Carter was a four-year starter during his playing days at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School. His on-field and academic performance earned him a scholarship to the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. During his collegiate career as one of the university‘s prominent athletes playing along with future NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, he grew a passion for Exceptional Learning and the study of Psychology. Chris Carter graduated from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga with a B.S. in Exceptional Learning and a Master in Psychology from Lee University. In 2006 Chris became Chattanooga Tennessee's first African American Head Football Coach and GM of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) Tennessee RiverSharks.
Chris’s gift of coaching led him to Garinger High School in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2008. The football program at Garinger High School had a 5-year losing streak. As a determined head football coach, within 2 years, Chris led them to victory as the 4A Queen City Conference Champions. Chris was named ‘Coach of the Year’ by The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Coaches Association, and The Queen’s City Conference.
Garinger’s football program was on a five-season losing streak, including 60 consecutive losses when Carter became head coach. Within two seasons, he coached the program to the Class 4A Queen City Conference Championship.
Moving on to become head coach at Lake Marion in 2009, Carter was named the 2015 South Carolina High School League Class 2A Football Coach of the Year and the 2015 Times and Democrat Co-Coach of the Year as he led the Gators team to the program’s first Lower State Championship game. In seven years at Lake Marion, 20 graduating football players have signed with collegiate programs and two players have been ranked among the top three players in the state. Also, five Lake Marion football players have played in various all-star games. He trained and coached Mike Williams, the national champion wide receiver of the Clemson Tigers and the highest drafted player from Orangeburg County as the number 7 pick in the 2017 NFL draft and Alex Brown, a super bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs. Both born in Holly Hill SC.
Additionally, Carter helped increase the average grade-point average of his teams during his tenure at Lake Marion. Edisto High School hired Chris Carter from Lake Marion High School to become the athletic director and head football coach for the Cougars to turn around their winless football program. Carter has since stepped down from coaching to concentrate full-time on his athletic director duties. Carter has been a teacher and coach for over 20 years.
Carter is also the Regional Director of Grind University 247 an organization created to train future leaders through sports. Utilizing different components of the game to teach life skills to help equip the next young generation. www.grinduniversity24.com
