Many high school athletic governing bodies are instilling new rules state-wide as high school sports seasons begin this fall.
And among the Illinois High School Association’s new rules is a beat down on possible steroid use, one of only four states in the nation that has a policy on steroids.
While Illinois implemented a random drug test to around 700 athletes throughout the state starting in 2008 only before post-season competition, the state will now have year-round drug testing and increase the number tests to 1,000.
Last year, 10 of the 648 athletes tested came up positive, but those were eventually cleared by the medical examiners office. Still, Governor Pat Quinn passed a law Aug. 7 ffor a tougher policy to focus on performance-enhancing drugs.
Other states to have a similar program are New Jersey, Texas and Florida.
Texas has the nations largest program and has tested 45,000 athletes since February of 2008.
But while these programs have yet to find very many positive results-Texas found just 19 positive tests according to Bureau News- these four high schools should be commended for including steroid testing in their rules, and other states should follow.
While the tests show steroids have yet to find their place in high school athletics, the chance always exists. Someone who works for a highs school told me recently that one of their athletes was under suspicion of steroid use by some of the coaches. Apparently, he increased his body size in a very short amount of time. That state he lives in has no mandatory steroid testing, so in that case what do you do? You cannot accuse an athlete based on suspicion.
High school-aged athletes are at the age when they grow into the athletes they will become later in their careers. Varsity athletes are probably playing at the most competitive level they have to that point in their lives. Those who go on to play in college will only build off of the platform they have built since high school.
And because high school is where athletes learn about sportsmanship and morality involved in sports, these impressionable teenagers need to learn that steroids have no place in organized sport. This is the age they need to be deterred from this horrendous practice.
Schools pour so much money into their varsity athletics programs and in turn the program makes money back for the schools. Thus, it should be ensured that no foreign substances are being introduced into the game that may throw the competition off. Communities treat high school sports, especially bigger ones like football, like big-ticket events, so they should handle steroids the way college and professional sports do.
We all see how much trouble professional athletes are getting in for being busted for using steroids, so the younger kids understand the risks involved with steroids, the less likely they are to use them later in their careers. High school is the perfect age to do it. Yes, it may seem a little accusatory to make 18-year-olds take a steroid test, but maybe if these tests deter a new generation of athletes from using steroids as they grow into professional, testing will become obsolete.
