Cook served as the assistant varsity lacrosse coach at DHS last season.

“Being an assistant coach last year gave me the opportunity to form solid relationships and bonds with the young men that will take the field this year,” Cook said.

“Austin has been involved in our lacrosse program and he’s had a chance to build a nice rapport with the players,” said Assistant Superintendent Eric Lieske. “Austin is the kind of guy who will be a great role model for these young men.”

A native of Flushing, Cook was captain of his high school football team for all four years and was voted All Big Nine as a safety. While at Saginaw Valley State University, Cook began playing lacrosse and was named team captain the two years he played there. For the past two years, Cook has served as a defensive assistant coach for the varsity football program at Genesee High School.

“Austin was a part of our lacrosse program last year which had some success,” said Athletic Director Josh Wallberg. “He’s a quality individual and I’m looking for good things to come from him and this program.”

While lacrosse began as a club about six years ago, it has only been recognized as an MHSAA sport at Davison High School for about three years, said Wallberg. The sport continues to grow in popularity with nearly 50 kids expressing an interest in joining the sport this year. In addition to the varsity team, there is also a junior varsity team.

That’s good news for Cook whose immediate goal is to fill the gaps left by last year’s seniors on both offense and defense.

“Our three leading scorers and two starting defenders have graduated and left some pretty big shoes to fill for our seniors this year,” Cook said. “Our JV team went undefeated last year and I have no doubts that they will be able to handle the pressure of playing varsity lacrosse and perform at a high level.”