Meet the team behind the mats.

John Brattelli coaches No-Gi jiu-jitsu at both Apex academies. In Ashburn he is Head Coach for No-Gi, striking, and MMA, teaching the Boxing, Muay Thai, and MMA classes; in Sterling he is Head No-Gi Instructor. He is ranked #1 in the world in No-Gi by the IBJJF, has won more than 10 IBJJF international open titles, and is a 2015 world champion. Alongside his grappling, he brings more than 25 years of boxing experience to the mat. His classes are known for technical depth, focused live drilling, and skills that hold up in competition, and he builds technical, competition-ready students at every level. John is also the parent and coach of three world champions, so youth development is part of how he coaches, and he led the 2026 Kids Summer Program at the Ashburn academy. Competition is always optional at Apex, and new students can start with a free class at either academy.

Dan Scanlan is Head Wrestling Coach at the Ashburn academy. He was the 2008 NCAA Division II national champion and a 2012 national finalist, and across 17 years of coaching he has developed more than 20 Virginia state champions. Dan builds grit, takedown power, and mat IQ in wrestlers from kids to adults. Ashburn wrestling runs four tracks: Beginner for ages 4 to 13, Advanced by coach invitation through middle school, High School for ages 14 and up, and Adult on weekends. The program covers folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman, with folkstyle for the school season and freestyle and Greco-Roman in the off-season, all under one roof. Competition is optional and never forced. Wrestlers who choose it work on match simulation, tournament strategy, weight management education, and the mental game, with team travel to regional events.

Jamil Hill-Taylor is a jiu-jitsu black belt with more than 20 years on the mats. He is Head Instructor at the Sterling academy, where he teaches in the gi program, and he coaches jiu-jitsu at the Ashburn academy, where every jiu-jitsu class is No-Gi. He is an IBJJF world champion and competed at ADCC in 2019, so his students learn from a coach who has tested his game against the best grapplers in the sport. His teaching centers on technical precision, strategic thinking, and personal growth, and he coaches students of every level. Jamil also brings more than 15 years of experience working with young athletes in martial arts camps, and he led the 2026 Apex Kids Summer Program in Sterling, a program that echoes his own start in a jiu-jitsu summer camp. Families from the summer program may know him as Coach Shane. His guiding idea is simple: every student has a champion inside them, and his job is to help them find it.

Steven Robertson coaches No-Gi jiu-jitsu at the Ashburn academy, where every jiu-jitsu class is No-Gi. He is the #2-ranked No-Gi heavyweight in the world and the 2022 No-Gi Pan champion, with more than 10 years in jiu-jitsu. Steven pairs that competition record with patient, detail-focused instruction, which helps newer students as much as experienced ones. A class at Ashburn follows a clear structure: a warm-up, technique instruction, drilling with a partner, and live practice, which is optional for beginners. Sparring is always optional, and when students are ready, coaches pair them with experienced training partners who know how to work safely with newer students. Adults new to the sport at Ashburn start in Beginners No-Gi Grappling, a 45-minute class, and build from there. Apex keeps one coaching standard across both academies, so the details Steven teaches match what students learn wherever they train.

Lyndon Yates coaches No-Gi jiu-jitsu at the Ashburn academy, where every jiu-jitsu class is No-Gi. He is an active No-Gi competitor ranked in the global top 15 by the IBJJF, and he brings that current, competition-tested grappling straight to his students. Because he is still competing, the positions and details he teaches reflect how the sport is played today. Classes at Ashburn move through a warm-up, technique instruction, drilling with a partner, and live practice, which is optional for beginners, so no one is thrown in to figure it out alone. Sparring is always optional, and coaches pair newer students with experienced training partners when they are ready. Apex runs an active BJJ competition team for students who want to compete, with specialized drilling, extra mat time, and competition strategy, and competition is always a choice, never a requirement.

Jay LaValley, known as Jo, coaches freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling at the Ashburn academy. In 2018 he started JO Wrestling, a year-round Olympic-style training program, in response to the lack of international Olympic training opportunities in the United States. It is one of fewer than five year-round Olympic-style programs in the country. Based in the Washington, DC area, Jay draws on years of training alongside strong athletes, competing, and learning from respected coaches, and his first priority is developing strong, healthy athletes who become effective leaders. At Ashburn, wrestlers get folkstyle for the school season and freestyle and Greco-Roman in the off-season, all under one roof, and Beginner Wrestling introduces all three styles gradually from age 4. Training all three styles builds a more complete wrestler, and that idea sits at the center of how Jay coaches.

Dalash coaches at both Apex academies. He is Head MMA Instructor at the Sterling academy, and at the Ashburn academy he helps coach MMA. A professional MMA fighter, he has more than 20 years of experience across combat sambo, wrestling, and MMA, and he draws on all three when he teaches. Combat sambo is part of his own background rather than a separate class on either schedule. Dalash is a native of the Pamir region of Tajikistan and came to the United States to pursue his goal of developing world champions, and he coaches with that intent. Apex runs active competition teams in BJJ and MMA, and his experience as a working fighter helps students who choose to compete prepare with specialized drilling, extra mat time, and competition strategy. Competition is always optional, and so is sparring: coaches pair newer students with experienced training partners when they are ready.