Adam Cook had to give up something to get something.

Wednesday the move paid off as the Eastside senior signed a letter of intent to run track at Georgia Tech.

Cook was a dual sport athlete growing up before a groin injury and the advice of his parents brought him off the football field. Running strictly track, Cook made a name for himself in the sport catching the attention of the Yellow Jackets.

After he placed in the state track meet a year ago, Georgia Tech reached out to Cook, who jumped at the chance.

"I was excited," Cook said. "I enjoyed the scenery (of downtown Atlanta) at Tech when I visited Georgia State during my freshman year.

Cook will pursue a major in business with a focus on the finance track in hopes of becoming a sports agent.

However, prior to that he is hoping to make a splash of his own in the sports world while at Georgia Tech.

"If he puts the work in and learns how to balance between school and track I think he can talented," Eastside coach Frankie Iverson said.

His talents have shined even brighter over the last year after he asked Iverson and his other Eastside coaches if he should continue playing football.

Along with his parents, Cook decided to stick strictly to track and has put in the work to not only earn himself a scholarship but also chase a state title.

"He wondered what would be a better fit for him," Iverson said. "I told him it would be a lot easier for him to pursue track. He had talent in both but it was starting to be one-sided between track and football. He started to get a little better in track than football."

It's ironic that he ended up excelling in track, the sport he started just to build conditioning for football.
"He was very dedicated to football early on and I encouraged him to run track for conditioning and to work on his speed," said Addison Cook, Adam's father. "As it turns out all his track coaches said, ‘this is where his true talent is.'"

In the beginning of his track career Cook didn't like it at all but kept with it to prepare himself for a season of being relied on to run the ball on the football field.

"When I first started I didn't like running," Adam Cook said. "I would run faster and faster just to get it over with sooner."

The faster he ran, the further track came to being over with.

In his junior year he suffered a severe groin pull which kept him off the field for the rest of the season. The injury was supposed to keep him out for a year but he started running again within six months.
He even participated in the 2011 state championship while injured.

"He decided football is the type of sport that could end at any moment," Addison Cook said. "He said, ‘I rather dedicate myself 100 percent to track.'"

Since then his running has improved by leaps and bounds.

"He's one of the better ones because he developed his talent," Iverson said. "When you work at your talent you're going to make it a lot better. Once he did and started concentrating totally on track he got a lot better."

He will continue to work at Georgia Tech where his track coach, Grover Hinsdale, specializes in Adam Cook's event, the 400.

"We're really proud that he's going to be a Yellow Jacket," Addison Cook said.