Charity Sweeney Named Athletic Trainer and Fitness Center Director

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Sept. 2, 2009) – The Mount Holyoke College Department of Athletics is pleased to announce the hiring of Charity Sweeney, MS, ATC, LAT, CSCS as Athletic Trainer and Fitness Center Director. Sweeney succeeds Peter Olsen, who took over as Vice President of Sports and Competition for the Special Olympics of Montana.

“We are pleased to welcome Charity to Mount Holyoke,” said Mount Holyoke Director of Athletics Laurie Priest. “This is an exciting time for us, as our fall seasons are beginning, and we are opening our brand new fitness center later this month. Charity brings the knowledge and expertise to help us take our programs to the next level. We look forward to having her on board.”

In addition to serving as an Athletic Trainer, Sweeney will also oversee the College’s new 6,000 square foot fitness center. The state-of-the-art facility is slated to be unveiled on Friday, September 25. It will include a large selection of cardiovascular training equipment, resistance training machines and free weights on the main level. Additionally, the mezzanine level of the center will include space for functional strength training, core training and spinning bikes. The facility will offer fitness programming to its members.

Prior to joining the Mount Holyoke staff, Sweeney served as the Head Athletic Trainer at Amherst Regional High School for the past two years (2007-08). She was an Assistant Athletic Trainer at Trinity College for one year (2007) and a Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for three years (2005-07).

Sweeney earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Athletic Training from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse in 2005 and her Master of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2007.

Sweeney is certified by the NATABOC and licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.