John Stawinski, ATC, MA, CSCS, ITAT
John has been a Certified Athletic Trainer for over 25 years. He is licensed by the State of Vermont and Certified by the National Athletic Trainers Association to provide rehabilitative services to active individuals.
He has worked at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid and has since been invited to travel internationally with Olympic teams. John has worked with Division I athletes in the Athletic Medicine Department at the University of Vermont for 12 years, and has been affiliated with the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers hockey teams.
John enjoys many outdoor activities, including kayak racing, power hiking and skiing. Most of all, he enjoys watching his three children participate in sports and dance.
- B.S. Northeastern University – Exercise Science/ Athletic Training
- M.A. San Diego State University – Exercise Science/Biomechanics
- ATC, 1991
- CSCS, 2001
- ITAT, 2014
Sheila C. Stawinski, MA, CSCS
Sheila received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Exercise Science in 1990 and her Master’s degree in Sport Psychology in 1993. Sheila has more than 25 years of experience in mental skills training with Olympic, National, Collegiate, and High School athletes. Her career began in Lake Placid, NY where she trained athletes from the Olympic Training Center, the National Sports Academy (NSA), the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), and Northwood School.
Since 1996, Sheila has served as the Sport Psychology Consultant at the University of Vermont where her focus is on mental skills training and leadership development for individual athletes, teams and coaches. Sheila’s private practice at Fit2Excel focuses on the development and application of individual mental skills training for athletes of all sports and ages, coaching education, psychological support for parents and sport/leadership consultation for athletic directors and high school administrators.
Her specialties include: Psychological Rehabilitation of the Injured Athlete, Motivation Training, Goal Setting, Concentration Training, Visualization, Self Talk & Self Confidence, Sport Personality, Athletic Identity, Performance Anxiety, Athletic Burnout, Group & Team Dynamics, Communication, Athletic Leadership, Coach/Athlete Relationship, Parent/Athlete Relationship, Hazing and Bullying Prevention and Intervention. Currently, Sheila is a consultant for the D1 Cornell University Wrestling Team providing mental skills training to individual athletes and the team.
Sheila has been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sport Psychology (AASP) for 25 years and has presented her work on the psychology of Injured athletes numerous times. She is also a member of the American Psychological Association Division 47 – Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology. Sheila has been a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach (CSCS) from the National Strength and Conditioning Associaton since 2011. She enjoys blending her fitness coaching and her sport psychology skills together to develop the most well rounded high school and collegiate athlete.
Locally, Sheila provides Athletic and Sport Psychology team training to many middle and high school teams and has more than 20 years of experience in Athletic Leadership. She serves as the leadership director for varsity sport captains at South Burlington High school, Essex High School, Mount Mansfield Union High School, Milton High School, BFA Saint Albans, and Essex Middle School. As a collegiate cross country and track athlete Sheila also had the privilege of being a high school cross country and track coach for 15 years. Sheila and her husband John, live in Essex, with their three children where they love spending time together and enjoy being active as a family!
Sierra Klotz, DPT, ATC, Licensed Physical Therapist and Athletic Trainer
Sierra Klotz graduated from UVM in 2015 with a Bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training. Sierra then went on to earn her doctorate degree in physical therapy from the University of Vermont.
During her graduate studies, she worked as an athletic trainer with the UVM and Champlain College rugby teams, the VT Lumberjack hockey team, and Chittenden East youth football. During her PT internship rotations, she travelled to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where she learned various specialized hands-on manual therapy techniques from the Institute of Physical Arts. She also did a rotation at VASTA in Burlington and CVPH in Plattsburgh.
Sierra specializes in treating athletes of all ages and skill levels. She examines individual movement patterns and identifies opportunities to move in a more efficient way to improve pain and ease tension. Her passion is to facilitate improved soft tissue pliability, help muscles build strength and improve balance so that clients achieve their goals and can pursue their passions. Sierra believes in providing evidence-based medicine that is patient-centered and tailors treatments based on the latest research.
Sierra grew up in Vermont, playing sports all year including soccer, basketball, softball and nordic skiing. She enjoys cooking gourmet meals, speaking Spanish, doing yoga, bicycling, hiking, playing tennis and basketball, traveling and in the winter months, nordic and downhill skiing.
Sandy Burkhart
Facing empty nest syndrome several years ago, Sandy found herself needing to prepare for the next chapter in life. She joined an outdoor fitness camp that John Stawinski was running at MMU. Through the encouraging atmosphere created by John and his clients, Sandy rediscovered her love of exercise. At the same time, obstacle racing was in its infancy and after running a few races, this became a major focus for Sandy.
As a certified fitness instructor and personal trainer, Sandy has now been teaching Strength & Conditioning Boot Camps and Obstacle Race Training Classes at Fit2Excel for several years. She enjoys teaching veteran athletes as well as those who are new to fitness and/or obstacle races.
Sandy has participated in numerous Spartan races, including earning her Trifecta. She has also completed a Tough Mudder, Civilian Military Combine, Zombie Run, Renegade Playground Challenge, and 5k & 10k races. Sandy is an avid skier, hiker, trail runner, swimming and enjoys canoeing! In addition to fitness, Sandy also enjoys her residential “farm” including horses, chickens, vegetable and flower gardening and her trusted golden retriever Clara.
David Rosales
David is a certified personal trainer through the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA). His mission at Fit 2 Excel is to teach, motivate, and inspire others to reach their athletic potential, just as John and Sheila have done for him. He is a recent graduate of Mt. Mansfield Union High School in Jericho, Vermont.
Also Serving Fit2Excel
Brian Miller, ATC
Brian has been a certified athletic trainer for 19 years, receiving a BS from Lyndon State College in Athletic Training and Activities Programming. Brian works as an athletic trainer with the Vermont Lumberjack hockey team. Additionally, he has provided athletic training services for local high schools, a semi-pro football team, and patients in physical therapy settings. When not standing on the sidelines of a game, Brian works at Bio-Medic Appliances in Essex Junction as a certified Orthotic and Prosthetic Assistant. He lives in Westford with his wife and 2 kids and loves playing hockey, mountain biking, and doing all kinds of outdoor activities with his family.
Barry Churchill, Seasonal Golf Instructor
Golf Fitness Program
Contact Barry to sign up 802-324-GOLF (4653)
Voted the 2013 Vermont Chapter PGA Teacher of the Year, Barry is prepared to take your golf game to a new level – right here at Fit2Excel during off-season months. He is certified as a Flexor Golf Fitness Instructor and certified as a K-Vest 3d Biofeedback Instructor. In fact, Barry is continuously learning to be the best golf instructor so that your game can improve quickly.
Bill Atkinson, Obstacle & Fitness Consultant
Bill Atkinson helps individuals and organizations discover and analyze performance gaps, implement solutions and evaluate results in order to continually improve mental and physical ‘output.’ His systematic approach focuses on the individual, teamwork, and principle-centered leadership.
Bill was a career SEAL, and now spends much of his time as a mentor for men and women joining the Navy to pursue special operations jobs. Much of his interaction with them focuses on the individual, teamwork and leadership, in addition to physical training with significant focus on water skills and comfort-ability.