Coach Brad Jackson

 The Developing Years:  Brad started wrestling in 5th grade.   Won only 2 matches in 6th grade.  He attended Tyner Jr. High and Tyner High School.  His head coach at Tyner was Hardin Satterfield (the current Assistant Principal at Brainerd Middle School).  In 9th grade Coach Satterfield was ill and the temporary head coach became ill as well, so young Brad actually coached the team!  They 

Coach Jackson (right) with long-time friend and understudy Royce Gracie.

"High School" started in 10th Grade back in those "olden days," and Brad went 5-1 his Sophomore year as a backup to a Senior.  He placed 4th in the state at 145 his Junior year and was selected to the All-City team.   As a Senior, he took 3rd in the state and won the Central Invitational.  He recalls,

"I never won a tournament till then, but I placed in every tournament since 6th grade that I wrestled in.  My high school record was 69-11-2.  I have only been pinned one time in my life and that was in my last open tournament while I was in the Marines at the Michigan Open in Jan of 1988."

Recruited by UTC, he wrestled for them his freshman year, earning a starting role by the end of the year.  Then off to the Marines, where he wrestled  3 years (1986-88).  He made the All-Marine team all 3 years but was 3rd each year, missing the cutoff by one place for the inter-service tournament.  In 1988 Brad finished 3rd in the Northeastern Olympic qualifier in Greco-Roman at 149.5 and qualified for the 1988 Olympic Qualifier.  While with the Marines, Brad earned 3 Meritorious Masts and was an Honor graduate.  He missed Gulf War service by a single day.

Coaching:   Brad started coaching at Tyner High School in December of 1988, while he returned to school to get his degree in Social Sciences, and to be certified to teach History, Geography, Economics, Civics as well as Math.  He has coached nearly 20 different wrestlers who have placed in the state tournament at East Ridge and Tyner.  To date, 5 State Champions have developed under his coaching, including 2-time champion Charlie Ritchey.  His combined dual record at both schools (at the time of this writing) is approximately 185-90.  In 2000, Brad was named the North Georgia/SE Tennessee Coach of the Year.  In 2001, he was selected to coach Team TN as an assistant in the national Duals.  To develop younger wrestlers, he has run the Tyner Youth League, including a "star in the making:" 3-time State Champion Jason Finnell (McCallie).  Assisting Coach Goss with the East Ridge Middle School wrestling program has been a priority the past several years, which has earned 3 HCAC Championships recently.  What speaks the most about Coach Jackson is the fact that he has had the longest tenure of any wrestling coach at East Ridge, and continues to build the team each year.

Diversions:  Brad has coached football for East Ridge Middle School for 10 years, and won one championship and tied for another.  If wrestling hadn't been in his blood, he could have pursued one of 3 junior college baseball scholarships.