We asked Cooper what he would want the younger athletes to take away from seeing him in on the cover of Fox Cities Sports. His advice was straightforward and thoughtful.
“What I hope they understand is to just try your best,” he says. “You may not be able to run the fastest or jump the highest, but one thing that you can always do is give 100% And another thing I hope they understand is not to be discouraged when things get tough. There are always going to be setbacks in sports, maybe it’s an injury or a bad performance, but you need to be able to look past that and understand how lucky you are to be able to play the sport that you love.”
Finally, Cooper offered, “I hope they also take away the fact that high school sports may be serious at times, but they can be enjoyed deeply, too. It’s always amazing to have fun, but you also need to know when to have fun and when to focus. The overall takeaway is, enjoy it and have fun.”
