The St. Landry Sheriff Department made a major steroid bust after targeting three local bodybuilding gyms in Opelousas, Eunice and Krotz Springs during the course of a seven-month investigation. At least one hundred steroid users were identified including several customers who were high school football players.
Some high school coaches are shocked that teenagers on their teams would use steroids; apparently they are not familiar with the efforts of the Taylor Hooton Foundation. Nonetheless, they have overcome their surprise to divert blame to local commercial gyms and the personal trainers who work in those facilities.
Opelousas High School coach Mickey Autrey expresses his shock at the news to the Daily Advertiser (“Steroid bust shocks coach,” July 23).
“I’m floored,” Opelousas High coach Mickey Autrey said. “I’m caught off guard. I think it’s been suspected that some kids do it, but I think it was wishful thinking on our part that it wasn’t happening in our schools.
“I hope it’s not any of our kids. That could be devastating for any program.”
Coach Mickey Autrey suggests that the influences to use steroids come from commercial gyms and not their high school program (“Coaches try to control summer workouts,” July 24).
“Not knocking the private facilities, but I think that’s one reason why the coaches rather them working out in our weight rooms,” Opelousas High coach Mickey Autrey said. “I’m not saying it in a negative way, we can control it (at our place) a little better.
“When a kid goes to a gym, you don’t know what they are influenced by. You hope the kids are mature enough to know the difference between right and wrong.”
Port Barre High School coach Mac Mistric defends his program and suggests steroid use must occur on “family time” (“Coaches push own gyms,” July 24).
“When I started, I mandated a 20-workout summer session where every one of our kids have to get 20 workouts at the Devil’s Den,” Port Barre coach Mac Mistric said. “Whatever they do anywhere else, that’s on family time. But they will get their workouts with their teammates.
Westminster High School coach Tommy Badon points the finger directly at personal trainers used by his athletes.
“We have kids coming from Lafayette, Opelousas and Ville Platte,” Badon said. “But to be honest, we have a 95 percent turnout. I try to limit their time and availability to go to other people.
“(The health club trainers) may be well-versed and know more than us, but what they’re doing may be counter-productive to what we want.
“But you can’t completely stop it. We still have some that come to our workouts in the morning, then a couple of times a week they go to their own personal trainer in the afternoon.”
And finally, we have a high school coach who is more concerned about keeping his teenage athletes off anabolic steroids than protecting his own job or assigning blame elsewhere for the steroid problem.
Acadiana High School coach Ted Davidson acknowledges his responsiblity in keeping steroids away from his student-athletes. He acknowledges that the high school football “environment” may encourage teenagers to seek shortcuts like anabolic steroids; but he emphasis coaches’ role in evaluating this situations.
Acadiana coach Ted Davidson said coaches may need to look at the way they evaluate players to possibly avoid situations where players might rely on steroids to get to where coaches want them to be.
“I think we encourage our kids to get stronger and get faster and work harder,” Davidson said. “We may be having some responsibility in creating somewhat of an environment that they may look for a shortcut.
“We’re always asking them if they got stronger or faster in the offseason. Those that seem to maybe not be making the gains might look for shortcuts.”
I hope more high schools have coaches who approach the steroid problem like Ted Davidson.
About the author
Millard writes about anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs and their use and impact in sport and society. He discusses the medical and non-medical uses of anabolic-androgenic steroids while advocating a harm reduction approach to steroid education.
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