DAVIDSON, NC -- Even after nearly three decades at the helm Davidson Baseball coach Dick Cooke still makes sure to let the sweet sounds of the game sink in.
"There's nothing like that anticipation for Opening Day," he said.
Two days before the Wildcats opened the 2018 season against Lafayette, Cooke reflected on a career, and a life. One that was almost lost.
On Monday, Cooke had told his team he was stepping down after this year, his 28th.
Associate Head Coach Rucker Taylor will take the reigns in 2019.
"All the pieces just seemed to fit in to place at this time," he said.
Cooke is not so much retiring as he is transitioning. He will take a new role within the athletics department. That role has not yet been defined, but will help Cooke serve coaches of all Davidson's programs.
"Hopefully increase my ability to mentor coaches," he said. "As they need direction or advice or someone they can come in and vent for a little bit."
Most coaches would publicly brush off any sense of reflection, especially towards the end.
But Cooke seems to be more likely to contemplate than he is to coach speak.
He's always ready to reflect on the two major events that his career will be remembered for.
Last year he guided the Wildcats to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Once there, they captured the hearts of the nation by beating North Carolina to get to the Super Regionals.
"I was a fan watching these guys play," Cooke said.
He keeps perspective in pictures too. Like the one in his office. Next to a photo of him upright and coaching, is a picture of himself in a hospital bed after a drunk driver nearly killed him on I-77 in September 2012.
"If I start to feel sorry about myself, or I lose perspective," he said. "I'm vertical at a time when some folks didn't think should be vertical."
Cooke is indeed still standing, doing what he loves, where he loves to do it.
And upon this Opening Day, his last, he says it's just as good as the first.
"Every time," he said. "It never gets old."