Coaches

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Jamie McGrath

Jamie is the owner of Southpaw Training Center and Live Free Organic in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Highlights of her boxing career include winning The New York Daily News Golden Gloves in 1998, 1999, and 2000; winning 6 Nationals Titles, Blue and Gold Tournament, Empire State Games, and many more. 

Jamie was part of the first-ever US Woman’s National Team, where she took gold in Finland, stopping all three opponents in the first round! 

Jamie made her come back to the ring after 17 years, on July 30th, 2022. She stopped her opponent in the second round. She continued her journey of fighting on November 5th with a first-round knockout. 

  Jamie lives in Charlotte with her three children, Samantha, Sean, and Chase.

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.  

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!

Zadih Kadima

I’m Chris “The Viking” Tkaczyk and I believe it’s never too late to become what you might have been. Health and wellness have been a lifelong passion and I love seeing others around me conquer their fears and achieve their goals. I have over a decade of experience as a personal trainer, Trigger point, and deep tissue specialist, and have ten years of experience working in physical therapy in a hospital environment. I have 5 years of experience teaching Rock steady boxing to people with Parkinson’s. I’m also a professional boxer, fight promoter, and ring announcer, and look forward to seeing you at SOUTHPAW TRAINING CENTER!  

Coach Jay-

Born in the Bronx, New York.

Raised in Yonkers, New York.

As a youth, Coach Jay competed in boxing competitions held in Juvenile Detention Centers where he served all his teenage years as property of New York State.

He stands on the popular statement that boxing saves more lives than it takes.

Coach Jay lives with a “Have Less, Do More” mentality.

He also states that in life you will never meet a tough time that is tougher than you.

Coach Jay Has resided in North Carolina for the last 3 years.

2 of those years were simply battling to stay alive due to a diagnosis of stage 3 cancer.

Coach Jay states with conviction that the discipline, structure, and mindset that boxing gives you is how he was able to make choices to flip a 4-month prognosis into lifelong progress. The Glory goes to His Higher Power at the end of the day but as humans, we are given choices to push through or tap out.

As a Coach, he has mentored and worked with pro fighter and former Walter weight champion Tony “2Sharp” Lee.

Coach Jay has a teenage daughter and a whole bunch of non-related children in communities that look to him for guidance as a male figure in life.

It takes a village to raise a child and a village to make a champion.

Be great!

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'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.

Pam Miler

Pam has been practicing yoga since 2002 and received her RYT-200 certification in 2013. A former middle school math teacher, she lives in Fort Mill with her husband, two teenagers, her rescue pup Mollie, and a saucy cat named Juliette. When not on the mat you'll find her running her bookkeeping company, knitting, reading, attempting to keep houseplants alive, and trying to be as close to a natural body of water as possible.

Pam says yoga is just one of many tools in her arsenal for dealing with the day to day stresses of life in addition to managing a diagnosed mood disorder and anxiety disorder. Meditation, time in nature, and focusing on creating a safe space for her family and students are paramount to her life’s purpose. 

As in all of our classes, with Pam you’ll feel welcomed, accepted, and safe to explore your practice. With an eye to alignment and injury prevention, Pam’s cues are detailed and she offers extensive modifications to accommodate injuries and beginners.

To quote Pam’s class closing: “May you be healthy, may you be happy, may you be safe, and may you love with ease.” We look forward to seeing you on the mat!