Ashley Alexander
Ashley attended Xavier Preparatory High School in New Orleans, La. running track, playing volleyball and softball, but excelling in basketball. She helped lead the Yellow Jackets basketball team to three state appearances, two district titles and earned all districts and all region honors. Ashley received a full basketball scholarship to the University of New Orleans and was key in helping to recruit others to the program. In her senior year at UNO she was team captain and contributed to UNO’s first Sunbelt Conference appearance in over twelve years.

While still in season Ashley graduated in December 2008 earning a BS in Human Development and Health Promotion, and also began working on her masters in Health Care Management. Ashley is working towards becoming CSCS certified. She is committed to Performance Training, Inc. and eager to share her own sport experiences, especially basketball with both beginning and advanced players.
Brian Chapman

Brian excelled in baseball during his high school career at Campbell County High School. As a four-year player he earned All-District honors three times and his senior year he earned a .442 batting average with 5 homeruns.

After high school, Brian played college baseball at Appalachian State University and Carson-Newman College. In his freshman year at Appalachian State he led the team with a .387 batting average. At Carson-Newman, Brian was listed in the top 5 of the nation in homeruns with 19 and RBI’s with 77. He also earned honors as the Regional Player of the Year, Conference Player of the Year, Team’s Offensive Player of the Year leading in three team categories: homeruns, RBI’s and slugging percentage.

Brian also spent two years playing professionally. He played in the Frontier League in 2005 playing for the Richmond Roosters and in the European League in 2006 for the Namur Angels.

Rolanda Bell

Rolanda lettered in cross country and both indoor and outdoor track for four years in high school.  She also served as her team captain her senior year at Sacred Heart Academy High School in Long Island, New York.  She was a four-time All-Long Island selection in track & field from 2002-2005 and three-time All-Catholic High School Athletic Association.

Recruited for the University of Tennessee Track & Field Team, she has helped her team to a SEC cross country title, two indoor championships and UT’s second NCAA indoor national title.  She also came in 3rd individually running the mile at the SEC indoor conference meet and was on UT’s relay team that broke the 4x1500 meter meet record, American record and World Record at the Penn Relays with a time of 17:08.  Rolanda is currently training to compete for Panama at the World Championships and the Olympics in 2012.

An Exercise Science major, Rolanda will graduate from UT in 2010.  Her goal is to become a physical therapist.

Ciara Csanadi
Ciara Csanadi was born in Natick, Massachusetts on May 10, 1983. She has been with Performance Training, Inc. since August 1, 2007 and is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer. Ciara graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, minor in Chemistry in December 2004. During her tenure at FSU, she was captain of the FSU Women’s Club Soccer team. She was also the Chiles High School Girls Varsity Soccer Assistant Coach during the 2002-2003 season. In 2005, Ciara continued her studies in New York City to become a certified Holistic Health Counselor. Her passion for health and wellness brought Ciara to Knoxville in 2006 to continue her education at the University of Tennessee. After graduating with her second bachelor’s degree in Nutrition in May 2008, Ciara is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Nutrition Science at the University of Tennessee and will complete the Dietetic Internship program. Upon graduation in 2010, Ciara will be a Registered Dietician with a Master’s in Nutrition. Ciara is currently a member of the UT Women’s Club Soccer team and looks to bring her 10 yrs. of experience playing competitive soccer to Performance Training, Inc.
Cole Hairston

In high school Cole was a member of FCA, Key Club, and played basketball and football. Cole Hairston received his undergraduate degree in Human Performance with a concentration in Exercise Science from Huntingdon College, located in Montgomery, Alabama in 2007. There, he ran cross country and was a four year starter for the Men’s Basketball team. While he attended Huntingdon, the men’s basketball team recorded their best three seasons in school history, won the GSAC Conference Championship, and recorded many new team and individual records. Cole was named to the all freshman team, voted onto the all conference team three years in a row, and was named team captain his senior year. Cole also has put in many hours to shadowing and interning at various physical therapy clinics where he worked with professional to collegiate athletes. Cole is dedicated to helping other athletes achieve their personal goals and to helping to prevent injury.

Cole is a personal training coach at the PTI location in Poland.

Chris Hanne

Chris Hanne joined Performance Training, Inc. in May of 2008 after three years of teaching Health/Physical Education and Weight Training at Jackson County Comprehensive High School in Jefferson, GA. He was the 39th round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1999 Amateur Player Draft coming out of High School. While attending College at Spartanburg Methodist College on a Baseball/Cross Country Scholarship, he became one of the career leaders in Winning Percentage and ERA for the Pioneers. In 2001, Chris was also a part of the Pioneer’s World Series team in Grand Junction, Colorado. After transferring to the University of Georgia, Chris received his B.S. in Health and Physical Education while working in the Personal Training Department of the Ramsey Student Center.  

Chris is a personal training coach at the PTI location in Suwanee, GA.

Brandon Haun

A Bearden High School graduate, Brandon competed in Rugby and Wrestling, helping his rugby team take fourth in the state in 2004. 

Brandon has been a personal trainer and worked with athletes to reach their potential for over three years.  He has worked with athletes from middle school to college age and those competing in a multitude of sports.  He is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through ISSA and excels in weight loss, and muscle and strength gain for men, women and young athletes.

Brandon joined PTI in August 2009 and is currently enrolled at University of Tennessee in Exercise Science and Physiology.

John Holt
John attended Lincoln County High School in Fayetteville, TN. During this time, John lettered in both football and baseball for four years as well as basketball until his sophomore year. John helped his baseball team capture a district title in 2001 and helped his team achieve a top ten ranking during his senior year. John also played a role in helping the Falcons capture a football conference title in 2000. As a freshman, John was elected captain and lead Fayetteville City to a Central Tennessee Conference championship in both football and basketball.

Before coming to Performance Training Inc., John worked as a personal trainer for the Lindsey Young Downtown YMCA and for RecSports at the University of Tennessee. John has taught a variety of fitness classes including: water aerobics, total body, and Latin cardio dance. John graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2003 obtaining a degree in Psychology with a concentration in Pre-Physical Therapy.
Janya Marshall
As PTI Coordinator, Janya’s primary role is day-to-day operations at the PTI location at Fort Sanders Health and Fitness Center, managing the training schedule, client relations and billing. She oversees the administration of each of PTI’s Knoxville locations, marketing, public relations and corporate relations. Janya also assists CEO Jackie Ansley and Assistant Director Jared Lawrence with administration, scheduling, travel and other operations.

Janya holds a B.S. in Education from the University of Tennessee. While at UT she served as a student administrative assistant and sports information director in the Media Relations Department for the Lady Volunteer Women’s Athletics Department.
Kenny Smart
Kenny was initially interested in fitness and nutrition after working with a personal trainer as a young martial arts athlete. At the age of 16, he had achieved the rank of 3rd in the world and numerous national gold medals. Before starting college Kenny was first certified through the America Fitness and Aerobics Associations (AFAA) in 2002. While working in Atlanta as a personal trainer, he graduated from Georgia State University with a B.S. in biology with a minor in chemistry in 2007. Kenny moved to Knoxville to pursue a Master’s Degree in Nutrition at University of Tennessee, with plans of a PhD. After completing his second certification through the American Council on Exercise (ACE), Kenny gladly brought his six years of personal training and nutrition expertise to Performance Training, Inc.
TJ Taylor
TJ Taylor joined Sports Performance, Inc. in August of 2009. TJ attended Gardner-Webb University and earned his undergraduate degree in Health/Wellness. While at Gardner-Webb, TJ pitched for the baseball team, and competed in the javelin for the track and field team. Before attending Gardner-Webb, he competed for Spartanburg Methodist’s baseball and cross-country programs. TJ has since worked at the division I level where he has trained football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, cross-country, men’s and women’s golf, sailing, and equestrian.

TJ is a personal training coach at the PTI location in Suwanee, GA
Katrina Thaxton
Katrina attended Lenoir City High School where she was a standout basketball player. Katrina won numerous accolades during her basketball career at Lenoir City High School. She then went on to play on the Division I level at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. Katrina returned to Knoxville after four years in Orlando, Florida where she was a teacher and Girls’ Assistant Basketball Coach at South Lake High School for three years. At Performance Training, Inc., she specializes in basketball and personal training. Katrina attends University of Tennessee where she is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Sports Psychology.
Lincoln Thomas
After graduating from Greenville High School, Lincoln passed on several athletic scholarships to focus on academics at University of Tennessee. He played one season with UT’s Club Rugby Team and then focused on being involved with the UT Lady Volunteer Basketball program. From 1995-1998 Lincoln learned the game of basketball from the Lady Volunteer coaching staff and was an active member of the practice team.
During his time with the Lady Vols, Lincoln was introduced to PTI Owner/CEO Jackie Ansley. He began his first stint with Ansley and PTI from 1996 to 2004. During the time Lincoln spent with PTI he trained high school, collegiate, professional and Olympic athletes both locally and across the country.
Lincoln has returned to PTI in September 2009 to fulfill his true passion of training athletes. His goal is to provide the necessary training to assist athletes in reaching their potential, their goals and their dreams. Lincoln is currently studying for his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist certification and hopes to have it complete by early 2010.
Matt Whitman
Elizabethton, TN native, Matt was a four-year varsity wrestler and was a three-year member of the inaugural soccer team at Elizabethton High School. He helped lead the Cyclones’ wrestling team to district and regional championships in 1999. Matt finished his high school wrestling career as a state top 10 wrestler and still holds multiple records including top record for winning percentage at Elizabethton High School. As a varsity soccer player, Matt was a team captain and went on to play collegiate soccer at Tusculum College in Greenville, TN and helped the team win a South Atlantic Conference tournament championship as a freshman. Matt graduated from Tusculum College in 2003 with a B.A. in Athletic Training and is currently pursuing a certification as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He continues to compete in elite indoor soccer leagues as well as AAU wrestling tournaments.