Earlier this week, Line Drive Softball released our 2024 PGF Ultimate Challenge All-Tournament Team and one of the 14U talents that made the list was Taylor Cook, the pitcher for the Grapettes who impressed with her spins at the tourney held earlier this month in Salinas, Calif.

The fact that Taylor is able to play at such a high level and succeed is an amazing story of perseverance and a “never quit” attitude—despite the fact that next week the young athlete will undergo her 39^th surgery (Nov. 20) … and she doesn’t turn 15 until January.

A freshman at Petaluma (Calif.) High School, Taylor has been in and out of the hospital since she was just seven months old with a rare lung disease as well as different motility (digestive system) diseases.

Because of everything she has going on, the teen is dependent on IV nutrition, which is why she has a permanent IV in her chest (a central line) as well as a feeding tube, but that hasn’t stopped her from accomplishing admirable achievements on and off the fields.

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Major Health Scares

It hasn’t been easy, however, as there have been some major health scares over the last three years.

“Taylor has almost passed away twice,” her mother Nicole begins, “in July of 2021 from bacterial meningitis and this past July (2024) from septic shock. Taylor has been septic too many times to count but this one time started affecting her organs.”

The young athlete was forced to become a pitcher only when she was 10 years old because of her medical conditions; today, she isn’t able to run or dive and hitting is hard for her core.

She has had three surgeries on her ankles and, per Taylor’s mom, benefits from having Sports Medicine orthopedic surgeon Nirav Pandya oversee all softball-related activities and how they impact her.

“He is fantastic and is really doing everything he can on his end to keep her out on the field.”

Frustratingly, it seems the pitcher will take two steps forward and then one step back due to the health complications.

For example, Taylor was having a strong Fall campaign until she developed microfractures in her elbow and was out for four weeks. She was cleared the day before the start of the PGF Shootout at the end of October but struggled in her return before impressing at the PGF Ultimate Challenge.

Aside from the Shootout, Taylor has compiled a 2.00 ERA and 1.4 WHIP. She is tiny and has a lot against her but is effective thanks to a “really dirty change-up at 36 mph,” per her mom, which makes her mid-to-high 50’s throws seem even faster.

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Second Generation Stick-&-Ball Successes

You don’t have to look far to see where Taylor gets her skills on the softball field: her father, Cameron Cook, and her mother both played at the college level.

Dad signed with Sonoma State for baseball and helped the school advance to the D2 World Series twice and Regionals the other two years. It was through Nicole’s uncle, a long-time baseball coach at Sonoma State, that Taylor’s parents met.

Mom was also talented on the fields and was offered scholarships to Sonoma State and Southwest Minnesota State but started at Napa Valley College. A catcher and second baseman, she accepted an offer to San Francisco State as a junior but found out a month later she was pregnant with Taylor, putting an end to her playing career.

The proud parents have two younger sons, Jaxson (age 8) and Roy (6), and Cameron and Nicole are active in all their kids’ sports endeavors.

“Our family’s life has largely been centered around softball for the last seven years coaching teams with and without Taylor on them,” the father of three explains. “Our two boys have practically grown up at the fields and many families and players have become like a second family to our own.”

“I am very grateful for how much my relationship with Taylor has grown through softball,” Cameron continues.

“Being able to help her develop in the game daily has been amazing. Sports are a great teacher for many life lessons. and I am grateful to be there both on and off the field. The time we spend driving to and from practices and games, working at home, or at lessons is a huge part of our relationship and something I really try to appreciate.”

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Softball’s Benefits for Taylor & Family

Today, Nicole is the head coach of the Grapettes 14U squad and, previously, the former college softball player had a separate team for five years but time pressures with the two softball teams and the boys’ travel soccer forced her to cut back to just heading the NorCal-based travel team..

“This is my first time ever coaching Taylor,” Nicole says. “We sadly stopped my previous team, found the girls all great homes, and then we put together this team just a few months ago. My husband coaches with me and, for Taylor, she’s holding her own, works really hard and holds herself accountable.”

“Softball is the only sense of normalcy she has had in her life and we are thankful for the team we built that has her back and for the physicians she’s had her entire life that keep her going!”

The high schooler’s parents say they are so blessed to be able to use softball as a mechanism to help Taylor develop on and off the field.

“I explain daily to people who think we are crazy for all the playing and traveling we do that softball has brought a different kind of joy to our lives with being able to see Taylor thrive,” Nicole explains.

“At home, Taylor physically battles every day to get up and out the door, but when it’s time for softball, although she still has to battle how she’s feeling in the dirt, it’s the one thing she’s excited for.”

“On the softball field, she doesn’t have to deal with doctors, the adrenaline helps with the pain, her teammates keep her motivated and it’s time we get to spend all together every weekend.”

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Appreciating the Little Things

It’s the little things, Nicole adds, that make the softball experiences all worth it.

“The car rides together as a family and the game breaks together… our family really holds onto and cherishes these since we really don’t know what life will hand us each day, or even each hour.”

To illustrate how quickly things can change, the mom recalls a scary incident that happened just four months ago.

Taylor was asked to guest play in a tournament in July and had a strong day with 16 strikeouts in eight innings pitched but by nightfall, the situation flipped quickly.

“When we got home that night,” the athlete’s mother recalls, “Taylor had a 105 fever, and we rushed her to the hospital. She was in septic shock so having that time together, that day, was something I held onto in that moment, while she fought to live.”

“Softball is just a sport to most, but it’s been the most incredible experience for us as a family to have this time together with her.”

“We asked a doctor one time what they do with kids like Taylor (for school) and his response was: ‘We don’t have a kid like Taylor that goes to school… they homeschool and don’t get to play a sport.’”

“As a family, we will do whatever we can to keep her quality of life as the main focus and keeping her able to be out there and do what she loves. Everyone has her back!”

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“All I Want to Do Is Compete”

And how does Taylor herself manage the ups and downs of her health battles?

“I try not to focus–or have other people focus—on my medical issues and I won’t ever let my medical situation define me,” she says strongly.

“On the field and in that circle is where I am able to really be myself and all I want to do is compete with my team.”

“Whenever I am out, my focus is on how soon I can get back out there and what I want to do the second I’m cleared to come back. My coaches and my teammates are my family, and my biggest drive is to always be my best self out there.”

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball