Steroid testing grades 'A'
By day, John Ivlow is a veteran officer for the Bolingbrook Police Department. By night, Ivlow is the head football coach at Bolingbrook High School.
So, Ivlow knows about both sides of the fence as far as the red-hot topic of drugs -- specifically steroids. Last Friday, Gov. Quinn signed legislation that would allow testing of high school athletes for steroids during any portion of the season, not just during the playoffs.
(Marina Makropoulos/Staff Photographer)
Last year, the Illinois High School Association randomly tested for steroids, but restricted it to the postseason. Joliet Catholic Academy was the only area school to test athletes for a litany of drugs on a year-round basis. Ivlow, for one, now feels good about at least covering the steroid part of the base.
"I think it's a good thing," he said. "It's the second year of testing for steroids, and as far as doing it all year long, sure, why not? I definitely think it's a step in the right direction."
That was Ivlow the coach speaking. Ivlow the police officer then added: "I'd also rather see them test for other drugs as well, like marijuana, which is more widely used than steroids. I would like to see it expanded to test for other drugs, and I think that would be great."
Joliet Catholic Academy volleyball coach Christine Scheibe is coming off a great 2008 season. The Angels won their second state title in the past six years, a span including four state trophies. Her program is accustomed to the attention -- and passing the test.
"I think for a school like JCA, the new law is not going to make much of a difference," she said. "We already have the mandatory drug testing through the school, so our kids know what the expectations are. It's a good policy that our school started, as well as the IHSA.
"Last year in the state series, we knew we might be tested, and I think that's a good thing. I look at this coming out as an expansion of what we already do, and it's there to protect the kids, to help ensure their health and safety."
One of those JCA kids is all-state outside hitter Annemarie Hickey, a
University of Wisconsin recruit. She understands the allure that exists for boys and the nonexistence for girls.
"Nowadays, all the guys want to be bigger and stronger, and the temptation is there for their future," Hickey said. "They want to get that college scholarship or go pro. I think it's good, then, that our school is doing the testing for all of the drugs and that the state does steroids, too.
"For girls, I don't think (steroids) are an issue at all. That possibility is always there, but I don't think girls are willing to pay the consequences of what steroids can do. And if the testing helps those learn a lesson and puts some people on the right path, I'm all for it."
Anthony Smith, Bolingbrook's girls basketball coach, played defensive back for the Raiders' state runnerup in 1993. He has coached two state champions, including last winter, and saw how the IHSA's process played out downstate.
"They picked out the players after our (semifinal) game, they told them, 'Come with us,' and they test you," Smith said. "I know it's probably not the easiest situation to deal with, but I understand why they're doing it and I can certainly see the positives. They want to protect our kids, and because if it stops one kid from doing it ..."
"The way I look it, athletes shouldn't have any problem being tested," Lincoln-Way East soccer coach Brian Papa said. "If they're doing something wrong, then they have problems. If not, what difference does it make? If you're clean, I bet it won't bother you. But for the IHSA to go ahead, there might be mixed opinions."
As Smith pointed out, "pro sports, especially baseball, shined a lot of the light on steroid abuse." Major League Baseball has suffered from leaks of confidential information regarding their tests. Thus, Papa cited his worries about the IHSA's execution.
"It is what it is," he said. "That doesn't bother me. The IHSA is doing it for health reasons, and it's better to catch it now. There are so many guidelines that our athletes have to go by, and this will be one of them. In the long run, I'm curious to see how they police it. It's one thing to say one thing, but you have to enforce it, so I want to wait and see. I give them credit for being proactive."
Much of the spotlight, Smith noted, will be on the sport he played at Bolingbrook -- football. But most of the headlines regarding steroids lately have been from the world of baseball.
"I don't know, but maybe the main sports are going to be the focus," Smith said. "But you just can't do it for the main sports, either. It has to be about all the athletes, all of the kids from all of the sports, or it's not right."
Former linebacker Dick Butkus, a Hall of Fame inductee from the Bears, aided Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) in constructing the new law that builds on the IHSA's policy. Butkus has championed the cause concerning the misuse of steroids by young athletes.
A defensive coordinator before becoming Providence Catholic's head coach, Mark Coglianese can relate to Butkus' effort. However, Coglianese senses the IHSA's recent pound of prevention will, or has, produced a steroid cure.
"We stress year-round to our kids to always do the right thing," Coglianese said. "Last year, teams had to worry about it in the playoffs, now it's any time in the season. That's good.
"Like I said, if the kids are doing what we're asking them to do, we don't foresee this as being any major difference than before the new law got passed. The IHSA is pretty fair and it's all by chance. If you're picked, regardless of sport, you have to go and answer the call.
"And I think it's a good thing."
Story written by asst. sports editor Bill Scheibe. Reporting done by staff writer Dave Parker, with contribution from Scheibe
