I approach law enforcement training with two main goals in mind for the student.
1: To free up mental bandwidth by making solid performance fundamentals second nature, thereby increasing an officer’s ability to make the best decisions and utilize the best tactics possible.
2: To increase an officer’s survivability.
*For those who are interested in the option, or require that a trainer have prior experience as a law enforcement officer, adjunct instructor/combined classes can be arranged. I currently offer such classes in conjunction with my good friend, Rich Donaghe:
Sergeant Rich Donaghe
“Sergeant Rich Donaghe retired in January of 2022, as a Problem Response Team (PRT) Sergeant with the Albuquerque Police Department. During his 26-year career, Sgt. Donaghe worked for several organizations, ranging from Municipal, County and Federal Agencies. The majority of his service was in Patrol, working as an Officer/Deputy and Sergeant, he served as a member of LCPD and FPD SWAT teams and BCSO ERT Team. Sgt. Donaghe was also an FTO and FTO Sergeant for multiple agencies. He assisted in standing up LCPD’s Gang/Street Crimes Unit, has worked in different Traffic/DWI Units, and served as Range Master/Firearms Instructor with all these agencies.
Sgt. Donaghe has a long history as a competitive shooter and had the honor to be sponsored by various companies; including BMC Tactical, ARMASPEC, Whiskey Mountain Dynamics, Maverick Outfitters, MacTac and ERGO GRIP. He is still a very active in 3-Gun, IDPA and USPSA shooter. He has also appeared in several magazine articles, most recently the Police One (2019) and American Warrior (2017). Sgt. Donaghe has served as Co-Match Director for the nation’s largest NRA PPC/3-gun match and was the liaison for the NRA’s National PPC match for several years.
Sgt. Donaghe holds 2 Master’s Degrees: Instruction and Curriculum and History, from New Mexico State University. He attended his first Firearm’s Instructor School at Gunsite in 1998. He is currently a NMDPS certified Master Firearms Instructor. During his career Sgt. Donaghe has developed a number of courses ranging from Report Writing to Handgun Optics. He has been involved in the developing and implementing department policies for training, firearms and use of force for several agencies.
In 2012, Rich Donaghe started Up the Canyon Training, which has allowed him to share the knowledge and experience he has gained through his multifaceted career. Currently, Up the Canyon Training, offers a variety of firearms related training courses: Red Dot Optics, Concealed Carry, Low Light Conditions and Basic to Advance rifle, shotgun and handgun. Up the Canyon Training strives to make each course valuable training, an educational and rewarding experience and through practice, improving firearm skills, situational awareness and decision making.”
Ben Berling
Please summarize your overall opinion of the pistol class
“Overall it was really great, and I thought it helped show these guys what’s possible with the handgun and the skills that you can acquire -and that they should be striving to acquire- as police officers. I think everybody had a blast doing the competition stuff. Everything went well; it was well organized, well prepared, you had everything squared away ready to go. You guys gave really good feedback on how to improve their weapon manipulation and their skills, and I think that it’s so important for these guys as cops to see what’s possible, and then be given direction on how to get there. I think you guys did an excellent job of providing that.
I haven’t heard a single negative thing from anybody, everything’s been overwhelmingly positive. I think it really opened their eyes.
We’ve had a couple of people that were in that class that are signed up for a big all-steel match coming up next weekend actually. I think a big part of that is that they got to see more about what competition shooting is like in your class.”
In your opinion, was that class an effective and productive use of department time and funds?
“Absolutely, I think your instruction was great. I think it was wonderful the way you guys set everything up so that they just keep building those skills without having to give up a weekend or day off. They were getting excellent instruction and guidance from a couple of guys who know a lot about it, so it was definitely worth the time and the money.”
In your opinion, were your officers given the tools and information to be more effective with their pistols after that class, and were they given the tools during the class to continue to improve their own development moving forward?
“Absolutely; a bunch of guys have come up to me asking me for the drills that you gave to me, so now I can send that out to these guys to continue to work out on their own. They’ve definitely got stuff to move forward on and continue to grow on their own, and I think they were definitely given the tools in the class to be able to improve.”
Do you feel that your officers were given the tools and encouragement to achieve success during the course?
“Absolutely man, like I said you and your dad do such a great job of helping these guys, guiding them, the feedback you gave was excellent.
The instruction and guidance after every single run helped everybody when they went through the stage, or as we shot through the man-on-man drills there at the end. You guys gave personalized, specific, critiques and guidance to help improve the performance moving forward, so I thought that was really great.”
*Red dot-specific courses are available for all types of training offered.
*Boutique/individual classes are available for all types of training offered.
For more information on rates and scheduling, contact me: contact@gofastconcepts.com