OUR TEAM
PHIL HARKER
Owner/ Head Coach
Aka “Coach Phil” is a Black Belt under Jim and Dylan Whyte. He has been involved in combat sports for most of his adult life. His journey began with high school wrestling that quickly transitioned into a full-time jiu-jitsu commitment at Renzo Gracie Weston in South Florida. After high school, he brought his talents to Tallahassee to attend FSU and begin a career in Amateur MMA. He represented Capital City Combat Club (Josh Samman) banner in a few fights in the Combat Night Promotion before returning to full-time Jiu Jitsu. Professionally he works as a Head Coach at Orangetheory® and is a Personal Trainer at Premier Health & Fitness Center. He has done over 4,000+ classes and Personal training sessions and uses that experience while teaching on the mats. Coach Phil’s style of teaching is easily digestible by all skill levels. His attention to detail and high energy create a safe and successful experience for all Higher Performance students.
BRETT HOTCHKISS
Coach
Coach Brett has trained in various martial arts during his lifetime from TKD (Tae Kwon Do) to MCMAP (Marine Corp Martial Arts Program), as well as wrestling, kickboxing and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). He has also dabbled in various others.
He started his journey in BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) in September of 2018. He is currently a purple belt under Josh Harper of Higher Performance Jiu Jitsu. He has helped with the chimps program since 2018. His daughter, Briley, and his son, Emmett have been training at HPJJ since 2018 as well. That was what initially reignited his passion for the martial arts, getting to spend time with his children, and learn alongside them. He enjoys working with the chimps and watching them learn this amazing art.
Brett is a fulltime firefighter with the City of Cairo Fire Department since 2017. He has a loving and supportive wife who occasionally trains at HPJJ as well. Whom without he would never be where he is today. She supports him in his many jobs and endeavors, and does so wonderfully.
He enjoys learning and encouraging others in their journey with jiu jitsu. Brett has competed along with his children at several competitions. He is thankful for the opportunity to work with people in discovering what they can do in BJJ.
BRAD HOARD
No Gi Wrestling Coach
Coach Brad Hoard started wrestling in 1982 at North Davie MS in North Carolina. He was a 4 year varsity wrestler at Lincoln High School and wrestled 1 year for Campbell University. Brad was the Head Coach for Lincoln High School in the 1991-1992 season before leaving the sport for some years. In 2007, Brad joined the coaching staff at Chiles High School as an assistant coach. Brad has coached multiple region champions and state placers both boys and girls. Brad specializes in utilizing height and leverage from all positions of wrestling. His coaching style is hard-nosed with a strong focus on details and persistence. He demands a lot from his athletes, and they grow to love the extra push they receive from him.
JACOB JOHNSTON
Coach
Jacob is 17 and has been involved in combat sports for most of his life. He started jiu-jitsu at the age of 5 and transitioned into judo after a year of training. He earned an orange belt after multiple competitions before coming back to jiu-jitsu. Since then he has gone through every kids belt, white through green, and competed and won multiple titles in both kid and adult brackets at each belt. When Jacob got to high school he trained wrestling for the first time which further elevated his jiu-jitsu and athleticism. Recently, he has competed mostly in the ADCC circuit where he has placed in or won multiple divisions with notable wins and close matches over world champions and a total submission rate of 76 percent.
CHARLIE SMITH
Kids Coach
Coach Charlie is a high school student who LOVES helping our kid's jiu-jitsu program. He is currently enrolled in the JROTC program and likes to use his free time working on his truck.