Coaches

Jamie McGrath

Meet Jamie, the inspiring owner of Southpaw Training Center and Live Free Organic in Charlotte, North Carolina. With an impressive boxing career, Jamie has won The New York Daily News Golden Gloves three times, six National Titles, the Blue and Gold Tournament, Empire State Games, and many more. She was also part of the first-ever US Women's National Team, where she took gold in Finland, stopping all three opponents in the first round! 

After a 17-year hiatus, Jamie made a comeback to the ring on July 30th, 2022, stopping her opponent in the second round. She continued her journey of fighting on November 5th with a first-round knockout and won the South Carolina State Belt on March 11th. 

Jamie is not only a fierce fighter but also a devoted mother to her three children, Samantha, Sean, and Chase. Her passion for boxing and commitment to a healthy lifestyle is evident in her businesses, where she helps others achieve their fitness goals.

Zadih Kadima

Julius Hamilton

Taiki Matsui

With over a decade of experience in the sport, Coach Taiki brings a global perspective to boxing. He began boxing at 15 and turned professional just 3 years later. His career has taken him around the world, training and fighting in Japan, Australia, Thailand, and the Philippines. As a coach, Taiki has worked with everyone from national champions and professional fighters to amateur athletes and fitness enthusiasts. His passion for the sport and dedication to his students make him a valued part of the Southpaw team.

George Katt

Coach Katt hails from Queens, NYC, and was raised in NYC. He is a certified USA Boxing coach and a certified trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), He comes from a lineage of boxing experience and has been training since childhood; both his grandfather and father were boxers in Europe. His experience ranges from amateur fighting, training with Golden Gloves fighters and coaches, helping Parkinson’s patients through boxing, kids and youth boxing, working in boxing roles on film & TV, to also working as a top boxing coach and class instructor for the luxury clubs Equinox Fitness in Manhattan. George has helped many individuals achieve their boxing and personal fitness goals.

Coach Katt’s passion about the sweet science of boxing is rooted in how it can help to enrich the lives of all types of people, like it did for him. Besides the health, fitness, and mental benefits, he also likes to focus on the members’ technique and growth.

Chris "The Viking" Tkaczyk

Mike Brooks

Ex-semi-professional soccer player who represented England at University level

Moved from England to the USA as a middle school Maths teacher

Enjoys coaching others and helping with their boxing and soccer development.

Goal is to stay fit and healthy through soccer and boxing for as long as possible!

Crystal Winfield

Crystal started at Southpaw Training Center over 4 years ago, as one of Coach Jamie's original clients. From coming one day each week to doing her first boxing boot camp, Crystal quickly fell in love with the sport and has been working out ever since. She lost 150 pounds, gained a new confidence, and became a Southpaw boxing coach almost 2 years ago. Her favorite thing about boxing is finding her own strength and helping other clients find theirs!

Crystal is also a pediatric registered nurse at a large local children's hospital.  

Sara Hill

Sara Hill has a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from East Carolina University where she received an education rich in biomechanics, exercise prescription, exercise testing, and program development. She grew up as a competitive dancer in the Charlotte area which was her foundation for pursuing a career in the fitness industry.

She is a Balanced Body certified Pilates instructior and has also been certified as an AFAA Certified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor. Over the years, she has also picked up TRX, Yoga, Zumba, and quite a few other certifications. Sara has worked in the Charlotte area fitness and wellness community for almost 20 years. She brings knowledge from all of these experiences and training as well as her passion for helping her clients to Southpaw Training Center for the last 4 years!

Fun fact about Sara: She loves to travel!! She has visited 15 different countries and can't wait to add more to the list!!

Courtney Gendron

Courtney's goal is to provide yoga to those that would otherwise not practice yoga. 

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Courtney (she/her/hers) has a background in dance and started her yoga practice in a  modern dance class warm-up without even realizing she was practicing yoga. She enjoyed the benefits of yoga and continued her practice at local DC studios until moving to Charlotte, NC. 

She continued her practice and in 2017, began to pursue her 200 Yoga Teacher Training Certification. She completed her 200 RYT in the Tantra Lineage, continued her training by completing a 300 hr Teacher training focused on social justice in 2021, certified in Mindfulness Meditation and is an Accessible Yoga Ambassador.

Noelle Herrera

Noelle wants to help individuals in their mental, emotional, and physical health journeys through the holistic practice of yoga. 

She was trained in the Tantra Lineage and is the first Southpaw Yoga Teacher Training program graduate. She has been practicing vinyasa yoga since 2010 and began focusing more on pranayama and meditation after experiencing postpartum anxiety in 2018. In 2021, deep stretch yoga proved extremely helpful in addressing physical trauma to her spine.

The practice of yoga has improved Noelle’s life so much that she wants to share it with others so they can improve theirs.

Heather Heather Banks-Blackburn