Cooksey’s comeback: From injury to inspiration

When life dealt her a crippling blow, Delaney Cooksey refused to let adversity steal her spirit.

Now, as a sophomore cheerleader at Southeast Missouri State University, she defies gravity with each soaring leap, turning setbacks into comebacks and proving that resilience is the ultimate game-changer.

“Being back on a cheer team now is indescribable,” Cooksey said. “I walk into practice and I am immediately filled with joy. My team is like another family to me. This experience has humbled me in more ways than one. The determination to go back to doing something you love can be very overwhelming because you want to give your all every moment you can. Pursuing your dreams makes you never want to give up on anything you do. I believe that everything happens for a reason. That said, a minor setback for a major comeback was definitely in my near future once I was injured.”

Delaney Cooksey and former NMCC coach Jordan York stand for a photo at the state competition in 2021. (Photo courtesy of Delaney Cooksey)

During her senior year at New Madrid County Central, Cooksey suffered a mysterious injury.

“It was around the time we finally had our routine together for state and all we were doing was perfecting it,” she said. “I cannot recall exactly what I was doing when I injured myself. It was just a combination of landing too hard the wrong way after tumbling and experimenting with different stunts, flying, and backspotting.”

Despite the excruciating pain she endured, Cooksey exhibited incredible strength and courage, pushing through the discomfort to compete at the state meet. However, recognizing the severity of her injury, she sought medical attention the very next day, prioritizing her long-term health and well-being.

“When I competed at the state meet it was like nothing else mattered,” she said. “The adrenaline running through my body overpowered any pain, but [the next day] I immediately went to the doctor because I was in so much pain. The doctor just figured it was scoliosis, but still took X-rays and immediately referred me to the Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. I traveled to St. Louis a few days later to find out that I had a stress fracture on my L4 and L5 spinal bones. The doctor said it would heal over time, but that was with physical therapy and no cheering for the rest of the year.”

And just like that, Cooksey’s high school cheerleading career came to a screeching halt, as if the final curtain had fallen right in the middle of a captivating performance.

“Losing [Cooksey] was tough because she was someone the underclassmen looked to when they couldn’t figure something out,” said former NMCC cheerleading coach Jordan York. “However, she was still there, she was still leading it was just from a different point of view. My biggest two concerns were that she would lose her passion for the sport or it would affect her collegiate aspirations, [Cooksey] was a leader her senior year and she continued that even after her injury.

“She would come to practice and help me coach and she would sit on the sidelines at games and lead the student section,” York continued. “I never wanted her to feel like she wasn’t a part of the team due to her injury. I continued to check in with her and with the doctor’s appointment she had. It was tough to lose such an integral part of the squad but she did lead us to a second-place finish at state.”

After bidding farewell to high school and facing an uncertain future regarding cheerleading, Cooksey embarked on her freshmen year of college at Lindenwood University.

“After my injury, I just thought to myself, ‘Would I ever be able to cheer again?’,” she said. “No emotions set in until I wanted to try out for the SEMO Cheerleading team the following May. I was still doing physical therapy and trying to practice on my own time, but I would still be in pain if I moved a certain way. I still wasn’t cleared either, so that is what upset me. This is when I bawled like a little baby. I just knew my cheerleading career was over. Since I wasn’t able to cheer my freshman year of college, I wanted a change of scenery. Therefore, I decided last minute to enroll at Lindenwood University.

“My coping stage started in my freshman year of college,” she continued. “Going to Lindenwood was a great distraction, even though I was very envious of their cheerleading team. Living in the city gave me great opportunities and distractions to get my mind off of cheerleading. I will say that there were a couple of people who kept me motivated during this challenging time, my high school coach, Jordan York, and my tumbling coach, Mike Darter. I always came home to watch the high school football games where I would see Coach Jordan and she would always welcome me with open arms. Coach Mike would always allow me to come to the gym and work on getting my tumbling back. He never sugarcoated anything, but he always reassured me, gave me advice and also pushed me to be better than I was before.”

Cooksey tirelessly poured her heart into regaining her strength, going above and beyond her physical therapy sessions, until she was cleared to return to the sport that she adores.

“The emotions were high once I was finally cleared,” Cooksey said. “I couldn’t wait to get back into the gym. Going to the gym was like a stress reliever for me, a different form of therapy. My favorite part about cheerleading is definitely tumbling, so I was back in the gym less than a week after I was cleared.”

Eager to test her prowess once more, Cooksey embraced a fresh chapter by trying out for the SEMO Cheer Team, ready to show that her spirit and skills were still as vibrant as ever.

“The amount of support that I received from my family and friends was astronomical,” she said. “My whole family loved watching me cheer, and I felt like I had let them down once I was injured. My mom was always trying to find a way for me to cheer again by sending links to different cheer clinics or tumbling gyms in my area. My friends at Lindenwood were so happy for me when I told them I was planning on trying out at SEMO. They weren’t upset that I would possibly be transferring. They all knew how much cheerleading meant to me. Their encouragement impacted my motivation because I did not want to let them down again.”

Cooksey confessed that deep down, she never anticipated the chance to cheer again, making her triumphant return to the world of cheerleading all the more miraculous and heartwarming.

“It was very stressful while trying out for the SEMO Cheerleading team,” she said. “I attended a clinic in March and was very upset when I left. I enjoyed being able to cheer again, but I was still not at my greatest potential. I had a mental block the whole day. I was scared to do anything because I didn’t want to risk injuring myself again. Tryouts for the team were about a couple of weeks later, and I just left everything out there. All of my worries, stress, and doubts disappeared as soon as I stepped foot on the mats. The process of tryouts was stressful because there were two different sessions where you could get cut. I ended up making it past the cuts and made the cheerleading team. This was the moment I knew I should never doubt myself ever again.”

Cooksey has shown unparalleled determination and mental toughness throughout the process.

“[Cooksey] worked her tail off to be where she is at right now, cheering at a Division-1 school,” York said. “She spent hours learning tryout material and perfecting it. She is never satisfied with being good she wants to be great and she works for it. She is the type of athlete that you want on your team.”

SEMO (2-4) returns to action on the road at Tennessee Tech (2-4) on Saturday, October 21.

Fans can catch Cooksey in action when the Redhawks return home for a date with Robert Morris (2-5) on Saturday, November 4.

Reflecting on her journey, Cooksey offered valuable advice to those who have faced setbacks or injuries in sports.

“Stay humble throughout the process,” she said. “Never give up on your hopes and dreams. Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do something, because you always can. Always work for what you want. The process might lead you down a long winding road, but it’ll straighten up when you do.”