Given the high demands of both positions, it’s rare for a player to be the starting point guard on both the school’s basketball team and starting shortstop on the school’s softball team. And with leadership being a crucial part of both positions, it’s even more rare if the player is a freshman — but not unheard of.
During the winter sports season, freshman Annabelle Cook handled the point guard duties for Sedona Red Rock High School’s playoff qualifying basketball team. When that season ended, her focus shifted to softball, where she became the Scorpions’ starting shortstop and lead-off hitter.
For the coaches that work with Annabelle, giving a young player such an important role on the team wasn’t much of an issue.
“She’s always been a vocal leader,” SRRHS girls basketball coach Kirk Westervelt said. “Not the most skilled person on the court but a natural presence.”
“She’s vocal — no matter the score, she’s still talking,” said Omar Marquez, the coach of Annabelle’s club softball team, Firecrackers AZ. “With her grit and leadership at such a young age, it really stands out. Girls are as good as Annabelle but don’t have her leadership.”
Annabelle acknowledged that much of her prowess in athletics comes from her family background. Both of her parents were accomplished, three-sport athletes in high school. Annabelle also grew up with cousins who went on to play sports in college.
On her mom’s side, she’s the second youngest of six kids and the only girl. That’s something that has helped drive her competitiveness.
“We put her in T-Ball and soccer and she started playing basketball in first grade,” her father, JR Cook recalled. “She embraced it and worked hard to be the best she [could] be. Always tried to compete to be better — or at least as good — as the boys. When she played in the rec league basketball, she was as good as the boys, all the way through.”
With such a long history in sports at a young age, it may seem as though Annabelle’s life is primarily guided by sports. But that’s not the case.
Annabelle loves both painting and photography. She also loves visiting her family in Seligman, helping out around the ranch, riding around on the horses and hunting.
Annabelle has done a lot of traveling with her parents. During those travels, she discovered her love of marine biology, which is the field she’d like to pursue in college and beyond.
“I can juggle both club basketball and softball,” Annabelle said. “I have a mentality that makes me pursue other things too. I am not set in stone on one thing.”
Both on the basketball court and softball court, another one of Annabelle’s traits is her toughness — something her father said she inherited from her mother and both grandmothers.
Toughness is key in sports, especially when you’re younger than most opponents and are frequently the shortest player out there. Annabelle got bounced around a lot during the basketball season, taking a number of hard fouls in the process. Despite that, she rarely missed more than a few minutes of game time.
“I can develop skill in anybody,” Westervelt said. “But heart and toughness, you either have it or you don’t. If I had 10 [players] like that, it’d be a coach’s dream.”
While it’s still a few years away, playing softball at the Division 1 level is a realistic aspiration for Annabelle. In the meantime, she wants to be front and center in the development of both the softball and basketball programs at SRRHS, and eventually hopes to win a state title.
“I just love playing sports,” Annabelle said. “I love being on a team and being able to help out. I love being able to represent the community and being able to help out myself. I love being competitive and being able to play the sports I enjoy. That’s the thing. I love being out there.”
