PROGRAM TOUTS HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES TO DRUGS

Gender-Specific Programs Teach Stayton Athletes About The Dangers Of
Drugs Used To Enhance Performance

Huddled in a Stayton High School locker room that smelled of wet
grass and sweaty gear, five football players put their heads together
to hatch a skit.

The theme: Steroids not only can inflict damage on your body, they
also can cost you money.

It was an evening assignment, following classes, practice and weight
lifting for this band of Eagles' football players: Robert Julio, Luke
Loberg, Casey Pruett, Derek Hayes and Jeremy Ziebert.

Alan Kirby, Stayton's assistant coach for defensive backs and
receivers, gave his players a few tips.

"The sillier it is, the better," he said. "I want you to have fun with it."

Acting out their skit for teammates at a subsequent session, they
displayed plenty of cheesy acting, goofiness and laughter. All told,
about 60 football players -- varsity, junior varsity and freshmen --
performed skits.

It's a recurring theme this school year at Stayton High, which is
participating in a nationwide project paid for by a $1 million
donation from Sports Illustrated.

Ultimately, hundreds of athletes will absorb lessons designed to help
them stiff-arm steroids and other risky performance-enhancing substances.

By June, boys and girls on all Stayton sports teams will have
completed two touted programs: Athletes Training and Learning to
Avoid Steroids, or ATLAS, and Athletes Targeting Healthy Exercise and
Nutrition Alternatives, or ATHENA, the parallel program for girls.

ATLAS and ATHENA were created more than a decade ago by researchers
at Oregon Health & Science University. Today, program headquarters is
at a recently created OHSU wing, called the Center for Health
Promotion Research.

First tested in Oregon and Washington, the programs now exist in
dozens of schools in 31 states. Training costs $11 per student, and
federal grants are available to help schools pay.

Scientifically proved to cut use of steroids and dietary supplements,
ATLAS and ATHENA have been praised by health officials, Congress and
sports organizations. They were the only prevention programs
recommended by Congress in the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004,
cited as model curricula.

"I'm not aware of any comparable program that has been developed,"
said Frank Uryasz, who established the NCAA's national drug-testing
program and now is the president of the National Center for Drug Free
Sport in Kansas City, Mo. "I think they're strong programs. I wish we
had more."

Sports Illustrated's donation placed ATLAS and ATHENA in 16 U.S. high
schools this school year. Three other Oregon high schools -- Glencoe,
Pendleton and Scappoose -- also are involved.

Greg Nolan, Stayton's head football coach, said steroid use hasn't
been a problem during his eight years on the school's coaching staff.

At first, Nolan said, he was concerned that some athletes might be
tempted to experiment with steroids if they heard about the
muscle-building power of the drugs.

His concerns eased as ATLAS sessions unfolded.

"They're learning good stuff," Nolan said. "I'm sure they'd rather be
doing something else after practice, but I think they're buying into it."

ATLAS got a thumbs up from several football players. One athlete
called it "a lot of common sense."

Some lessons will have lasting influence, predicted Kirby, who
teaches social studies and government.

"Like with anything, they aren't going to remember everything," he
said. "But they will remember some of it. As far as the steroids, it
really hammers it home. Another thing they've learned is that food is
cheaper than (dietary) supplements you buy over the counter."

Senior volleyball player Samantha Yutzie, an ATHENA squad leader,
gave the program high marks.

"I think it's an awesome program," she said. "It's not only about how
to stay fit and all that kind of stuff. It's also for outside of
sports and keeping yourself positive so you don't get depressed. It
teaches you a lot about life in general."

Members of the volleyball team applied what they learned about
nutrition when they discussed what to eat for pregame meals, Yutzie said.

"We joked about it at first," she said. "We take it seriously now
that we know what we should and shouldn't eat before games. We've
taken a lot of it to heart about how to keep our bodies in shape and
how to not hurt them."

Yutzie will take part in two more rounds of ATHENA, as a member of
the school dance team (winter) and tennis team (spring).

Program's Start

Working together at Oregon Health & Science University, Drs. Linn
Goldberg and Diane Elliot began investigating the reasons young
athletes used anabolic steroids, alcohol and other drugs in the late 1980s.

ATLAS was launched as a pilot program in 1993. ATHENA got under way
four years later.

Striking results have been found in follow-up surveys with thousands
of student-athletes: for males, 50 percent reductions in the use of
steroids and dietary supplements; for females, significant reductions
in the use of diet pills, steroids and supplements.

Spin-off effects also have been reported, such as less sexual
activity among females and fewer drunken-driving incidents among males.

"In kids, good habits cluster and bad habits cluster," Goldberg said.
"So if you develop some of the good habits, those other things will
follow suit."

Key elements in the ATLAS/ATHENA formula include peer leadership,
practical training tips and solid nutrition information.

"We work at changing norms," Goldberg said. "You have to give kids
reasonable alternatives, and that's why we have nutrition and
strength training. Teach them how to eat properly, how to train
properly, and voila, it changes everything."

Gender-specific programs were devised by Goldberg and Elliot to deal
with separate pressures and problems that can harm girls and boys.

"We found a number of things with girls related to disordered-eating
practices and depression -- very different than boys," he said. "So
that's why there are two different programs. They are presented in a
similar format with student teaching and the coach being present, but
they're completely different."

ATLAS and ATHENA training sessions occur in small groups. Coaches and
athletes designated as squad leaders follow eight to 10 scripted
lesson plans that teach healthy eating and safe training regimens.

Athletes set weekly goals, such as eating breakfast, getting enough
sleep, keeping up with homework and staying positive. The goals are
recorded in personal workbooks and students grade themselves on achieving them.

Each student also receives an athlete's guide, a wallet-size booklet
packed with nutrition information, exercise tips and "bottom line"
assessments about dozens of performance-enhancing substances, from
steroids to creatine to herbal stimulants.

Skits, such as those performed by the Stayton football players, are
intended to build team unity and encourage athletes to have fun as they learn.

"It's really fun to see what they come up with. They get pretty
creative," said Michelle Steiner, an OHSU research assistant who
traveled to Stayton to watch football squad members prepare their skits.

Education Urged

Goldberg and Elliot are widely recognized experts on steroids and
supplements. Last year, they were called to testify during
congressional hearings into steroid abuses.

Recently, they played host to John Walters, the federal drug czar,
for a private discussion about the merits of drug testing in
America's high schools.

"We told him that without a robust education program, it's doomed to
fail," said Goldberg, who also pitched ATLAS and ATHENA to the
nation's drug czar.

Critical of the federal government's lack of funding for prevention
programs, Goldberg extolled Sports Illustrated's contribution.

"No one has stepped up to the plate like Sports Illustrated," he
said. "And it's all for public service."

Goldberg said SI and OHSU are teaming up to spread the word about
ATLAS and ATHENA.

"We're developing a Web site with Sports Illustrated to disseminate a
lot of the information for free," he said. "You'll be able to just
log on and learn about it. If you want to implement the program,
that's another story."

Schools can obtain federal grants through the Safe and Drug Free
Schools program to pay for ATLAS and ATHENA curriculum materials,
Goldberg said.

Nationwide expansion is his goal for the programs.

Salem-Keizer schools haven't sought to add ATLAS and ATHENA, but that
may change, said Cheryl Page, the district's new prevention program
associate and coordinator for its Safe and Drug Free Schools program.

"It's one of the things on my list," Page said, referring to ATLAS
and ATHENA. "It's definitely a program that we could fund because
it's research based. That's the big thing. I know that they have had
some favorable research in terms of having great outcomes for kids."

[Sidebar]

The Statesman Journal spent two months delving into steroid and
dietary-supplement use by high school athletes, consulting experts,
surveying local coaches, examining school policies and speaking with athletes.

The newspaper found that it will take new policies, surveys,
legislation and education to root out the problem.

A critique of existing shortcomings and a package of recommended
solutions are being spotlighted in a three-day series.

Saturday: High school athletes gambling their health on
performance-enhancing drugs, such as steroids, and supplements.

Sunday: Popular supplement creatine has supporters, but little is
known about its effect on children.

Today: Solutions for problems with steroids and supplements.

What Parents Can Do

If you're worried that your teen might be using performance-enhancing
drugs or supplements, here's what experts say you can do:

Educate yourself about steroids and supplements.

Be clear about your expectations. Tell your teen that until the
long-term effects of performance-enhancing drugs on young athletes
are known, you expect him or her to avoid them.

Discuss ethics, dangers and proper training. Teach your son or
daughter that using a performance-enhancing drug not only is similar
to cheating, but also could lead to health problems or death.
Emphasize that a healthy diet, rigorous training and adequate sleep
are the safest and most effective ways to improve strength and
athletic performance.

Talk with your teen's coach. Ask the coach about his or her stance on
steroids and supplements. Encourage the school principal or athletic
director to hold education sessions for athletes and parents about
performance-enhancing drugs and supplements.

Pay close attention to what your teen purchases over-the-counter and
on the Internet, which is rife with products that purport to build
muscles, burn fat and enhance athletic performance.