Ryan Cook Becomes Edinboro’s First Ever Head Women’s Wrestling Coach
It was a chilly October afternoon on a Thursday in 2016, and the Edinboro Wrestling team was headed off for one of our last running workouts of the preseason. I was experiencing major hip issues (and have been for the past couple of seasons) and couldn’t run that hard on the pavement at that point in my life. Therefore, I decided to speak to the coaching staff and told them that I’d have to hang back due to the pain, which then led to a very tough discussion; a discussion and agreement that ultimately caused me to no longer be a part of the storied Edinboro wrestling program. Both parties decided that maybe it was time for me to pursue coaching opportunities, and mentioned the local high school wrestling program, General McLane, and told me that they would make a call for me.
Looking back, that was the best college wrestling practice at Edinboro that I can remember.
That following Friday morning, Coach Cook called me. I was in his vehicle for that afternoon’s practice, riding around and watching Lancer wrestlers run the hilly roads of Edinboro. I vividly remember that I wasn’t too impressed with his music selections, but it wasn’t difficult to see how respected he was by his athletes, and I commended that. Come to find out, Coach Cook isn’t just respected by his athletes, but is also respected by the whole town of Edinboro and the entire surrounding Western Pennsylvania area. Everyone there knows Ryan Cook.
Early on in my General McLane coaching career, I was still skeptical of Coach Cook. I wasn’t sure if I liked him just yet, or if I could even learn coaching and wrestling from him. “What does this guy possibly know about wrestling?” I said to myself. But after a few weeks, those thoughts disappeared. Coach Cook not only knows how to coach the sport and show high-level technique, but he also possesses a certain attribute, an attribute that is so important when coaching: communication. His communication with his student-athletes is exceptional. How he conducts and manages a practice, how he educates and demonstrates technique, and how he communicates are all exceptional. Still to this day, my communication and some techniques I present are similar to what I once observed in that General McLane wrestling room.
Following a couple of successful seasons with multiple Pennsylvania state placers, I moved into the basement of Coach Cook’s home. Between being pestered by his lovely daughter, Charlee, and my hatred for cheese, I learned even more from Ryan (and I’m not talking about his bourbon collection). We had a ton of fun in that home (and having the Hotel Bar be walking accessible). But all good things must come to an end, or so they say.
Before moving to Lincoln, Illinois, in 2019 to coach college, we lived and coached together for one last season, and what a special season it was – Sectional Champions. I remember James Laird locking up a crossface cradle (TWICE), finally securing the pin, and all of us going crazy behind the coach's corner. There’s quite a sequence of fortunate photos that captured the historic moment (I suggest checking them out). That’s my favorite General McLane wrestling moment and one that is embedded in my head for the rest of eternity. I have Coach Cook to thank for that.
Fast forward years later (and even having coached at Edinboro University during that time), and guess who’s a groomsman in my wedding? Ryan Cook. We remained close friends after all these years, and I’m thankful for that. He was one of the few people who reached out about my daughter’s struggles while in the NICU. As soon as I popped the question to my wife, I knew all along who was going to be standing next to me on my special day in June of 2024.
When Coach Cook received the offer to become Edinboro’s Inaugural Head Women’s Wrestling Coach in May of 2025, we were chatting. Coach said:
…..
Question 1 excerpt
…..
Question 2 excerpt
…...
As for what’s next for the General McLane Wrestling Program (Question 3), Coach had this to say:
The next successor of the Lancers has big shoes to fill, but I’m confident that they’ll do just fine. Similar to me, they absorbed and acquired knowledge from Coach Cook and know exactly what it takes to continue the legacy that has been cemented there for over two decades. I’m excited to see what the next head coach can produce, and heck, maybe they’ll receive a future phone call from a college coach on the other side of town about an athlete of theirs wanting to transition into coaching