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Column: IHSA's new drug-testing policy seems like right move, but questions remain
Published: Thursday, January 17, 2008 - 3:02am
ON MONDAY, THE organization that governs high school sports in Illinois — the IHSA — announced that it will be testing random athletes for steroid and performance-enhancer use during postseason competitions starting with the 2008-09 school year.
Unanimously approved by the IHSA Board of Directors, this decision makes Illinois the fourth state in the nation to approve the administering of drug tests to high school athletes.
As a runner, I have long wondered why high schools don’t administer drug tests. After seeing advertisements in Runner’s World magazine for performance-enhancing drugs — such as dietary supplements that guarantee a 10 percent drop in time — I myself have been tempted to try them.
After all, who doesn’t want to become faster, better, stronger?
However, I have never actually experimented with steroids or supplements such as Endurox or creatine. The closest thing to a performance enhancer that I have taken is a pack of Jelly Belly’s Sports Beans, which basically consists of lime green jelly beans infused with salt and caffeine.
Since I don’t plan on being a professional athlete, I see no need for me to waste money on expensive pills and powdered drink mixes. Also, as a girl, bulking up isn’t exactly high on my list of priorities.
On the other hand, I can understand how high school athletes who want to compete at the college-level would be tempted to take steroids or other performance enhancers. A “Monitoring the Future” study conducted by University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research in 2004 revealed that more than 270,000 U.S. students in the eighth, 10th and 12th grades have used steroids.
While the NCAA and Major League Baseball crack down on athletes by administering drug tests, most high schools in the U.S. have been completely ignoring the problem. In fact, Florida and New Jersey are the only two states that have implemented drug-testing programs among their high school athletes. The state of Texas has approved drug testing, but it has yet to take action.
While reading through the IHSA announcement, I was quite amused to see that out of the 414 high schools that responded to the IHSA drug-test survey, only 72 percent were in favor of implementing a performance-enhancing drug-testing program.
OK … so what about the other 28 percent? Do they support the use of steroids? Do the principal or athletic directors at these schools have something to hide?
I admit: I am a bit skeptical of this new policy. The idea of an IHSA official randomly pulling me aside after a race and demanding a drug test does seems potentially embarrassing and awkward.
Nevertheless, I believe that the IHSA is taking a step forward. Conducting random drug tests will more or less even out the playing field. Without drug tests, I can imagine that many athletes — especially those who are trying to impress college scouts — would pop steroids without a second thought.
But many questions are still left unanswered. Will the drug tests also apply to academic competitions? Will the IHSA test for recreational drugs? And who will cover the cost of the tests?
No matter what the IHSA’s final decisions are, I think it’s safe to say that we are in for some interesting postseasons next year.
Comments
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I am a student athlete in Illinois and have been playing football for all four years of high school. There is a huge difference between Steroids and supplements, steroids are strong concentrations of chemicals such as testosterone which promotes unhealthy muscle growth where as supplements supply your body for the materials needed to help repair itself. In many cases to be a healthy student athlete you need to take supplements. For instance in the off season I ran constantly and spent around three rigorous hours a day in the gym working out only to get better. With out the use of protein shakes and glutamein i would have been a sick kid basicly working away all my bodys nutrients. One might argue that you could just eat to get your nutrients but for me just eating was not enough to make myself healthy i needed all the vitamins i could get if i wanted to stay healthy. This is why im sick of people comparing supplement drinks like endurox to steroids they are completely different. Is the Testing a good idea of coarse but it needs to be better explained to the public so people aren't confusing the difference between supplements and steroids and calling out students as cheaters.
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