Finding solace in basketball after losing fairytale life

Basketball pales into insignificance for what Andrew Cooper will remember 2023 for following the tragic passing of the love of his life, Vanessa, but it's also given him a focus where dedicating himself full-time to the game is now something he'd like to explore.

On a basketball front, it's been an eventful year for Cooper. It started back in February when his reputation as one of the finest coaching minds not in a full-time role in the country continued to be enhanced when he took the Western Australia under-20s team to a national championship.

That was the third national championship that Cooper has won for WA and then that led into quite the eventful NBL1 West season coaching the Cockburn Cougars where just about anything that did go wrong, did go wrong but they still put themselves in playoff contention under his guidance.

However, nothing that happened on a basketball front will come close to what he will remember 2023 for. Back in early April, Cooper's wife, childhood sweetheart, love of his life and mother to their two children, Vanessa, tragically passed away just aged 49 from cancer.

Having been joined at the hip basically since they were 15 years of age, it's something that Cooper never thought he would have to deal with so early in his life and it's not getting any easier four months on having just celebrated Vanessa's 50th birthday this week.

Cooper has shown great strength to continue to fight through despite the understandable inner turmoil he's been dealing with, but what it's now done is open up his mind to chasing his basketball dreams as he approaches his own 50th birthday.

Opening up to dedicating life to basketball

Up until now with what has happened this year, Cooper's priority has been on being the best husband and father he could be. 

That's been his life's focus and he would never change a second of that for the life that he got to share with Vanessa, and for the family they built with children Tahnee and Jesni who have now grown into young women that he couldn’t adore more.

A big part of being the husband and father he aimed to be was supporting his family and his job in the police force has provided him the avenue to do that, and basketball has just had to fit in and around that.

However, along the way Cooper's reputation as one of the finest coaching brains in not only WA but in Australia has been impossible to ignore. 

Whether it's coaching young talent and helping them reach their dreams, being considered the finest assistant coach at SBL level for a number of years, and now getting his chance as an NBL1 head coach at the Cockburn Cougars the last four years, Cooper's stocks have continued to rise.

There's no doubt there aren’t any variety of roles around the country could have been made for Cooper to fulfil for him to take on a full-time basketball opportunity, but until now he wasn’t quite ready or able to make that jump.

However, now with the way his life has been thrown upside down without Vanessa and with Tahnee and Jesni doing well setting up their own lives in adulthood, Cooper feels it's time to chase his dreams and that means a full-time basketball role is something he's more than open to.

"I've had a lot of time to think obviously over the last few months, and even before that, and I've sort of always been on the cusp of potentially making that change," Cooper said. 

"But obviously having to support my wife, financially I never knew if I could make that jump to work in basketball full-time. But life's thrown this curve ball now and I am at a position with my life where I really just have to look after myself, and look out for what's best for me. 

"If any time was the right time, now would be it to make that leap and I've thought a lot about it. I'm really just waiting for a potential opportunity to come up where I could do it. 

"If I could do it professionally, I think I could benefit someone or something whether it's in the high performance area with young athletes or with NBL level players. I don't know what it might look like, but it is definitely something that I'm more interested in now and that I'm more able to do than I ever have been before."

Dealing with what's happened this year

If you watch Cooper coach Cougars games this season or see the way he has held himself together publicly, you can't help but marvel at the way he has handled what he has had to go through.

However, mention that to him and he quietly chuckles because he knows the hard times he's had to try to process it all in his quieter moments. 

Also, any time anyone mentions they don't know how he's been able to keep coaching without missing a beat, at the same time having that to focus on along with getting back to work in the police force has been a good thing to keep his mind occupied.

"Well the truth is I haven’t stayed strong all the time, I guess it's just the parts people see of me that make you think I have," Cooper said. 

"I've had my moments that's for sure and certainly I have my private moments where it is tough, but basketball has been what's held me together a lot of it. It's kept me occupied, it's a passion that I have and I'm around good people all the time, and people that I love and respect. 

"That's helped me through and a big example of that was Vanessa's service. There were so many people there that I either hadn’t seen for a long time or didn’t expect to be there, but when I looked around at certain times and saw so many familiar faces, it really showed then how important being part of this community is."

Getting through it with two daughters

There's precious little that can make losing the love of your life before you even turn 50 together any easier, but Cooper will always be thankful to have had the support of his daughters Tahnee and Jesni, and for him to be there to support them through everything that's happened this year.

"If I didn’t have the girls I don’t know where I'd be, I'd be in a very dark place that's for sure. That's certainly helped me through and it's given me a reason to keep pushing along because I'm their support, and they are my support," Cooper said. 

"No matter what happens in life, we're always going to share love for Vanessa and for each other so that's sort of what keeps you together as a family. 

"Jesni's gone back to America now and a lot of her close friends and boyfriend are there with her so that's something she needed to do for her life. Tahnee's nearby to me and ticking along with her life and living with her boyfriend as well. 

"I know they still have their tough days like I do, but the good thing is we have each other and we've got a good family, and a good bunch of friends around us."

Recognition as High Performance Coach of the Year

Cooper recently was named the High Performance Coach of the Year at the Basketball WA awards night on the back of taking the WA under-20s team to another national championship back in February.

That meant that Cooper has now won three national championships after the victories with the under-18s team back both in 2018 and 2021 so in terms of coaches of young talent in the country, there are precious few better with a better record.

However, for Cooper while it's nice to get recognition with an award any time and he certainly is proud of those national championships, what gives him even greater pride is the part he's been able to play in so many players he's coached go on to successful professional, college or NBL1 careers.

"At the end of the day, I just wished all the boys from that team could have been there to be honest. I know Ben (Henshall) wasn’t there, Condo (Alex Condon) wasn't there, AK (Alex Kovatchev) wasn’t there and that's because they've moved on which is the good thing," Cooper said.

"The awards are great and I don’t want to play it down, because I will never not thank people for getting an award, but seeing what's happening with these boys and where they progress with the basketball is the reward I cherish more. 

"It's not just the guys who have gone on to do big things at NBL level or even be drafted to the NBA like Travers or go to college, there's still a lot of boys who are playing NBL1 that are huge talents as well. 

"I'm just more proud than emotional to receive an award like that because it allows me to reflect on where players from those teams have progressed to. It's also the coaching staff I've had around me with some of them in the NBL now, some are coaching around NBL1 and I think it's more about being proud than emotional to receive something like that."

How would you like your basketball journey to unfold

If Cooper was to fast forward 10 years into the future and try to envision how he would like this basketball journey to unfold, he's not quite sure what it looks like but ideally something that includes winning championships and helping young players reach their dreams would be nice.

"It's hard to know because there are different things that I sort of prioritise. Right now with my position in coaching, a priority for me is that I want to win and I think any coach that doesn’t say that is fooling themselves or lying," Cooper said.

"Ideally I want to win championships and I enjoyed winning national championships with the juniors, but I really do enjoy seeing these athletes go on to the next level. 

"Even when I sit down with my guys at Cockburn and they tell me about their aspirations, I'm more than happy and that's where you get a kick out of seeing them go on to do something. 

"I guess the next 12 months to two years will determine where I go more than anything else, but NBL1 is clearly my focus at the moment and winning championships would be great along with helping young athletes develop. 

"If a position came up in a high performance area that's something I would put my heart and soul into because it's rewarding to see these young guys achieve their dreams."

It's not just young players that Cooper is enjoying seeing achieve their dreams either. His vice-captain at Cockburn and 275-game veteran point guard Seva Chan has just signed his first professional contract to play in Asia.

"The first message I sent to Seva when I heard was that I was really proud of him. It's something that he was a bit up in the air about if he should do it professionally and all that, but the opportunity's come up and he's taken the plunge," he said.

"That's sort of a bit how I'm feeling at the moment too because when opportunities have popped up in the past I've had to knock them back because of the financial side of things, but it might be a little bit different now."

Would it be difficult giving up life with Police

The major reason that Cooper hasn’t taken the leap to seriously look for a full-time role in basketball previously has been the job that he's had with the WA Police Force for more than 30 years that helped give himself, Vanessa, Jesni and Tahnee the life he dreamed of.

Basketball was always a great passion but until now, he just didn’t know if he could take the leap to start in a new professional without that same financial security. 

However, now with what happened with Vanessa and with both daughters in their 20s, if he was ever going to make that leap to exploring a full-time basketball role, now would be the time. 

"It is a bit scary to think about leaving after 32 years or whatever it's been. But again it comes down to money not being everything and I've worked out in the last 12 months especially that you've got to be happy with what you're doing no matter where it is because you just never know what's around the corner," Cooper said. 

"Without putting the fear into other people or anything, having seen this firsthand, we were almost living the fairytale. We had a perfect life together, everything was going nicely and financially we were sound. 

"Then you get thrown this curve ball out of nowhere and all of a sudden you stop and reflect, and you sort of have to think about what's more important – money or happiness. That's sort of where I am, it's really hard to explain because there's so many different things that go through your head. 

"One minute one side of your brain is telling you to do this and then the other side is saying to do that. It's like you have the angel and devil on your shoulders, but it's going to be interesting times to try and work it all out."

What makes Cooper content with his desire to throw himself fully into basketball is the knowledge that Vanessa would be giving him her full blessing to do so.

"The situation being the way it is now, I think if Vanessa was sitting here next to me right now, she'd say to do it," he said. 

"She'd tell me to follow the passion that I have because that's what she said the whole time once she got sick. She told me I still had to keep doing basketball because that's my passion and I think that's what she'd be saying right now."