DENVER, Colo. – Valdosta State University athletics made its first appearance at the Division II-only APPLE Training Institute Sept. 19-21, in Denver, Colo., at the annual convention for the Athletic Prevention Programming and Leadership Education (APPLE) program.  The Blazers sent two student-athletes and two athletic administrators and one coach.

"My experience at the APPLE Conference was both entertaining and informative," said Blazer sophomore baseball pitcher Boomer Dunn. "Learning about the serious consequences of substance misuse developed my understanding of how to help those that are struggling with it. I believe the conference was very beneficial and provided me with the tools to assist anyone in our athletic program who may be struggling with substance misuse."

Along with Dunn, junior women's basketball standout Erin Whalen were the student-athletes who attended.  Blazer men's basketball associate head coach Nate Nowicki, assistant athletic trainer Claire Guilliams and executive assistant to the director of athletics Nicole Kucza also participated in the convention.  
 
"Attending the APPLE Training Institute was a great opportunity for VSU," Guilliams said.  "The conference was a fantastic experience with quality presenters who were engaging and provided great resources for us to use here at VSU. Our student-athlete representatives, Erin and Boomer, were able to voice their opinions and provide us with some great feedback and ideas to enhance our substance misuse prevention efforts.  We were also able to look more closely at some of our existing policies and evaluate where we need to make improvements.  Our team did a great job coming up with an action plan to bring back to our campus that will help us educate our student-athletes on some of our policies and increase their knowledge of substance misuse and its impact on athletics."
 
The APPLE Training Institute, developed and coordinated by the University of Virginia's Gordie Center and funded by the NCAA, is one of the leading national substance misuse prevention and health promotion training programs for student-athletes and athletics department administrators.   Over 60% of NCAA institutions have participated in at least one APPLE Institute since 1992.  
 
"It was really valuable to collaborate with D2 institutions from all over the country," Nowicki said.  "There were schools from every region of the United State, including Hawaii, California, New York, etc.  It was encouraging to see so many people, especially student-athletes, who were so passionate about making a difference in their respective athletic departments."
 
The goal of the APPLE Training Institute is to empower student athletes to make an impact on their campus by giving them the tools necessary and applying the comprehensive APPLE model to their campus environment. Over the course of a weekend, student-athletes and administrators created an institution-specific action plan to prevent student-athlete substance misuse and promote health and wellness.  At the end of the weekend each team also gets the opportunity to get on stage and give a 1-minute elevator pitch of their action plan.
 
"The APPLE training institute was very educational," Whalen said.  "I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to Denver, and I'm excited to see how the things we learned at APPLE will impact our campus."