Christian Cook facts for kids
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| Born | June 3, 1975 Denver, Colorado |
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| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | |||||||||||||
| Weight | 200 pounds (91 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Position | Defense | |||||||||||||
| MLL teams | New Jersey Pride (2001–2004) Baltimore Bayhawks (2004–2006) Washington Bayhawks (2007–2008) |
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| NCAA team | Princeton University | |||||||||||||
| Pro career | 2001–2008 | |||||||||||||
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Christian Cook (born June 3, 1975, in Denver, Colorado) is a retired professional lacrosse player. He played as a defenseman, which is a player who focuses on stopping the other team from scoring. His last professional team was the Washington Bayhawks in Major League Lacrosse (MLL).
Cook was a star player for the Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse team from 1995 to 1998. During his college career, he won several major awards. He was named the best college lacrosse defenseman in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). He also earned two United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-American honors, meaning he was recognized as one of the best players in the country. His teams won four Ivy League championships and three national championships.
As a professional player, Cook was named the Major League Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year. He also played for Team USA in the World Lacrosse Championships. He was chosen twice for the Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game and helped his team win the MLL Steinfeld Cup championship.
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Early Life and High School
Christian Cook grew up in Denver, Colorado. He was a talented lacrosse player from a young age. In high school, he was recognized as an All-American player at Denver East High School. This award means he was one of the top high school lacrosse players in the entire country.
College Lacrosse Career
Cook played a very important role in the defense for the Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse team. He helped protect their goal while the team's star attackers, Jesse Hubbard, Jon Hess, and Chris Massey, scored many goals.
In 1998, Cook received the Schmeisser Award. This award is given to the best college lacrosse defenseman in the NCAA. He was also named a first-team USILA All-American Team in 1998 and a third-team All-American in 1997. These honors show how skilled he was as a defensive player.
His Princeton teams were very successful. The 1995 team shared the Ivy League championship. The teams from 1996 to 1998 were even better, winning all their league games and becoming undefeated champions. These three teams also won the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship in 1996, 1997, and 1998. This was a rare achievement, as they were the first team to win three national championships in a row since Syracuse did it from 1988 to 1990. Cook was a co-captain of the team during his senior year in 1998. He was also named to Princeton's All-Decade team, which honors the best players from that ten-year period.
Cook was known for his strong defensive skills. In one game during his senior year, he completely stopped the Ivy League's top scorer, Mike Ferrucci from Harvard, from scoring any goals. In the semifinals of the 1998 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament, he also prevented Casey Powell of Syracuse, who was the nation's leading scorer, from scoring. Princeton won that game 11-10. Even though Cook was injured and couldn't play in the finals, he was still named to the All-tournament team because of his excellent performance.
Professional Lacrosse Career
Christian Cook began his professional career with the New Jersey Pride in 2001 and played with them until 2003. He was then traded to the Baltimore Bayhawks in 2004. He played for the Bayhawks from 2004 to 2006. The team later changed its name to the Washington Bayhawks, and Cook continued to play for them in 2007 and 2008.
In 2005, Cook was a key part of the Bayhawks team that won the Steinfeld Cup, which is the championship trophy for Major League Lacrosse. He was also selected twice to play in the Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game, which features the best players in the league.
In 2006, Cook missed four games of the MLL season because he was playing for Team USA in the 2006 World Lacrosse Championships. He was one of four players from Princeton University on the U.S. national team.
Life Outside Lacrosse
After his lacrosse career, Christian Cook worked for several important organizations. He has worked for the United States Secret Service, which protects the President and investigates financial crimes. He also worked for the American Enterprise Institute, a research organization, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, a large accounting firm.
Cook also has a background in other sports. He competed in skiing at the AAU Junior Olympic Games in 1990. In 2003, he was honored by being named to the Colorado Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
His sister, Lauren, also played lacrosse at Davidson College. Christian and Lauren's parents are Gary and Diane Cook. Christian earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics from Princeton University and later received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Georgetown University. Christian and Lauren have started a program called "Play for Parkinson's Lacrosse" to help raise awareness and support for people with Parkinson's disease, after their mother was diagnosed with the condition.
