MORROW, Ga. – A highly successful high school and college coach for 30 years, a former decorated student-athlete and a lifelong educator and member of the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame, Mark Potter has been many things – including someone who has done that while battling mental illness, which is a story he will share with Clayton State student-athletes on Wednesday, November 28.
 
Potter played both basketball and baseball at then Kansas Newman College in the 1980's before beginning a very successful coaching career. That has included restarting the basketball program at his alma mater, now Newman University, in 1998-99 and becoming its longest tenured and all-time winningest coach.
 
Along with that he helped guide the program from the NAIA ranks to a successful transition to NCAA Division II, with the latter featuring the program's first ever NCAA Tournament berth in 2012-13. That year his team was ranked as high as No. 14 in the national rankings and knocked off No. 2 Washburn.
 
Additionally, the impact of he and his family were recognized by Newman in 2013 as the Fugate Gym court was renamed the Potter Family Court.
 
He has positively impacted hundreds of young people over the course of his career and now, largely as a result of his own personal battle with severe depression throughout that time, continues that lifelong mission, just in another way.
 
In 2005 Potter knew something wasn't right. That season depression caused him to miss eight games and 25 practices and sent his life into a downward spiral. It is that experience, and subsequent victory over that debilitating disease, that has inspired him to become a keynote speaker.
 
That role has seen him speak to any manner of groups, organizations and institutions, sharing with them his personal battle and what he fought through to come out the other side. As passionate about his new calling as he was being a coach for more than 800 games, Potter hopes that his story will help people pursue treatment and find a way to live productively with mental illness.
 
To that end, he and his wife, Nanette, have formed their own company, d2up, which is dedicated to uncommon principles and taking an uncommon approach to the challenges that life presents.
 
An advocate for awareness and treatment of severe depression, Potter considers his battle with that disease, and the struggle to overcome it, as his "national championship" and now works to help others achieve theirs.
 
What Others Are Saying About Mark Potter
"My company invited Mark to speak at our most recent General Manager's Retreat where we bring all of our GM's in from all over the country for a two-day event to socialize, share experiences and grow both personally and professionally. I have heard from several of my team members since Mark spoke to our group, and all of them had 150% positive feedback about the time we spent with Mark and would love the opportunity to spend time with him again."
 - Nick J. Esterline, CCIM, S.E.C.
 
"Coach Mark Potter delivered a very powerful and very real account of his own struggles with depression. His story revealed that even the toughest and most successful individuals within our community are not immune to depression and anxiety. His story brought laughter and tears by both students and adults. His wife's perspective brought to the forefront, how depression affects the entire family, and can paralyze it, if it is ignored. The Potter's ability to deal with it, as family through prayer and therapy was both uplifting and inspiring."
 - Chris Bloomer, Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School Principal
 
"As an educator, the scariest thing I can imagine is pulling 750 students from class, putting them in an auditorium with a guest speaker and talking about depression, but that is exactly what we did and we tasked Coach Mark Potter with the responsibility of making it a success. Coach Potter's story about his battle with depression is compelling and his message to kids about getting help is appropriate, relevant and passionate. In my nine years in education, I have never seen a group of 750 kids more engaged with a guest speaker. More important than the talk, for us, was the outcome. I met with several students over the course of the next few weeks who stepped forward to advocate for help in their own struggle with depression. I would highly recommend Coach Potter to any high school that is willing to have the difficult discussion about mental health."
 - Adam Melichar, Maize South High School Counselor