Football coaches unsure if there's a steroid problem, By: Mark Lazerus

July 12, 2007

The answer almost always starts with some kind of qualifier -- an admission that it might be more of a hope than a certainty.

The answer almost always ends with some kind of reluctant acceptance -- an acknowledgement that it certainly exists in some fashion.

In between those, the answer is almost always full of confidence and optimism.

Ask a high school football coach if he thinks there's a steroid problem among kids these days, and the answer is almost always the same.

"I can't say for sure, but I would say my gut tells me that it isn't a widespread phenomenon in high school sports in our area," said Crown Point coach Chip Pettit. "But I'm not naive enough to think it isn't happening at all."

Like most states, Indiana has no steroid testing policy. The costly tests and daunting number of athletes make a statewide policy all but infeasible.

Many area coaches are not opposed to the idea of testing, but don't feel it's necessary.

Morton coach Roy Richards was playing high school and college football in the 1980s. He didn't know any users, but knew the problem was widespread. These days, kids have other options -- safer ones that are legal, too.

"When I was in college in the '80s, that's when players were doing it," Richards said. "They didn't have the whey protein and the supplements -- stuff that's not hush-hush or lethal -- that you can take now. When guys got into (steroids), it was the only quick-fix they knew of. Now there are so many options out there that aren't drastic and don't have the side effects."

Most coaches go out of their way to keep their players informed of such options, and warn them about the dangers of steroids. While the IHSAA has had a high-profile ad campaign against smoking, there are no statewide mandates to inform kids about steroids. It's up to the coaches.

"The biggest thing we as coaches can do is talk to kids about the danger of it," Merrillville coach Zac Wells said. "You hope your relationship is good enough that they trust you on that and don't buy into what other people might be trying to push. You'll have kids who'll ask you for your opinion on supplements and stuff, and across the board everybody's pretty adamant about making sure they say the one thing you don't want to do is steroids."

Wells agreed with Richards that kids are smart enough these days to know there are better options out there.

"Young athletes are so much better informed on the effects of that stuff, especially with all the focus on major leaguers and NFL players getting in trouble for it," Wells said. "And things are so much more advanced now with the way guys develop. Weight programs, agility programs, conditioning programs -- it's all so easy to get. Kids go on the Internet and can find 15 different programs they can use to get stronger and faster. I think that might have curtailed the use of that stuff in recent years."

Merrillville last year instituted a random drug-testing policy for all students involved in extracurriculars -- from football to band to choir. Steroid testing is not part of the equation yet.

Wells said he'd like to see it, as would most coaches. But the cost is prohibitive, and the task unwieldy. Coaches hope through education and modern technology, testing for harmful steroids will eventually not even be necessary.

"I think you just have to keep hammering the point home and make sure the kids know all the risks and all the safer options," Pettit said. "Besides, the NFL and Major League Baseball can't even test for steroids properly, how can they expect high schools to be able to do it?"