Testing for steroids has everyone on hold
IHSA awaits official word on policy
In the murky world of performance-enhancing drugs, Illinois has pushed ahead where others have pulled back.
Florida couldn't justify the $100,000 in the state budget and ended its steroid testing for high school athletes in February. Three months later, the Texas legislature agreed to slash similar funding from $6 million to $2 million over the next two years, though what remained was still the country's largest program of its kind.
(Marina Makropoulos/Staff Photographer)
Preseason football practice begins this morning. The Sun will spotlight the upcoming local football season in each sports section leading up to opening night on Aug. 28. Coming Thursday: A look inside Metea Valley's new program. IHSA spokesman Matt Troha , via e-mail Tuesday
Against that backdrop, Gov. Pat Quinn last week signed legislation that should mean hundreds more prep athletes will be tested each year across Illinois. The full extent of the steroid era -- just how widespread the problem is and how deep it has reached into our athletic culture -- will forever remain unknown. At this point, it's also unclear when and how the new law will shape high school sports in this state.
"We are still awaiting word from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health on how the structure of the new testing will look," IHSA spokesman Matt Troha wrote in an e-mail Tuesday. "We do not anticipate it being in place for the fall sports this year, in which case we would likely continue using last year's testing plan."
Texas, New Jersey and Illinois are the only states with testing policies in place on the prep level. According to Troha, an IHSA assistant executive director, the organization paid $150,000 out of its own budget to administer tests last year. The National Center for Drug Free Sport -- an outside vendor that has worked with the NCAA, NFL and Major League Baseball -- handled the screenings.
The new anti-doping measure calls for more than 1,000 student-athletes to be tested, an increase of about 300. Less than a dozen reportedly tested positive during the first year of the IHSA program, and all were granted medical exemptions.
The funding will come from the state and a $50 fine charged to drug offenders. The testing pool will have to represent at least 25 percent of IHSA member schools.
"We're just doing the same things we did last year -- every athlete has to have that form signed," said Waubonsie Valley athletic director Mike Rogowski, referring to the parent permission form that also requires the signatures of student-athletes. "Anytime during the year, the IHSA can come in and test us."
Rogowski indicated that no Waubonsie teams were tested during the last academic year. According to Naperville Central athletic director Marty Bee, members of the school's softball and girls volleyball teams, along with a male swimmer, were screened during postseason tournaments.
Bee said the tests were conducted in a professional manner. His sense is that the calendar will eventually change: "They've got to work out the logistics of it. I'm guessing there's going to be some testing that'll be (done) in-school, during school, somehow. ... The key to it is more kids will be tested."
At last season's state football championships in Champaign, players from schools like Geneva and Aurora Christian were pulled from postgame media sessions to get tested.
"I don't think (it's) a big deterrent. The chances of kids getting caught aren't great right now," Central football coach Mike Stine said. "You know 256 teams make the playoffs and it's not like, 'OK, we're now gonna go drug test half of them.' The percentage (is) pretty small."
In the meantime -- preseason football practice begins today -- administrators, coaches and athletes will be awaiting instructions.
"We haven't heard anything from the state," Naperville North athletic director Doug Smith said. "I don't see the state changing their current policy because just like anything else -- it comes down to dollars.
"Regardless of whether you do (that) in-season or during the playoffs, it's still gonna cost you money. So I don't necessarily see them revamping when they do their policy this year. Now whether they look at it doing it at a different time (next) year -- they might."
Here's what the PDF version of an IHSA handbook for the 2009-10 school year downloaded Tuesday had to say about the organization's performance-enhancing drug testing policy: "In light of recent legislation, the policy will be provided when it is finalized."
"We're like you - we'll look up on the Web page," Smith said Monday. "But I have not seen anything or heard anything through the grapevine at this time."
