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!
Mary Hill, NASM Certified Personal Trainer
Mary is an NASM certified personal trainer. She has been with Fit2Excel since January of 2021. She provides individual personal training and is an instructor for our class offerings. Mary brings years of experience from her own athletic participation in many sports and has been on the other side of personal training as a client herself at Fit2Excel before she became a personal trainer. Mary lives in Essex and loves to be outside biking, walking, hiking, and surrounded by family and friends.
Amberly Leasure, NASM Certified Personal Trainer
With 10+ years in the industry, Amberly has taught everything from Zumba to TRX to Bootcamp. She is a NASM certified Personal Trainer, Weight Loss Specialist and Nutritionist and loves to help people meet and exceed their fitness goals. Through functional strength training and nutritional coaching, Amberly helps clients make healthy lifestyle changes that can last a lifetime.
Sam Solod
Sam is an adult and youth class instructor as well as a personal trainer at Fit2Excel. He gained a great deal of knowledge and personal experience regarding functional fitness through his many years of playing sports, as well as training for them off of the playing field. He strives every day to make everyone who walks through the doors of Fit2Excel healthier and happier.
Sam graduated from Mount Mansfield Union High School in 2021 and plans to continue his education at the collegiate level in the coming years.
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Additional staff at Fit2Excel
Teri Ferreira
Teri spent most of her youth in Vermont, graduating from the University of Vermont with a degree in Physical Therapy in 1993. She practiced in California, Massachusetts, then settled in the Burlington, VT, area where she focused primarily on subacute and geriatric rehabilitation.
Teri currently lives in Essex with her husband and two children. She enjoys baking, knitting, and time with friends and family.