The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Potter Joins Track & Field Staff
9/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Reava Potter joins the UAB track and field coaching staff after spending the past three seasons at Bethune-Cookman. Potter will be coaching the jump and multi-event student-athletes under the direction of head coach Kurt Thomas.
"I look forward to helping lead this program and have the best showings as possible at every meet," said Potter. "I want to contribute to bringing conference championships, regional and national qualifiers to UAB with the jumpers and multi-event student-athletes that I will be working with. I am truly excited about the opportunity to be here, and I am ready to jump right in and start coaching."
While with the Wildcats, the multi-event, vertical jump and women's throws athletes aided the team in its first-ever men's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Outdoor Championship and a MEAC men's Indoor Runner-Up finish. In the 2013-14 season, athletes under Potter's charge proved to be significant scorers at both the Indoor and Outdoor Championships, contributing to the Wildcats' program-high finish on the men's side, as Indoor MEAC Runner-up and Outdoor MEAC Champions.
"I am thrilled to announce the hiring of Reava onto our staff. She was very impressive on her interview and shared the same goals for our team that we already have," said Thomas. "Her background in the multi-events and jumps immediately makes her a great fit for our team. We are already four weeks into training, so there will be some adaptation to the athletes and vice versa, but Coach Potter seems so focused that it will be a great fit all the way around. Our athletes are in good hands."
Six student-athletes earned All-MEAC honors under Potter's watch, in addition to 2013-14 conference titles for Deidra Jordan (indoor pentathlon), Ed'Ricus Williams (indoor high jump), Keron Stoute (indoor heptathlon) and Nnamdi Davis (outdoor decathlon). Williams finished the indoor season ranked 30th nationally in the high jump and progressed through the outdoor season to rank in a 17th-place tie nationally in the 2013-14 outdoor standings. In her first season with Bethune-Cookman, she guided Martin Embry III to a MEAC outdoor title in the decathlon.
In the fall of 2013, Potter was selected to receive a grant from the United States Olympic Committee (OSOC) and attend the USOC's Ethnic and Minority Women in Coaching Leadership Conference (EMWICL) in Colorado.
A USA Track & Field Level I Certified Coach with a Level II Certification in Jumps, Potter spent seven months working with the Bears at Shaw University as an assistant coach in both track & field and cross country, joining the staff as part of the NCAA Division II Coaching Enhancement program. In addition to her coaching role, she worked as an administrator with Shaw's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Potter also received a U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Academy scholarship as an assistant coach.
Before Shaw, Potter was at her alma mater, Temple, where she worked as a graduate assistant after completing her competition eligibility. During her two seasons as a GA, her coaching emphasis was in sprints, hurdles, jumps and multi-events. Potter graduated with a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology in 2010, serving as the Owls' student assistant coach that same year.
A four-year letter winner in track at Temple, Potter competed in the heptathlon, 400-meter hurdles, 800 meter run and the triple jump. She also served as the head of the fundraising committee for Temple's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
After completing the initial parts of the degree at Temple, she is continuing work toward her Master's Degree in Sport from the U.S. Sports Academy.
