| Probably the most difficult parts about the situation is that you can talk to a teen until you’re blue in the face about the dangers associated with teens and steroid use, but teens have a convenient way of often convincing themselves that the consequences don’t apply to them if they really want to.
Here are some tips to help you whether you’re a teacher, coach or parent when it comes to communicating your expectations about steroid use to the teenagers in your life:
First of all, it’s important to show your love and support even when the teenager in question doesn’t win or even do his or her best at a particular competition. That’s not to say that you can’t coach them and encourage them to do better or keep training, but don’t associate winning with your levels of love and support.
You should also clearly define your expectations when it comes to steroid use for teenagers. Be clear in your opinions and don’t allow for exceptions. As a parent, coach and teacher, you often learn how to choose your battles. This is important enough to be a battle to choose. This is a topic that you can turn into a general discussion about ethics in terms of cheating and breaking the law to get ahead.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse is also taking action to help deter teenagers from using anabolic steroids. This is in response to surveys of teens in grades 8, 10 and 12 showing that between the years of 1991 and 1999 that the use of anabolic steroids by students in these groups was on the rise. NIDA began a public education initiative including a website and distribution of material nation-wide to teach teens about the possible ramifications of using such drugs.
The BALCO incident also helped the issue of anabolic steroid use in high schools. As a result, the National Federation of State High School Associations have made requirements for high school athletes in terms of their steroid education. Some states have gone further. For example, since then the California Interscholastic Federation has implemented state-wide regulations including the necessity for student athletes to sign a waiver saying that they won’t use steroids and requiring coaches to take a steroids-education course (according to “The BALCO Legacy”).
Since then, several states have followed suit of sorts. For example, New Mexico and Texas have looked into the feasibility of testing while New Jersey does require it of athletes participating in state championship competitions.
Others have included steroids in their drug and alcohol use policies including Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine and Texas. Other states have created and implemented additional steroid educational materials including Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. These education materials take the form of classes, handouts, videos and websites. Sources: |
