York County coaches back PIAA stance on steroids, By: Steve Heiser

Random testing will not be done

06-28-06

Education -- not random testing -- is the best way to prevent steroids use by high school athletes.

That's the position of the PIAA.

And it's a position that's supported by several York County football coaches who were questioned last evening.

The PIAA is not planning to test Pennsylvania high school athletes for steroids, even though neighboring New Jersey will begin randomly testing athletes who qualify for state championship events.

"Do we think it's perfect? Probably not, by any means," PIAA assistant executive director Melissa Mertz told the Associated Press. "But we definitely believe in changing the way the kids think about (steroids) and their behavior. We feel (education is) the best approach."

One reason for the PIAA's possible reluctance to test for steroids is obvious: The cost of such testing is very expensive, and PIAA schools almost certainly aren't willing to foot the bill. The cost of a single test is $150 to $200, so testing even five players from each football championship game participant could cost $8,000.

New Jersey to test: New Jersey's state association adopted a policy that calls for random testing. The cost will be covered by the state and the New Jersey high school association, which will both provide $50,000 toward the testing program. It is the first such policy in the nation.

"One thing I've learned is that throwing money at a problem doesn't necessarily solve it," York Suburban coach John Knowles said. "The first alternative is education. The government can get awfully intrusive. And at the high school level I have honestly not run into that athlete who has tremendously ballooned up to where I suspected him of using steroids."

Spring Grove coach Gregg Trone was also supportive of the PIAA's decision.

"The education route is the way to go," he said. "The PIAA always seems to do things the right way. I would support whatever their suggestion would be."

Susquehannock coach Tom Waranavage doesn't believe the New Jersey system, using random testing, will work.

"Under that system, they're wasting $50,000," he said. "If you're going to test, test. I understand the idea and message behind it, but what's more powerful is having them bring in people and talk to the kids about (the dangers of steroids use)."

Waranavage also said the New Jersey policy could open up the state to a possible lawsuit the first time an athlete fails a test. Knowles also questioned the constitutionality of the random tests.

Waranavage said, in an "ideal world," he would be in favor of steroids testing. "But in reality, if we're testing athletes for steroids, why aren't we testing all students for drugs and alcohol. And who's covering the costs? Our schools can't cover the costs."

New Jersey's policy calls for 60 percent of the testing to occur in football, wrestling, track and field, swimming, lacrosse and baseball. The remaining 40 percent of testing will be in the other state championship sports.

Any New Jersey athlete who tests positive for a banned substance will lose his or her athletic eligibility for one year from the date of the test and must forfeit any individual honor earned while in violation. An athlete who tests positive or refuses to test cannot regain eligibility until undergoing counseling and producing a negative test.

"The easiest thing to do is kick kids out of sports and kick kids out of school," Waranavage said. "The hard thing to do is help the kid."

Waranavage wanted to emphasize that he's not condoning steroids use. And neither is the PIAA. But the coach, and the organization, don't believe the New Jersey policy of random testing is the best solution.

"When things like that happen, there's no question it certainly piques the interest of other state associations," Mertz told the AP. "Certainly, it raises our eyebrows and makes us say, 'OK, let's get ahead of this.'"

In an effort to do that, the PIAA has met with a private company, STAR Sportsmanship, to provide steroids awareness and education training in schools.