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Coach Geoff

In 2001, Coach Geoff enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving as an infantryman with the 2 nd Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team Company out of Yorktown Naval Weapons Station Virginia. During his time of service, Coach Geoff began training in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP), where he earned the rank of Green Belt. Throughout his enlistment he deployed multiple times to the Middle East in support of both Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, as well as earning the rank of Sergeant prior to his separation from service in 2006.

After leaving the Marines, Coach Geoff began working for the Federal Bureau of Prisons as a Correctional Officer. He has since worked for the agency for 16 years, serving at three different prisons in conjunction with collateral duties as a Self Defense Instructor, Firearms Instructor, and National Tactical Skills Trainer. He currently serves as the Supervisor of Recreation at the Federal Correctional Institution in Greenville Illinois, where he holds the title of Squad Leader for their Special Operations Response Team.

Coach Geoff has been a student at Gracie Barra Collinsville since the school’s opening in April of 2022 under 2 nd degree Black Belt Professor Josh Cadenbach and he is the very first “in-house” promoted student and coach for our school. Coach Geoff routinely competes at local and state jiu-jitsu tournaments and has been spreading the teachings of Gracie Barra to his fellow law enforcement officers and his local community to continue recruitment and interest in the gym he considers his second home.