Four Tiffin University student-athletes received training at the APPLE Training Institutes on February 23-25 in Orlando, Florida.
Josie Reinhart (volleyball), Rylie Roggow (volleyball), Trent Hacker (football) and Ryan Norkin (men’s golf) made the trip along with Faculty Athletic Representative Professor, Corri Miller and Assistant Athletic Director/Head Athletic Trainer, Lucas Phillips. The group represented one of 33 institutions that were selected to the program by the NCAA and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
The APPLE Training Institutes, developed and coordinated by the University of Virginia’s Gordie Center and funded by the NCAA, are the leading national substance misuse prevention and health promotion conferences for student-athletes and athletics department administrators. The goal of the APPLE Training Institute is to assist colleges in applying the comprehensive APPLE model to their campus environment. Over the course of a weekend, student-athletes and administrators create an institution-specific action plan to prevent student-athlete substance misuse and promote health and wellness.
The APPLE Training Institute offers teams of student-athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, administrators and alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) prevention specialists an opportunity to evaluate the ATOD environment within their athletics departments and develop specific action plans to enhance prevention efforts. Since 1991, over 50% of all NCAA member institutions have attended one of the annual conferences.
“Over three days, there was so much information that we gathered,” said Roggow. “It was far more than we expected, and all of it was designed to show how we could apply it once we returned to our campus. It was helpful to see how other schools applied it. They taught us about the 7 Slices of the APPLE, which was a model on how to handle a variety of situations.”
“I have never been more engaged in my life,” said Norkin. “It certainly kept our attention. The stats they shared blew me away, such as how if you drink irresponsibly, your thinking can be affected for up to five days. It was a real education on how alcohol can affect you, and they tried to show how we can be accountable in our actions.”
“They gave us realistic goals,” said Reinhart. “They showed how alcohol and drug abuse can be handled even in extreme uses of it. It was interesting but attainable. I thought that it was going to be showing ways to be hard and crack down on use, but they showed how to respond to a wide variety of situations on campus. They also shared resources that can be used in different situations.”
“Many of the facts they shared were eye-opening,” said Hacker. “They understand what it is like to be in college. They also shared facts about how one bad night of drinking can impact your training for 14 days. They taught us ways to implement the information for all college students.”
“The APPLE Institute was a very rewarding experience,” said Miller. “Not only did I get the opportunity to learn about the APPLE model for substance and misuse prevention, but I also saw our students immerse themselves in ways to take all of the information they learned back to the TU campus. I am excited to see how we adopt this model as part of the Dragon Way.”
“Attending the APPLE Institute program was an amazing experience,” said Phillips. “APPLE not only provides information about how substance misuse can affect general health but also the effects it has on athletic performance. The main focus is to help teach the student-athletes how to be leaders and facilitate change on our campus.”