New Trier Athlete to Watch: Eric Underwood

If New Trier senior Eric Underwood ever designs roller coaster, don’t ride it.

Meet the Trevians’ cross-country and track star and it’s fairly easy to realize that he doesn’t have the kind of helter-skelter personality necessary to engineer a structure to provide patrons with their desired thrills.

So, it’s ironic that between his junior and senior seasons, Underwood’s emotions became grounded faster than a base jumper.

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As a junior, Underwood recalled being very emotional not just after a season of races that largely disappointed the distance stalwart but even after sub par workouts.

But at last season’s state meet, Underwood realized after he beat his personal best time by 30 seconds, that an even-keeled personality would serve him better as a senior.

“I’m a pretty calm guy,” Underwood said. “I never really get too high or too low. I get excited sometimes, but one of the things I’ve tried to work on this year is not [to] get too down after a bad workout and just try to stay steady and know that just one bad workout is still part of the training.”

But the self-perceived lows of Underwood’s season also taught him how to manage the high points of his running career.

Underwood, a very good student with a solid base of running knowledge and good intuition, was able to realize too excited about his successes could also bring trouble. His goal this season is to finish among the top 25 individuals at the state meet and garner all-state honors.

Coach Dave Wizner has made it clear to his runners that he is training them to place in the state meet on Nov. 5. So, any successes at invitational meets prior to regionals, sectionals and state are nice, but far from the goal.

The Trevians need to maintain their focus and run quality workouts over the next two-plus months, he said.

“I always find when I’m on the top of the mountain feeling great, something always comes around to knock me down,” Wizner said. “So you have to go with the highs and lows, and that’s what we’re trying to do because that’s what a season is full of.”

Wizner’s Mold

The Trevians draw a large number of runners each cross-country season, so they have a diverse group of personalities.

But if Wizner were able to create a prototype for one of his captains, Underwood would fit that mold nicely. He’s vocal, well-liked and is able to inspire his teammates to buy into the coach's training philosophy.

As one of the team’s three captains, Underwood’s leadership will become more vital as the stakes get higher in the big meets.

“He inspires the other guys to work hard and, as a coach, that’s what you want out of your captains,” Wizner said. “They like him and he has a very calm demeanor, a great personality and they feel extremely comfortable around him, and I think when you get to big meets you need your leaders to be fairly comfortable and relaxed.”

Getting Stronger

Underwood joined the cross-country team as a sophomore and was able to make the state meet roster but did not compete.

So it was apparent to Wizner that Underwood had natural talent and was able to showcase good speed as a junior. However, Underwood struggled to carry that speed in the middle part of his races.

After what Underwood called his best summer of training, Wizner thinks he has gained the strength to be in the conversation with the state’s elite runners.

“He’s much stronger than he was last year and that was really his weakness,” Wizner said. “He had decent speed but he didn’t have the strength to carry it through the middle of the three-mile race and he does this year. So, I’m expecting good things.”

But Underwood will be sure to manage his own expectations at least toward the beginning of the season and always refers to his performance at last season’s state meet.

“I thought I had the ability to do it,” the teen said. “I guess it was just kind of me believing that I could do it and once I knew I could do it then I just went out and did it.”

It’s just a matter of doing it again.