DEMOREST – Piedmont College Head Athletic Trainer Matt McKinney has announced the hiring of three new athletic trainers beginning their time with the Lions in the 2019-20 season.
“It is always hard to replace three staff members that have experience with your program, but I am excited to be able to bring on new staff members with the knowledge and experience that this new group has,” McKinney said. “I think that our staff will be as strong as ever and will be able to continue to provide exemplary care for the student-athletes here at Piedmont College.”
KASSIE CORSI, Associate Head Athletic Trainer
Kassie Corsi will serve as the new Associate Head Athletic Trainer after almost two years as Assistant Athletic Trainer at Long Island University.
During her time at Long Island, Corsi primarily covered football, men’s basketball, and softball while also working with student athletes in men’s and women’s lacrosse, women’s swimming, field hockey, and indoor track.
Prior to her time at Long Island, Corsi spent over two years as Assistant Athletic Trainer at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio where she covered men’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving and men’s and women’s tennis.
“I’m very excited to start this next chapter in my career as a Lion at Piedmont College,” Corsi said. “I can’t wait to start working with the student-athletes and coaches. I want to send a special thank you to Jim Peeples, Matt McKinney and the rest of the search committee for giving me this opportunity.”
Corsi graduated from Alfred University in 2013 with a bachelor of science in athletic training and a minor in exercise science. In 2015, she earned her master’s from the University of Akron in education with a focus in exercise physiology and adult fitness.
COURTNEY ZIEMBA, Assistant Athletic Trainer
Courtney Ziemba will serve as one of two new Assistant Athletic Trainers at Piedmont beginning with the 2019-20 academic year.
Ziemba arrives in Demorest after two seasons as a graduate assistant at Texas Lutheran while earning her degree from Texas State. While working with Texas Lutheran, Ziemba served as the primary athletic trainer for women’s volleyball and softball while assisting with the healthcare of student athletes from the rest of the athletic department.
As an undergraduate student at Michigan State, Ziemba gained experience by assisting with the coverage of football, men’s soccer and gymnastics. While with the Spartans, Ziemba gained learning opportunities related to injury evaluation, rehabilitation, event coverage, and emergency medicine.
“I am very excited to work with the athletic training staff and athletes at Piedmont,” Ziemba said. “Thank you to everyone who has supported me through this journey. I look forward to helping these student-athletes and to be able to give them the best college athlete experience possible.”
Ziemba graduated from Michigan State in May 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in athletic training and kinesiology before earning her master’s in athletic training in May 2019 at Texas State.
STEPHANIE SMART, Assistant Athletic Trainer
Stephanie Smart will serve as an Assistant Athletic Trainer during the upcoming season at Piedmont College. Smart earned her master’s degree in athletic training in May 2018 from Marshall after completing her undergraduate work at Louisiana Tech in 2016.
She arrives at Piedmont having completed this past season as an athletic training intern at Louisiana College. While at Louisiana, Smart covered men’s soccer, women’s basketball, men’s golf, and softball.
“I am excited to be taking the next step in my athletic training career at Piedmont. After meeting a handful of coaches, faculty, and staff, I truly look forward to becoming a part of the ‘family’ and contributing my skills to help benefit Lions athletics,” Smart said. “I would like to thank Matt McKinney and Mario Dalesandro for taking the time to welcome me to the staff. I look forward to working alongside them. I’d also like to thank my family, friends and support system in the athletic training world who have helped get me to where I am today.”
The three additions to the athletic training staff complete the staff led by Head Athletic Trainer Matt McKinney with Mario Dalesandro entering his second season as an Assistant Athletic Trainer with the Lions.
