{{short description|American soccer player-coach}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Judah Cooks | image = | caption = | fullname = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1976|11|29}} | birth_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Haydon |first1=John |title=Maryland's Cooks Assigned to D.C. United by Project 40 |url=https://umterps.com/news/2013/4/9/208125516 |website=[[Maryland Terrapins men's soccer|Maryland Terrapins]] |access-date=April 28, 2025 |date=January 27, 1998}}</ref> | death_date = | death_place = | height = {{height|ft=6|in=1}} | position = [[Midfielder]] | collegeyears1 = 1996–1997 | college1 = [[Maryland Terrapins men's soccer|Maryland Terrapins]] | years1 = 1998–2001 | clubs1 = [[D.C. United]] | caps1 = 26 | goals1 = 2 | years2 = 1998–2000 | clubs2 = → [[MLS Pro-40]] (loan) | caps2 = 28 | goals2 = 1 | years3 = 2001 | clubs3 = [[Charleston Battery]] | caps3 = 5 | goals3 = 0 | years4 = 2001 | clubs4 = → [[Miami Fusion]] (loan) | caps4 = 1 | goals4 = 0 | years5 = 2001 | clubs5 = [[Milwaukee Rampage]] | caps5 = | goals5 = | years6 = 2002 | clubs6 = [[Atlanta Silverbacks]] | caps6 = | goals6 = | years7 = 2003 | clubs7 = [[Syracuse Salty Dogs]] | caps7 = 16 | goals7 = 0 | nationalyears1 = | nationalteam1 = [[United States men's national under-17 soccer team|United States U17]] | nationalcaps1 = 4 | nationalgoals1 = 4 | nationalyears2 = | nationalteam2 = [[United States men's national under-23 soccer team|United States U23]] | nationalcaps2 = | nationalgoals2 = | manageryears1 = 2008–2017 | managerclubs1 = [[D.C. United Academy|D.C. United U-18]] }} '''Judah Cooks''' is an American retired [[soccer]] [[midfielder]] and former coach of the [[D.C. United Academy]] U-18 team. He played professionally in [[Major League Soccer]] and the [[USL A-League]] and was a member of the [[United States men's national under-17 soccer team]] at the [[1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship]].
==Youth== Cooks graduated from [[Walt Whitman High School (Bethesda, Maryland)|Walt Whitman High School]] where he was a two-time high school All-American soccer player.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://nscaa.com/alltime-detail-hs.php?it=II&yr=1993 |title=1993 High School All Americans |access-date=2011-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218163421/http://nscaa.com/alltime-detail-hs.php?it=II&yr=1993 |archive-date=2010-12-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://nscaa.com/alltime-detail-hs.php?it=II&yr=1994 |title=1994 High School All Americans |access-date=2011-08-07 |archive-date=2011-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002043414/http://nscaa.com/alltime-detail-hs.php?it=II&yr=1994 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In addition to his outstanding high school career, Cooks also played all four games for the [[United States men's national under-17 soccer team]] at the [[1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship]], scoring four goals. Cooks signed a letter of intent to attend and play soccer at [[Rutgers University]]. In the fall of 1995, Cooks entered the [[University of Maryland]]. Cooks played two seasons with the Terps (1996–1997) before leaving school early to turn professional.<ref>[http://www.umterps.com/sports/m-soccer/history/all-time_roster.html Maryland Terrapins All Time Roster] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027162459/http://www.umterps.com/sports/m-soccer/history/all-time_roster.html |date=2011-10-27 }}</ref> His younger brother [[Micah Cooks]] also played professionally at [[D.C. United]], both of them playing on the same team from 2000 through 2001.
==Professional== In January 1998, Cooks signed a [[Project-40]] contract with [[Major League Soccer]]. The league then placed him with [[D.C. United]].<ref>[https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-58330959 Maryland’s Cooks assigned to D.C. United by Project 40]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 1998 and 1999, Cooks played for both Project 40 in the [[USISL A-League]] and D.C. United in MLS. On May 4, 2001, United waived Cooks.<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/mls/transactions.htm 2001 Transactions]</ref> He signed with the [[Charleston Battery]] of the USL A-League. In June 2001, the Battery sent him on loan to the [[Miami Fusion]] for one game.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120709050550/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2001-06-30/news/0106300143_1_ray-hudson-fusion-orange-bowl Orange Bowl Aura Thrills Coach, Team]</ref> Cooks played five games for the Battery, then moved to the [[Milwaukee Rampage]] at the end of the season. In 2002, he played for the [[Atlanta Silverbacks]] and in 2003 for the [[Syracuse Salty Dogs]].
== Coaching == In February 2017, Cooks joined Washington Capital United as the technical director of coaching after serving as coaching at Weston FC in Florida.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Unger |first=Evan |date=2020-11-19 |title=Player to Coach: Judah Cooks |url=https://www.edpsoccer.com/news_article/show/1133420-player-to-coach-judah-cooks |access-date=2022-07-19 |website=EDP Soccer |language=en-us }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>http://capitalfc.org/news/2017/1/9/capitalfc-welcomes-judah-cooks-as-new-technical-director-of-coaching {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref>
In March 2024, Cooks was hired as the head coach at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, MD.<ref>https://demathastagline.com/5856/sports/transition-from-coach-quinn-to-coach-cooks/</ref>
==Honours==
===Club=== '''D.C. United''' *[[MLS Cup]]: [[MLS Cup|1999]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20101205215010/http://www.dcunited.com/player/judah-cooks D.C. United: Judah Cooks] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20111025173035/http://www.charlestonbattery.com/history_pregister.asp?pid=30 Charleston Battery: Judah Cooks] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090314073907/http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/players/player=195131/index.html FIFA: Judah Cooks] * [http://capitalfc.org/news/2017/1/9/capitalfc-welcomes-judah-cooks-as-new-technical-director-of-coaching]{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooks, Judah}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:1976 births]] [[Category:Sportspeople from Bethesda, Maryland]] [[Category:Soccer players from Montgomery County, Maryland]] [[Category:American soccer coaches]] [[Category:American men's soccer players]] [[Category:Atlanta Silverbacks FC players]] [[Category:Charleston Battery players]] [[Category:D.C. United players]] [[Category:Major League Soccer players]] [[Category:Miami Fusion players]] [[Category:Milwaukee Rampage players]] [[Category:Maryland Terrapins men's soccer players]] [[Category:Syracuse Salty Dogs players]] [[Category:A-League (1995–2004) players]] [[Category:United States men's youth international soccer players]] [[Category:MLS Pro-40 players]] [[Category:D.C. United non-playing staff]] [[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]