Cotter grew up in Kamloops, playing both curling and baseball as a youth. As a high school student, he won three provincial high school championships (1990, 1991, 1993). He won two provincial junior crowns, in 1990 and in 1995. At the 1990 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, he skipped the B.C. team to a 6-5 round robin record. This put them in a five-way tie for third place. They would be eliminated from the playoffs however, when they lost their first tie-breaker match to Nova Scotia's Brian Fowlie. Five years later in his last year of eligibility, Cotter was back, skipping the B.C. team at the 1995 Canadian Junior Curling Championships. This time, he would finish with a better, 7-4 record, but it was only good enough for fourth place, and they missed the playoffs.

After juniors, Cotter would team up with two-time world champion Pat Ryan. Cotter would throw fourth stones for the team, while Ryan called the shots. The team qualified for the 2005 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, where they went 5-4, missing the playoffs.

After playing with Ryan, Cotter joined up with Bob Ursel. Just like for the Ryan rink, Cotter would throw fourth stones, but let Ursel call the games. This rink won the provincial championship in 2008, qualifying them for the 2008 Tim Hortons Brier in Winnipeg. The team finished with a 7-4 round robin record, but lost to Ontario's Glenn Howard in the 3 vs. 4 playoff match.

Cotter would move up to the skip position for much of the 2010-11 season, while Ursel was nursing a knee injury. The team qualified for the 2011 Tim Hortons Brier without Ursel. They finished with a 4-7 record.

Ursel decided to not play for the following season, and Cotter took control as skip for the full season.

...
Wikipedia