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The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
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The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
Sports

Speaker inspires athletes to full potential

Kristina Harter
John Underwood, of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., president and founder of American Athletic Institute, lectured about how to get the best performance out of an athletic career by the choices made off the field on Tuesday in the Student Center’s Bordeaux room. — Photo by Kinley Q. Nichols
John Underwood, of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., president and founder of American Athletic Institute, lectured about how to get the best performance out of an athletic career by the choices made off the field on Tuesday in the Student Center’s Bordeaux room. — Photo by Kinley Q. Nichols

“The biggest reason for failure in life or in sport is giving up what you want the most for what you want at the moment,” John Underwood, a former NCAA All-American, international-level distance runner and World Masters Champion,  said during his “Pure Performance” presentation in the Bordeaux room of the Student Center Tuesday evening.

Underwood spoke to over 110 Chadron State College students, athletes and coaches about nutrition, mental health, and the effects of drugs and alcohol, particularly on athletes.

“The problem of social drug use by athletes at any age or level of sport is unacceptable. It has gone unchecked and uncontrolled for far too long,” Underwood said.

As founder and spokes person for the American Athletic Institute, Underwood’s focus is to educate people both in and out of sport about the nutrition and drugs and alcohol in a manner that will effect positive change.

“It’s the choices that you make that determine where you go and what is possible,,” Underwood said.

For more information visit www.americanathleticinstitute.com.