Instructors - Athletic Performance

"I have known Skipp and Keysha Benzing for the last 10 yrs and have found them to be not only outstanding athletes, outstanding coaches, but outstanding people!  Both Skipp and Keysha excel in the teaching of the mechanics of Olympic lifts.  Their coaching eye for spotting mechanical errors and ways to correct these errors is above most coaches in the USA! Both Skipp and Keysha lead by example and are perfect role models for what a coach should be and how a coach should act."  -Coach Mike Burgener; Senior International Level 5 coach, USAW

"Skipp and Keysha Benzing are two of the brightest stars in the performance training world. Their combination of elite personal athletic talent, national certifications and graduate degrees in Kinesiology give them the rare ability to bridge the gap between the science and application of athletic performance. They are the only trainers I recommend for my students, family, friends and clients."

 -Dr. Lee Brown; EdD, CSCS*D, FNSCA, FACSM, Former President of the National Strength & Conditioning Association

LA'KEYSHA MCCLENTON-BENZING MS, USA-W, CSCS, CrossFit III
Prior to joining Hitters Athletic Development Center, Benzing was an Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach at the University of Iowa. There she worked with the nationally ranked cross country team, indoor and outdoor track, golf, nationally ranked softball team, nationally ranked field hockey team as well as assisting with the Hawkeye baseball program.

Benzing was also the Assistant Director of Athletic Performance at the University of San Diego where she worked with the nationally ranked baseball team, volleyball team, cross country, track, softball team and crew, as well as assisting with the Torero football program.

Benzing was also an Assistant Strength & Conditioning coach at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (06-07') where she was part of 2007 National Championship Indoor Track & Field team. While at UW-Madison, Benzing was in charge of men and women's cross country, indoor and outdoor track, softball, men and women's soccer, men and women's novice, light weight and open weight crew, the cheer, dance and pep squad as well as assisting with the Badger football program.

Benzing also served as an Assistant Strength & Conditioning coach at the University of California-Irvine (04-06') while earning her Masters degree at California State University, Fullerton (06'). While at UCI, she worked with water polo, women's soccer, men and women's novice and open weight crew, women's tennis, golf and volleyball while assisting with the nationally ranked men's volleyball and baseball program.

While earning her bachelor's degree at CSUF (04'), Benzing competed for the Titans for four years in cross country and track & field. Her accomplishments there include: Three- Time Athlete of the Year, Two-Time All-Conference, NCAA Regional Qualifier, Big West Scholar Athlete as well as the school record holder in the 800M and 4X400M Relay Team. Also while at CSUF, Benzing was served as a strength & conditioning intern, assisting with the Titan baseball program. Currently, Benzing is still a competing athlete. She is a nationally ranked Olympic Style weightlifter and 2012 Olympic Hopeful in the 800m and 400m hurdles. She is an avid writer of the Speed Training column for CrossFit and fitness model for Human Kinetics (a educational, scientific base publishing company). Recently, her thesis on Plyometrics and Vertical Jump Performance was published in the National Strength and Conditioning Research Journal. Skipp and Keysha are also the proud parents of their baby girl Nesta Irene.

SKIPP BENZING MS, USA-W Level II, CSCS, CNT, CrossFit III
Skipp Benzing comes to Hitters SportsPlex as Co-Director of Athletic Performance with an extensive background as a Strength and Conditioning Coach and professional athlete.  Prior to joining Hitters Center, Skipp was Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach at the University of Iowa, University of San Diego, University of California-Irvine, and California State University, Fullerton. At these universities, he worked with elite level athletes and nationally ranked teams in baseball, football, soccer, gymnastics, tennis, swimming and diving, and track and field.

Most notably, during his tenure with Cal State Fullerton, Skipp worked primarily with the Titan Baseball team in 2004 as they went on the become NCAA National Champions.

Skipp is the author of The Development of a Weightlifter, an instructional book on Olympic style weightlifting.  Skipp is also an active member of USA-Weightlifting, coaching multiple athletes to the national championship level, including a Top 5 finish at the American Open in the 105 Kilo weight class.

Along with his experience and credentials as a Athletic Performance Trainer, Skipp uses his experience as an elite athlete to motivate and train his athletes for success.  Skipp was a standout baseball player at Indian Hills Community College, a powerhouse in Junior College baseball. Skipp was drafted in the 1996 professional baseball amateur draft in the 13th round by the Boston Red Sox organization. Skipp played for 2 ½ years in the organization and finished his professional career with the former Madison Blackwolf of the Northern league before returning back to school to finish his education.

Skipp's credentials include a bachelor's degree in Exercise and Sport Science at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and a master's degree in Kinesiology from California State University, Fullerton.  At Cal State Fullerton, he worked alongside Dr. Lee Brown, current president of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He continued his education outside of the classroom learning the art and training concepts of Eishen's Yoga.
Skipp is CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist), USAW Level 2 (US Weightlifting Club), and Crossfit Level 3 Certified.

JENNA KRASKA (MA, CSCS)                                                                                                                                                    
Jenna is currently the Kinesiologist for Next Testing here in Madison where she conducts on and off-ice performance testing with hockey athletes and coaches from the youth associations all the way to the NHL.  Prior to her time here in Madison she managed the Sports Performance Enhancement Consortium (SPEC) Laboratory at East Tennessee State University. Also, at ETSU, Jenna worked with softball, women's and men's soccer, volleyball, and track and field in Strength and Conditioning and performance testing.
 
As the instructor for Hitter's Sportplex Motor Development Skills Program, Jenna is a trained gymnast with a background in coaching that ranges from the very young gymnast all the way to the elite level. As a former USGA gymnast herself, Jenna was a State Competitor before moving away from club into the Minnesota High School Gymnastics setting where she was a three year captain and All-Conference award winner. She also was a regional top five finisher on the uneven bars and was a top ten finisher on the beam and vault. Jenna was the Assistant Gymnastics Coach at Spring Lake Park High School before she moved to Tennessee to pursue her master's degree.

Jenna's credentials include a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, master's degree in Exercise Physiology from East Tennessee State University. At ETSU Jenna had the opportunity to work with Dr. Mike Stone, former Head of Sports Physiology at the USOC and Meg Stone, the first ever woman to be a Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the NCAA D-I level.  Jenna is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. She is also an active athlete in Olympic Style Weightlifting and currently holds the Wisconsin State records in the Snatch, Clean & Jerk, and total for the 63K weight class.