By Staff
Coaching Management, 13.8, September 2005, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm1308/bbsurvey.htm
With all the messages high school student-athletes hear about performance-enhancing substances, what are they actually choosing to put into their bodies in an effort to get ahead? This spring, officials at the Iowa High School Athletic Association decided to ask. The IHSAA conducted an anonymous statewide supplement survey, gathering information from 3,200 athletes at over 100 schools. The results contained mostly good news, but also identified a few areas of concern.
In general, the substances Iowa student-athletes reported using most aren’t the ones likely to put them at risk for health problems. A large majority—95 percent of males and 93 percent of females—reported consuming sports drinks to enhance performance. Thirty-nine percent of males and 36 percent of females take vitamin supplements, 37 percent of males use protein bars or powders, and 13 percent of females use meal-replacement bars or drinks.
IHSAA officials were pleased to learn that far fewer athletes are using the substances they’re most concerned about. Only 17 percent of males and one percent of females reported using creatine, and one percent or less of both genders said they used androstenedione (commonly known as andro), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), or beta-hydroxy methylbutyrate (HMB).
The results were welcome news for Alan Beste, IHSAA Assistant Executive Director and Wellness Coordinator. “We realized that for the most part, the things kids were using to enhance their performance weren’t the things we were afraid of,” he says.
One number, however, did cause concern. Thirty percent of males and 17 percent of females said they use energy-enhancing products, such as highly caffeinated energy drinks or gels, many of which also contain other stimulants not regulated by the FDA.
“That did raise a bit of a red flag for us,” Beste says. “We are meeting with our association board later this summer to talk about a plan of action for addressing that area, because those products can have some negative effects if used improperly.”
The survey also asked athletes to identify their main sources of information about performance-enhancing products. Topping the list for both males and females were friends, which naturally includes other athletes (44 percent for males and 50 percent for females), parents (37 percent for both genders), and coaches (37 percent for males and 35 percent for females). No other single group—doctors, athletic trainers, school nurses, or athletic directors—polled above 15 percent for either gender.
Beste says those numbers are encouraging for the IHSAA, because the association has long focused its educational efforts on the groups it appears athletes turn to most often for information. “We believe that by keeping our focus on these three groups, we can lower some of those percentages, especially for energy-enhancing products,” he says.
The IHSAA presently distributes pamphlets and other printed materials with information about supplements and their risks, and more educational resources are currently in the works. The association has partnered with Iowa State University to produce multimedia presentations in the form of CD-ROMs, DVDs, and PowerPoint slideshows for coaches and teachers to use when talking to student-athletes and parents about safe and unsafe methods of performance enhancement.
“We have always believed that if we don’t inform athletes about nutritional supplements, and in particular weight-gain products and substances like creatine, they may start relying on them,” Beste explains. “And when they aren’t satisfied with the outcome, the next thing they turn to could be andro or anabolic steroids.”
Tim Thomas, President of the Iowa Track Coaches Association and Head Girls’ Coach at Galva-Holstein High School, believes coaches can play an important role in creating a team atmosphere where supplement experimentation is discouraged. “The coach’s attitude creates a perception for what is acceptable,” he explains. “You might be encouraging athletes to use a legal supplement that you think is harmless. But if you do that, somebody may misinterpret it to mean any kind of supplement use is okay. That’s not the right message to send, and I don’t think it’s a role coaches should take on.”
At least three states—Michigan, Illinois, and Texas—have agreed with Thomas’s assessment, passing laws that prohibit school employees from recommending or supplying performance-enhancing supplements to high school athletes. In May, Oregon considered a similar bill, but after passing through the state senate it was narrowly defeated in the house, where members cited concerns that it made no distinction between legal and illegal substances. Iowa law currently only prohibits coaches from selling nutritional supplements to athletes.