PENN YAN, N.Y. — The latest News10NBC Scholar Athlete of the Week, Bailey Cooper, is used to practicing in June because for the last four seasons, Section V Class D has run through the Mustangs and through Cooper. Now, Penn Yan is hoping to buck a trend of falling in the NYSPHSAA semifinals and hoist the program’s first state championship title since 2004.
Scholar Athlete: Bailey Cooper“Awesome,” head coach Chris Hansen replied when asked to describe Cooper in one word.
Hansen knows Bailey well, he’s coached he since eighth grade and has seen it all — a Division I commitment to Clemson, four Section V titles and 94 goals this season. To him, all that success felt inevitable.
“From the day that I saw her pass the ball, her first step, her work ethic,” Hansen said.
Their five-year journey together will end this weekend in the state tournament. Win or lose.
“I mean, it’s obviously really sad because I’m a senior and I know this is my last couple days with my team, but it’s really exciting because we know that we’re good enough to win and we want to,” Cooper said.
Bailey Cooper and Penn Yan’s domination seems inevitable now, but Cooper used to kind of hate sports until midway through elementary school.
“Actually it was more like third grade,” said Scott Cooper, Bailey’s dad. “We couldn’t get her to do any sports at all.”
Scott watches Penn Yan practice every day.
“I love it, right?” Scott said. “It’s either I stay home, watch TV, or I come and watch practice.”
He used to do the same thing with Bailey’s older brother, Tanner, who spent five seasons as a pro pitcher in the minors.
“Next thing you know, we heard my name and my family rushed in and jumped on me,” Tanner told News10NBC in 2020, one year after being selected. “And it was it was a really surreal moment.”
Bailey said that’s part of the reason her apathy toward sports turned into a passion.
“I’ve always had that drive and motivation in front of me and I knew that it was possible because he did it,” Bailey said. “So I just thought, you know, if I work hard, I could do the same.”
And that familial bond extends back to her dad, who initially got Bailey into the sport.
“Every single day I go out and shoot with my dad and it’s definitely brought us closer,” Bailey said. “So just being with my dad and lacrosse in general is just my favorite memory.”
There’s a lot of good memories to pick from. Cooper is an elite scorer passer and she usually wins her draws. She’s got All-American status for section five bricks and will play for at least another four years after graduation. This weekend though, in her fourth and final trip to the state tournament, she’ll have a chance to help secure the program’s first state title since 2004.
“We’ve been in these tough situations and we’ve been down, we’ve been up and we just know how to play from there,” Bailey said.
The Mustangs will play Section 10’s Canton on Friday, with the championship game being held on Saturday at SUNY Cortland.
Scholar Athlete: Bailey Cooper WHEC.com.
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