Ben Cook (born October 26, 1963) is an American collegiate and professional strength coach and author. He has published a number of books and articles. He is currently a member of the training staff at PIT Instruction and Training in

Mooresville, North Carolina Mooresville is a town located in the southwestern section of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and is a part of the fast-growing Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 50,193 at the 2020 census, making it the most populo ...

. He was a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (1989–2012) and Certified Personal Trainer (1999–2012) offered by th
National Strength and Conditioning Association
He has since formally resigned both credentials.

Educational background

Cook was born in

Denton, North Carolina Denton is a town in Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 1,494. Geography Denton is located in southern Davidson County southeast of Lexington, North Carolina, Lexington, the coun ...

. He obtained a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in exercise and sports science from

Pfeiffer University Pfeiffer University is a private university in Misenheimer, North Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History Pfeiffer originated from a home school operated by Emily Prudden in the late-19th century ...

in 1987, and in 1995 received his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Exercise and Sports Science from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

Coaching career

Cook began his career in 1987 at Appalachian State University as an assistant under head strength coach Chip Sigmon. In the fall of 1989, he began work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an assistant for head football strength and conditioning coaches Rich Tuten and Jeff Madden. In 1993 Cook began as the head strength coach for the

North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball The North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball program is a college basketball team of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels have won six NCAA championships (1957 NCAA University Division basketball tournament, 1957, 198 ...

team, spending eight years with the Tar Heels. He was a coaching staff member of four

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

teams while serving three Carolina head basketball coaches;

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball Coach (basketball), head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North C ...

Bill Guthridge William Wallace Guthridge (July 27, 1937 – May 12, 2015) was an American college basketball coach. Guthridge initially gained recognition after serving for thirty years as Dean Smith's assistant at the University of North Carolina and summin ...

, and Matt Doherty. In 2001 Cook became the Director of Sports Performance for Carolinas Sports Performance in Charlotte North Carolina. In 2003 Cook became one of the first full time strength coaches for the sport of

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

when he began working for NASCAR Hall of Fame Crew Chief and Team Owner

Ray Evernham Raymond Donald Evernham Jr. (born August 26, 1957) is an American consultant for Rick Hendrick, Hendrick Companies, formerly an auto racing crew chief for Bill Davis Racing and Hendrick Motorsports, owner of his own team Evernham Motorsports fr ...

. Cook served as strength coach for an assortment of NASCAR teams;

Evernham Motorsports Evernham Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing organization that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 2000 by former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Ray Evernham, entering full-time competition as a two-c ...

from 2003–2006,

Red Bull Racing Team Red Bull Racing Team, also known as Team Red Bull, was a NASCAR team owned by Red Bull founders Dietrich Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya. The team was based in Mooresville, North Carolina in the United States and was managed by Jay Frye. The t ...

from 2006–2009,

Michael Waltrip Racing Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings LLC, doing business as Michael Waltrip Racing ("MWR"), was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The company was as a 50–50 partnership betwe ...

from 2009–2011 and

Richard Petty Motorsports Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) ...

in 2015.

Authored works

Cook has authored several books, instructional videos and articles concerning strength and conditioning training.

Books

* ''52-Week Football Training'' * ''Total Basketball Fitness: A 52-Week, Year-Round Training Program'' * ''Jumpmetrics''

Videos

* ''Strength Training for Basketball'' * ''Developmental Conditioning Drills for Basketball'' * ''Speed & Agility Training for Baseball''

References

North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball coaches {{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Ben 1963 births Living people People from Denton, North Carolina Pfeiffer University alumni American strength and conditioning coaches