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High School Athletes Don’t Use Steroids According to Michigan Coach
[December 8th, 2008] by Millard Baker
Larry Caper, the Battle Creek Central High School track and field coach, believes that Michigan high school athletes are NOT using anabolic steroids (”Steroids not evident in state high schools,” December 7).
Locally, coaches and players in Battle Creek say steroids are virtually a non-issue. Football and track and field, sports that require muscle mass and speed, have long been the places where steroids are prevalent.
But not around here, according to Battle Creek Central boys track and field coach Larry Caper.
“In my years at Battle Creek Central, I have never seen it and kids never talk about it,” Caper said. “At the high school level, I don’t think (it goes on). You can tell by the performance of an athlete, from year to year, if times get extremely fast. You know what’s going on.”
Wow. You would think that most high school coaches would acknowledge that some high school athletes are unfortunately using anabolic steroids. While it may not be a public health crisis, the use of steroids by teenagers is a problem. Such naivete should be sufficient reason to disqualify anyone from coaching high school sports.
Pretending that steroids don’t exist in high school is categorically different from acknowledging the steroid problem as the lesser of several more serious problems facing high school students. John Johnson, speaking for the Michigan High School Athletic Association, believes that problems of alcohol, recreational drugs, and obesity are much more serious concerns facing a much larger percentage of teenagers in high schools.
“Drug testing is a big red flag that people love to wave,” Johnson said.
“The school community in general doesn’t feel this is an issue worth diving into just with athletics. We have bigger issues than anabolic steroids — like obesity, alcohol and recreational drugs.” [...]
“It’s a 1 percent issue,” Johnson said. “In that regard, it’s no different than college scholarships. Should our focus be on 1 percent? And at what gain?”
Thumbs up to John Johnson for expressing some rational thinking in the face of widespread steroid hysteria. Thumbs down to Larry Caper for burying his head in the sand and pretending that steroid use in Michigan high schools is non-existent.
Tags: high school, michigan, steroid testing
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