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MEET OUR DIRECTORS
Michelle Cook
FUTURE GIRLS DIRECTOR
Michelle Cook is entering her fifth year as the Girls Club Director at Future Volleyball, bringing more than 30 years of playing, coaching, and leadership experience to the program. Throughout her career, Michelle has built a reputation as an incredible teacher, motivator, and mentor who has made a lasting impact on generations of young athletes.
Michelle’s volleyball journey began as a high school athlete and continued through college before she transitioned into coaching. What started as a sport she loved quickly became a lifelong passion. For more than three decades, volleyball has remained a major part of Michelle’s life, giving her the opportunity to coach athletes of different ages and ability levels while developing an understanding of what young players need to grow both as athletes and as people.
Prior to joining Future, Michelle spent 13 years coaching with Kane County Juniors in Elburn, Illinois. She has also spent 13 years coaching the freshman girls volleyball team at St. Charles North High School. Working with athletes at such an important stage of their development has allowed Michelle to help countless young players build the fundamentals, confidence, discipline, and love for the game needed to continue progressing through their volleyball careers.
Throughout her coaching career, Michelle has helped countless athletes develop into successful volleyball players, with many continuing their careers at the collegiate level. While she takes tremendous pride in seeing her athletes succeed on the court, her impact has always extended far beyond wins, losses, and recruiting. Michelle cares deeply about the young women she coaches and the people they become after they leave her gym.
Her coaching philosophy centers around finding the right balance between compassion and accountability. Michelle understands when an athlete needs to be challenged, when they need encouragement, and when they simply need someone in their corner. She believes athletes are capable of accomplishing more when they know their coaches genuinely care about them, and she works to create an environment where players feel supported while still being held to high standards.
As Future’s Girls Club Director, Michelle brings that same philosophy to the entire girls program. She works closely with Future’s coaches to create consistency throughout the club while continuing to push both coaches and athletes to become the best versions of themselves. Her experience, patience, energy, and ability to connect with people have helped shape the culture of Future’s girls program and make her an invaluable part of the club.
For Michelle, some of the most rewarding moments in coaching come from watching athletes grow over the course of several years and seeing former players return to the gym long after their club careers have ended. The relationships she has built through volleyball are a reminder that the impact of a great coach can last far beyond an athlete’s final match.
Michelle currently resides in Campton Hills, Illinois, with her husband, Tom, and their three dogs.
Nic Cook
OWNER
FOUNDER
& BOYS CLUB DIRECTOR
Nic Cook founded Future Volleyball in 2019 alongside his best friend and former Co-Director, Jacob Stone. What began as a vision for a different kind of volleyball club has grown into a nationally competitive program built around athlete development, strong relationships, and a culture that puts players first.
Nic’s volleyball journey began at just 10 years old when he first stepped onto the court as a club player. His passion for the game eventually led him to Pfeiffer University, just outside Charlotte, North Carolina, where he committed to play Division II volleyball. After returning home, Nic spent three years as an assistant director at another volleyball club before taking the leap to build Future Volleyball.
Since founding Future, Nic has helped lead the program to multiple top-15 national finishes while coaching and developing some of the Midwest’s most successful athletes over the last decade. More important to him than wins or rankings, however, is creating an environment where athletes genuinely enjoy coming to the gym and have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
His coaching philosophy is simple: put the athlete first. Nic believes in individualized development, building trust, holding athletes to high standards, and giving players the confidence to compete without being afraid to make mistakes. Rather than trying to coach through constant yelling from the sidelines, he strives to create an environment where athletes feel supported, challenged, and empowered to succeed.
Future Volleyball has always been more than a club to Nic. It is a family. He takes tremendous pride in working alongside his mother, Michelle Cook, Future’s Girls Club Director, and in building a program where athletes, coaches, and families feel genuinely connected. Many of the relationships Nic has built through volleyball have become lifelong friendships, and his goal is to give Future athletes the same sense of community and belonging that the sport has given him.
Under Nic’s leadership, Future continues to focus on developing more than great volleyball players. The goal is to develop confident young people who compete at a high level, succeed in the classroom, represent themselves with strong sportsmanship, and leave the program with relationships and memories that extend far beyond their time on the court.
Michelle Cook
Nic Cook