U N H w i l d c at s Support Staff Sports Medicine The Sports Medicine Department at the University of New Hampshire consists of eight certified and licensed athletic trainers. In addition to director Jon Dana, the full-time employees are Glenn Riefenstahl, Cindy Michaud, Renee Kleszczynski and Dan Sedory, who serves primarily as the Coordinator for the CAAHEP approved Athletic Training Curriculum. The primary staff also includes Meg Lesnikoski, Hannah Berg and J.P. Kepka. Dana has been involved with UNH athletic program since 1984. He began his career as an assistant athletic trainer and was promoted to men’s head athletic trainer in 1987 and head athletic trainer for the entire program in 1989. In 2001, he was named UNH’s Director of Sports Medicine. His international experience includes working at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens and working with the U.S. Track and Field Team at the Paralympics World Championships in Lille, France. Berg, a 2008 graduate of Connecticut State University who went on to earn a Masters in Athletic Training from Kent State University in 2010, joined the UNH Sports Medicine department in August 2012. Her main responsibilities include providing preventative care, treatment, evaluations and rehabilitation for the field hockey and women’s basketball teams. The department works out of two locations: the Field House and the Whittemore Center. Both athletic training rooms utilize currently available modalities including muscle stimulators, ultrasound, heat, cryotherapy and hydrotherapy. The athletic department renovated its Field House athletic training facility in early 2013. The modernized space features improvements in lighting and layout that have improved the room’s functionality while providing student-athletes with a safer, more pleasant environment for treatment and rehabilitation. Renovated staff offices were enclosed in glass, and the ‘wet area’ that consists of cold tubs, whirlpools and the ice machine was afforded its own encased area with improved ventilation. The Certified Athletic Trainer provides a myriad of services to the department and the student-athlete. These include, but are not limited to, initial injury assessment and management, emergency injury/illness management, referral to appropriate professionals, interface with associated physicians and others, rehabilitation, counseling, administrative duties including insurance coordination, supervision of practices and games, development and implementation of emergency plans, as well as student athletic supervision. The athletic training room is considered to be “a designated facility where comprehensive health care services are provided. Comprehensive health care services included practice and game preparation, injury/illness evaluation, first aid and emergency care, follow-up care, rehabilitation and related services.” (National Athletic Trainer’s Association Education council). Strength & Conditioning The two basic goals of the Strength and Conditioning department are injury prevention and performance enhancement for the 20 varsity sports sponsored by the University of New Hampshire, and they have been key in guiding UNH student-athletes to NCAA appearances in field hockey, both women’s and men’s ice hockey, football, gymnastics, women’s volleyball, women’s lacrosse, skiing, cross country and track and field. The first goal, injury prevention, revolves around reducing the likelihood of the student-athlete getting injured during games or practice by training the student-athlete as a unit and pinpointing weaknesses in the player that need to be strengthened. The second goal, performance enhancement, centers on making the student-athlete a better student-athlete. This is done by educating student-athletes on a wide range of training from Olympic-style weightlifting to teaching the student-athlete how to move more efficiently while running or during an agility drill. The Strength and Conditioning program plays a vital role in the success of UNH field hockey. The student-athletes train year-round to perform at their highest level throughout the season. The strength and conditioning program is a comprehensive training program that involves Olympic-style weightlifting, traditional strength training, plyometrics, agility/quickness training and sport-specific conditioning. Paul Chapman enters his 12th year as the director of strength and conditioning at the University of New Hampshire. During his tenure at UNH, Chapman helped coordinate the building and subsequent expansion of the state-of-the-art Jerry Azumah Performance Center. Chapman is a member of the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (strength and conditioning coach certified), USA Weightlifting (certified level 1 coach), the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and he was the state director of the National Strength and Conditioning Association in North Dakota from 1991-95. He has also authored four publications related to strength and conditioning and has trained and consulted several NFL, CFL and NHL athletes, and prospective athletes preparing for all-star games, bowl games and pre-draft testing. Chapman is a 1990 graduate of Dickinson State University in North Dakota with a B.S. degree in Biology. He then went on to earn at M.S. in Exercise Science from North Dakota in 1994. An outstanding college athlete, Chapman was inducted into the Dickinson State Athletic Hall of Fame for his efforts on the football field. He was a two-time All-America First Team selection as well as an All-America Second Team honoree in his four-year playing career. Upon graduation, he was a fourth-round draft choice of the Saskatchewan Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League. John Ciani is entering his 12th year directing the strength and conditioning program for the UNH field hockey program. After four years as an assistant coach in the University’s strength and conditioning office, Ciani was promoted to the position of Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning in 2006. Ciani, a native of the San Diego, Calif. area, came to UNH after a stint as assistant strength coach at the University of North Dakota. In 2000, John began his career in strength and conditioning at Long Beach State as a graduate assistant working with the perennial national power women’s volleyball team, where he trained many All-American and national team level volleyball players, including Misty May. Ciani received a B.A. degree in Psychology from Long Beach State and worked on his Master’s Degree in Exercise Science at the University of North Dakota.
Tradition. Pride. Excellence.
Jon Dana
Dan Sedory
Glenn Riefenstahl
Renee Kleszczynski
Cindy Michaud
Meg Lesnikoski
Hannah Berg
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