Cook, Choy-Shan Named Athletes Of The Week

This week's Cranford Patch Athlete's of the Week are left-handed pitcher Nick Cook and girls' lacrosse player Mai-Lin Choy-Shan, who are both enjoying sensational senior seasons.

Cook has helped the varsity baseball team to a 15-3 start, and this past week, he was impressive with both his bat and his arm, belting a pair of home runs, including a grand slam, while picking up a pair of wins in the process, including a strong relief effort in a 7-5 win in the Union County Tournament quarterfinals versus Union Catholic to improve his mark to 4-1.

Cook has been on the diamond for as a long as he can remember.

"When I was little, it was tee ball, loved it, just couldn't stop playing," said Cook. "I was playing all the time. My dad was always there for me, always my coach, showing me what to do."

His dad, Tom, was a fixture at the ball fields working with his son, who showed ability at a young age.

"He's always at our games, he's always there cheering," said Cook. "He loves to watch me play and everyone else as well. He's always outside practicing me with. He was always practicing with my brother all the time and it just stayed with me."

Cook enjoys playing first base and pitching, but he's also known for his big swing, a feared hitter from the left-side of the batter's box, from little league to varsity.

"It kind of stayed with me," Cook added. "I was always the big kid."

As for the season, Cook is confident his team has the goods to take home a little hardware.

"I hope we do well, I hope we go far. I just want to keep hitting, fielding and pitching well. I love winning, it's great."

"Nick Cook is a product of hard work," said head coach Dennis McCaffery. "He works as hard as any student-athlete we have in the program. He's extremely hard on himself, has high expectations of himself. He's worked hard in the weight room. He plays fall ball, he's swinging the bat in the winter, he's running. He's a product of how hard work will result in success."

Cook will take his talents to the next level when he plays at Widener University in Pennsylvania.

"I used to go to a lot of showcases, and they just contacted me and said they liked my swing as a power hitter and they thought I would be a good addition to their team."

Our girls' Athlete of the Week has been a key addition to the Cranford lacrosse team ever since she stepped on the varsity field just last year.

Mai-Lin Choy-Shan has been a big contributor, as a team leader and a goal scorer, as she and her teammates enjoy their finest season ever.

Growing up, she played sports constantly, but her start in the game came on a whim.

"It was really random," said Mai-Lin. "My mom told me one day that she heard that girls' lacrosse was becoming big, and so I was like, all right, it's something I'll try, because I wanted to meet new people, make new friends. It was random. One time I went to the rec center and I signed up. I've been playing since sixth grade."

Did she expect to have the kind of career she's had so far?

"Not at all, to be honest. But as soon as I picked it up, I knew I was going to love it from the start."

"She's an awesome kid," said first year head coach Lauren Leddy. "We'll be down by ten goals, and you hear her out there, going over to every single player, hitting their stick, getting everybody psyched, keeping everybody up, everyone positive. She's an awesome leader. She's everywhere on the field. If you need her to play defense, she'll hustle down there, and she'll come up with a big defensive play, or if we need her in the midfield, she'll run the ball down. She's confident with the ball. And then of course on the attacking end, she's been coming up huge for us. She's a playmaker too, not just her driving the ball to cage. She sees the field really well and she hits those open girls."

"Mai-Lin is absolutely amazing," added teammate Nicole Kleiman. "We always work together really well, and we always find each other, and it's really great having her there."

The game she'll never forget came in the Union County Tournament against New Providence, under the lights at Memorial Field in late April. It was a thrilling 12-11 victory which will forever be etched in Mai-Lin's mind.

"It was the most amazing moment of my life. I can't even describe the feeling each and every one of us had. It was the most amazing thing ever. All of our fans were here, and it was for a great cause, the Kaleidoscope of Hope. I just wish I could relive that over and over again."

As for her future plans, Mai-Lin plans on spending a year at Union County College while she decides on a major, but make no doubt, lacrosse will be in her future.

"Well I know I'm going to keep coming to Cranford to cheer them on. I'm going to UCC for a year, and then I'm planning on transferring to a different college where I know I'll be playing lacrosse. You'll be seeing me more in the future."

"I just played my hardest, tried to keep everyone's spirits up. I love each and every one of these girls. We've come such a long way, each and every one of us."