DRUG TESTING FOR PREPS ON THE RADAR

Sometimes, it's amazing what one finds out through asking. And
sometimes, not even that.

Because just the other day, on the phone with Butch Peters to see if
he had any favorites in the race to fill his old job as Norman High
football coach, the 35-year veteran of the classroom and sideline,
added a new topic to the discussion, quite clear he was on the record.

"They've talked for two years about drug testing and something needs
to be done about that at both high schools," he said. "It needs to be
a priority because it's a major, major problem in Norman right now."

I asked what makes 2008 all that different from 1975 to maybe the
only guy in town qualified to comment on the habits of high school
athletes and students from each generation.

Or is it just a case of Dazed and Confused, Part Two? "All that stuff
cycled out," he said, "and now it's cycled back in."

Who knew this conversation has been kicking around Norman Public
Schools for some time?

If drug testing at the high school level came to pass, it would
likely not be limited to athletes, nor levied upon all students.
What's allowed, should any system adopt drug testing as a policy, is
the testing of students involved in extra-curricular activities.

Athletes and actors, band members and student council, cheerleaders
and mat maids, if they even have mat maids any more.

"I think, today, the schools that drug test, it's a deterrent for
kids and I think kids need more deterrents," said Bryan Young,
assistant principal at Norman North and the boys soccer coach there
since the school's inception through the 2006 season. "We can tell
kids and educate kids, but it appears to be more readily available
than in the past ... I think drug testing would be a deterrent."

NPS superintendent Dr. Joseph Siano was careful with his comments,
but admitted the issue is on the system's radar.

"I think drug and alcohol testing, along with other preventions, are
things that you need to be looking at," he said. "We're going to look
at it, but it's a process of researching and education before you
move on to that step."

If that sounds like a bunch of superintendentspeak, Siano was willing
to go a little further. He views it as a topic that will be
investigated throughout the next school year and, "whether it would
be implemented the next school year or at all would depend on how
that process works."

Sort of non-committal, yes, but much clearer than call me back in 2010.

Clearly, the superintendent doesn't have his head in the sand.
Without much prompt, he referred me to the district's Youth Risk
Behavior Survey on the system's Web site. It's a treasure trove of
information the system should be applauded for unearthing.

Again, sometimes you don't even need to ask.

During the 2005-06 school year, 2,918 students were surveyed and
about 40 percent of whom, boys and girls, admitted to trying
marijuana at least once; about 20 percent of whom, boys and girls
again, admitted to using it more than once in the last 30 days.

Proving even your sports editor is naive, 14.7 percent admitted to
using cocaine at least once.

Next time they might want to include performance-enhancing drugs on
the survey, or run one just for their athletes. Still, that's not
where Peters believes there's a problem.

"I don't think I've got a steroid problem. We look out for the
symptoms and we talk to our kids about not doing it," he said. "(But)
the recreational drugs are killing us. They're killing all the sports."

Whether or not Peters exaggerates is not the point. The point is he
believes and means it. And the system's looking into it, at least.

"It's something that we have to look at along with many other
preventions," Siano said. "But I think it's a process you do in a
deliberate way."

Just, maybe, not too deliberately.