can help someone. Then I think its worth doing. It was more about that than it was about the record or the wins that we have," Cook explained. "We always felt if we build men, then it will give us a better chance to win. Football is just a tool that we have to use that will prepare them for life. It's tough to do. It's physical. It's not easy."
"Coach is like a shepherd with his flock," White added. "He's a shepherd with his players. He's a shepard with his coaches. He has a servant heart. So that is what really led me to do this book."
118 people were interviewed for this book on Coach Cook.
Subject wise, it tackles a little bit of everything. From race to ethnicity and religion, as players and coaches from Rayne High, Crowley High, Notre Dame and UL football, all speak to Cook's impact and way of leading his teams.
For Cook, the most rewarding part of this venture is being able to get his flowers while he can still smell them.
"You know, we were at the dinner table one Sunday. My oldest granddaughter Scarlett. She was like 'paw, I can't wait to see this book and read this book.' Knowing that's there for the grandkids. And then, when Gaylon would come back from interviewing and to hear some of the comments that people he interviewed made. It was like, gosh. Those things would never be said to me" Cook reflects. "But it was interesting to see how things were when they played and when they were around us. So I was thankful that (White) chose to do this."
You can pre-order Coach of a Lifetime on Amazon right here, with the official release expected to come at the beginning of September.
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