Kinney Hired as Director of Strength and Conditioning

Carson Kinney has been hired as The College of Wooster's director of strength and conditioning and manager of the College's fitness and strength centers. Kinney begins at Wooster on January 21.

"I am super excited to be back at Wooster," said Kinney. "I look forward to working with all student-athletes and continuing to give them the tools to better themselves in every way possible. I want to thank Lynn Holleran, Libby Ladrach, and the rest of the search committee for putting their trust in me and bringing me back to the College. I believe Wooster has the tools to be a powerhouse in athletics and I cannot wait to be a part of it again."

"We are excited to welcome Carson back to our department," shared Holleran, Wooster's director of athletics and physical education. "Carson is well respected in the department and has built a reputation for being a relationship builder and hard worker. Carson's initiative to grow in the strength and conditioning space as he pursued transitioning from coaching throws to strength and conditioning in a full-time capacity has set him up for success. His leadership in the areas of strength and conditioning will help our Fighting Scots achieve great success."

Kinney arrives back in Wooster following a semester at Oberlin College. There, Kinney was able to expand his strength and conditioning portfolio by working closely with the Yeomen's football team. He developed and implemented a football-specific strength and conditioning program and assessed the student-athletes' capabilities through maximal speed, strength, and agility testing. Kinney implemented nutritional guidance and recovery protocols, fostered student-athlete development, and optimized performance during competition. Kinney utilized Perch Fitness and Catapult systems to monitor student-athlete performance metrics and adjusted training strategies based on real-time data and outcomes.

Prior to Oberlin, Kinney spent three years at Wooster, developing a successful throws program as a full-time assistant track and field coach. Alumna Ainsley Wiesner graduated as a two-time All-American and continuously upped the program's hammer and weight throw records. Additionally, current junior Evie Sanford set school records in the indoor and outdoor shot put, the discus, and was a two-time North Coast Athletic Conference champion.

Kinney took on expanded duties as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for his last two years at Wooster. He led the cross country, track and field, and men's soccer strength and conditioning programming and assisted with football. Kinney also directed the College's intramural programming.

Kinney was a thrower at Baldwin Wallace University and was a five-time state qualifier in high school. He graduated from Baldwin Wallace with a bachelor's in exercise science and furthered his education with master's degrees in applied exercise science at Ashland University and strength and conditioning from Logan University. Kinney is a certified strength and conditioning specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.