MitchMash: Don't forget about the dangers of steroids in high school sports

The nation's focus on sporting safety has shifted, and for good reasons.

Prevention of head injuries and concussions, along with the heat stroke — especially among football players — are at the forefront of issues facing educators, rule-makers and governing bodies everywhere.

As they should be.

But Don Hooton, president of the Taylor Hooton Foundation, wants to make sure we never lose sight of another potential killer among our youth.

And that's for very good and very bad reasons.

Hooton's son Taylor was an anabolic steroid user and hanged himself in 2003. Hooton started the foundation to educate coaches, parents and of course the young athletes themselves in order to deter them from going down the same road of his son more than a decade ago.

The time frame of Taylor Hooton's death coincided with the BALCO scandal, which brought to light the rampant use of banned, performance substance drugs at the highest level of sport.

In many ways, it was sport's darkest hour, revealing our heroes as, at best cheaters, and at worst, dope fiends and peddlers and deplorable role models.

"If it can happen in our home, it can happen in any home," Hooton told me in 2005. "It's no longer a drug that only affects the user. It affects all of us. Our students' lives and health are worth it."

Another father, Ray Garibaldi, who lost his son Rob in very similar fashion to Taylor Hooton, said at the same time: "The problem is, no matter what anybody says, they (professional athletes) are setting the bar for younger kids. And that bar is getting itself all the way down now to the junior high level."

By the numbers

Though Major League Baseball, the NFL and other professional sports have largely policed and punished the abusers over the last decade, studies show that the use of Appearance and Performance Enhancing Drugs (APEDs) continues to rise among youth.

According to the organization Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, use among high school-age teens of synthetic human growth hormone (hGH) has almost doubled since 2012.

According to the latest Partnership Attitude Track Study (PATS), sponsored by MetLife Foundation, 11 percent of teens in grades 9-12 reported using hGH with a prescription, up from five percent two years earlier.

PATS reports a gradual increase in lifetime use of steroids among teens, from five percent in 2009 to seven percent in 2013. The study also shows a correlation between the use of synthetic hGH and steroids.

One of five teens (21 percent) say that at least one friend uses steroids currently and that it is easy to obtain them.

"These new data point to a troubling development among today's teens," said Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership of Drug-Free Kids.

"Young people are seeking out and using performance-enhancing substances like synthetic hGH and supplements purporting to contain hGH, hoping to improve athletic performance or body appearance without really knowing what substances they are putting into their bodies."

On the radar

As if high school coaches don't have enough on their plate, keeping a finger on the pulse on steroid use is challenging.

But according to at least a couple of high profile coaches of nationally recognized programs, it's definitely part of the job and a potential problem they haven't lost sight of.

"All health-related habits — good and bad — are on our radar," said De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) coach Justin Alumbaugh, who also leads the Spartans conditioning program.

Alumbaugh said no supplements are allowed in his program, unless they are cleared by the program's medical staff. The only health product the program supplies is Muscle Milk, a protein blend designed to build muscle and aid recovery.

De La Salle is a perennial national championship contender, and next month a Hollywood production, "The Game Stands Tall," will be released on the program's remarkable success in all facets.

"We are constantly monitoring our kids' health," Alumbaugh said. "We monitor their weight, chart their every lift. If anything is off kilter or out of the norm or haywire, we see it and act on it."

Alumbaugh admits he hasn't had much exposure to PEDs, but if he hears any concerns of dangerous ones — from teachers, parents, and teammates — they are investigated immediately.

Same goes for Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), according to their sixth-year coach Tony Sanchez. Gorman is also a perennial national power, recently picked preseason No. 1 by USA Today.

Sanchez, however, isn't squashing all supplements. He said his program closely follows NCAA guidelines and attempts to educate his players.

Informed decisions

"There are so many good products and supplements out there to embrace," he said. "We try to teach the kids to make good, informed decisions. Like all other areas of our program, we try to educate our kids."

Sanchez compared the learning curve to that of online activity.

"We can't tell our kids not to use social media — they're going to do it," he said. "So we better teach them how to use it positively and warn them about the pitfalls. Same on this issue. We can't put our heads in the sand and assume kids aren't going to use some of these (health) products. We need to teach them what are good and bad so they can be informed." 

The Taylor Hooton Foundation offers endless information on the topic.

According to their studies:

* Only two percent of high school students have knowledge about hGH and APEDs.

* Median age for first time steroid use is 15

* Teen girls are the fastest growing group of new users

* Forty percent of high school seniors say anabolic steroids are easy to purchase

* Of those who use steroids, 62.5 percent say they use it to improve their looks

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