Jeffrey started wrestling in the 4th grade for the Raiders Wrestling team, failing to qualify for the State Finals his Eighth Grade season with a 4th place finish at the Sectional Tournament. After the Raiders, he wrestled for one of the winningest high school coaches in the Nation, Charlie Farina. At Leyden High School Jeffrey wrestled two years on Varsity finishing up his Senior year as a State Quarter Finalist and a 34-7 record. The University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana, was the final stop in his career. He practiced with the Varsity team for three semesters, each semester earning All-Academic Big Ten Honors. During his fourth semester with the team, he decided to focus on academics and rehabilitating a back injury.
After graduating from the University of Illinois, Jeffrey decided to return to his roots and take over the Raiders Wrestling Club. With the former coaches starting a new team and the other coaches' kids graduating, the Raiders Wrestling Team that has been around since the late 1960's would have been extinct. The first priority for Jeffrey was to start recruiting wrestlers and even though it looked like no one would return to the team, that first year they had 25 wrestlers. The team consistently had 25 to 30 wrestlers, several years there were more than 40 wrestlers on the team. Each year, the Raiders qualified at least one wrestler for the state tournament. Former Raiders, during Jeffrey's tenure, have gone on to wrestle at 10 different high school teams.
The biggest reward for Jeff was to see kids who walked in the wrestling room with little self-confidence and physical fitness, walk out of the room their eighth grade year with self-confidence and more physically fit with a love of wrestling. After 9 seasons as head coach, he decided to return to school and obtain his MBA. He is currently helping promote wrestling by taking photos at major high school, college and international wrestling events. His photos have appeared in the Chicago Reader, WIN magazine, Amateur Wrestling News, IntermatWrestle.Com, RevWrestling.Com, and are featured in several high school wrestling websites.
Community Support
Since 1998 WrestlingGear.Com has given back to the wrestling community and local schools that have helped make the company a success. Jeff believes in giving back to those organizations and individuals that need some help to improve their quality of life.
Even with our advertising selections we have chosen to support local state websites, national websites, and individual club website.
We have built websites for organizations at or below cost so those organizations can give their members a place to find more info and interact with other wrestlers throughout the world. Also, Jeff has helped several wrestling organizations help develop their email and website programs to stay in touch with their members and friends of their program.
In 2006, WrestlingGear.Com started its work with the Smile Train, an organization that helps fix cleft lips worldwide. Jeffrey's first son Jackson was born with a cleft lip, which is a facial birth defect where the lip, nose, and mouth do not form properly during pregnancy. Jeff has help raise enough money for over 60 kids to have their cleft lip repaired outside the United States.
In 2009, Jeff was recognized as the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Organization as their "Man of the Year" award recipient for his contributions to the organization. Jeff helped create an email database, email newsletter, took countless photos, and improved their end of the year awards process.
In 2010, Jeff began speaking about e-commerce and running a business. During 2010 to 2012, Jeff spoke at several local Chamber of Commerce professional speaker seminars, 2 Internet Retailer Conventions (the largest Internet Commerce convention in the USA), and several WBR Research events including several Etails and their first Social Media Conference.
Finally, Jeff has donated countless hours giving back in the form of running a youth wrestling club for 9 years. Currently, Jeff is coaching his two sons Jackson and Alec with the Jr. Cougar Wrestling Club, based in Hoffman Estates.
Currently, Jeff lives with his wife, Nancy, and his three children, Dylan, Jackson, and Alec in Schaumburg, IL.
