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"And now he’s ready to tell anybody who cares to listen, in the hope that others may learn from his example, seek help, and avoid the kind of darkness he experienced."
- Local Sports Journal
Nobody Would Have Known
As a high school athlete David Ingles lettered in four different sports but thrived on the basketball court, where he was All State his junior and senior years. He earned a scholarship to play at the college level but his career was cut short due to injury.
He then began his coaching career which has now spanned over 22 years. In that time he has had some amazing highlights:
- Assistant Men's Basketball Coach at Western Michigan University
- 2012 MHSAA Final Four with his Muskegon Catholic Central team
- 2017/18 Kent City Varsity team went 20-0
- Numerous Conference and District Titles
- Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Regional Coach of the Year
- MLive Boys Basketball Coach of the Year
Along with coaching David spent time as an Athletic Director, Dean of Students and a Recreation Director. The professional side of his life was going great.
David's family life was going very well too. He married his wife Pamela in 1994. She is an early elementary teacher and had great success in coaching high school competitive cheer. They had a daughter, Marleigh, in 2007. Everything appeared to be perfect.
Little did anyone know that David was struggling with severe depression. It led him to the brink of suicide in the fall of 2017. He would have been another one of those cases where everyone would have said "I had no idea he was struggling". He is now sharing his story of hiding his depression from everyone, including his wife and daughter, and how a simple phone call saved his life.
GUEST SPEAKING
After years of suffering from depression, isolation, and pain, Kent City high school coach Dave Ingles is opening up about his struggles, and sharing his story with anyone willing to listen.
There are reportedly 123 suicides per day! That is a sad and scary number. Coach Ingles is on a mission to reach as many people as he can. Take a moment and contact him about coming and sharing his powerful message with you and your group.
Kent City Principal Bill Crane had Coach Ingles speak to the entire student body at his high school and middle school, this is what he said:
"Amazing person, amazing story and an amazing assembly"
