IN CLARKE, DRUG TESTING BELIEVED TO BE A DETERRENT

WINCHESTER - In 1999, Clarke County High School became just the third
high school in Virginia to begin randomly testing student athletes
for drug use.

Nine years later, the program is still going strong.

"I think it's an excellent policy," said Clarke County Public Schools
Superintendent Michael F. Murphy, who started his job in July. "You
want athletes to be clean at all levels, whether it's professional,
college, or high school, but we know that's not true. This program
requires it."

Clarke school officials believe random testing acts a deterrent to
drug use. Students who may be tempted to smoke marijuana or bulk up
through performance-enhancing drugs will think twice about taking
such a risk. Not only could they lose their eligibility, but they
risk incurring the wrath of teammates who are counting on them.

Athletes appear to have gotten the message. Records kept since 2004
show that no Clarke County athletes have failed the test. Clarke
officials who were around during the program's first five years say
they can't remember any failed tests either.

In a student body that numbers 760, about 170 are student
athletes.

Although there was some criticism before the policy was passed,
officials say there's been little opposition since.

One of the biggest objections to the program when it first started is
still an issue today: Athletes at Clarke County say they shouldn't be
the only students who are tested.

Former Clarke County athletic director Randy Trenary presented the
idea of drug testing to the school board nine years ago as a safety
issue. If an athlete was high during a practice or game, he was
afraid the athlete would injure themselves or a teammate.

There have been a few changes to the program since Trenary, now an
assistant athletic director at Heritage High School in Leesburg, left
in 2002.

One thing has remained relatively constant: what Clarke County spends
each year on its drug-testing program.

According to Matthew Eberhardt, assistant superintendent for
instruction, Clarke County spent $3,020 during the program's first
year of 1999-2000; $3,040 in 2003-04; and $3,062 in 2007-08. Since it
began, Clarke has spent a little more than $27,000 on the program.

Richmond-based Pembrooke Occupational Health, which has been employed
by Clarke County since December 2004, has processed 243 test samples
over the past 31/2 years, approximately 70 each school year. Last
year, the firm processed 66 tests at $23 each for a total cost of
$1,518. Athletes are assigned an identification number and are
randomly selected for testing by Pembrooke.

Winchester-based Amherst Family Practice (AFP) administers the tests,
for which it received $1,544 last year. Athletes were tested after
school when Trenary was athletic director. Now athletes are tested
by AFP during the day, then AFP submits the urine samples to Pembrooke.

Last year, tests were administered once or twice a month, with as
many as 10 athletes tested at once.

The consequences for failing a drug test have stayed the same through
the years. For the first offense, an athlete is suspended from
interscholastic sports for six months; the second time, for a year;
and the third time, they're barred permanently. All three offenses
require students to attend substance abuse education programs.

While Trenary's main concern was safety on the field, he likes to
think that drug testing encouraged athletes to make responsible
choices. Trenary is glad he was able to bring it to Clarke County,
even if it's unlikely something similar will ever be implemented at
Heritage, one of 11 high schools in Loudoun County. In order for a
school to institute an athlete drug-testing program, Trenary said,
all the other schools in the county or city would have to approve
it.

Drug testing high school athletes is not a common practice. Although
there are no official statistics on the number of Virginia schools
who test athletes, at least six schools in the state do so. Lynchburg
City Schools' two high schools and Dickenson County Public Schools'
three high schools are among the others.

"I think it's probably a deterrent to not use drugs," Trenary
said.

Mike McCall, a Clarke County school board member from 1996 to 2007
who is now an information and communication specialist with the
Virginia High School League, agrees with Trenary.

Some people who were initially against drug testing now view it as
valuable since they found out how the process worked and that the
athletes' privacy would be protected.

McCall is the father of one of the Clarke County High School's' top
athletes in recent years. Keely McCall played soccer and basketball
for the school from 2003 to 2007. During his high school years,
Clarke County won 16 state championships. Keely McCall participated
during three of them.

McCall said that type of success would have made it hard for any
athlete to make a decision that would weaken the team and affect the
chemistry.

"Peer pressure is an outstanding resource," McCall said. "The program
was very successful and very effective. We thought [drug testing]
would be a wise decision for the school system."

McCall said the VHSL does not involve itself in athlete drug testing.
It doesn't ask schools to do it, and it doesn't track the progress of
the schools that do. But he said the VHSL agrees with discouraging
drug use.

Recent Clarke County graduates think the high school's drug-testing
policy accomplishes that goal to a degree.

Danielle Moyer, a 2008 graduate who won 13 team and individual state
championships in four different sports, said the program encourages
responsibility. Moyer said she was tested five times while in high
school.

"You don't want to let down your school or your team," said Moyer, a
freshman at the University of Virginia.

Charles Bailey, a 2008 graduate who played on three state
championship teams and was The Winchester Star's Boys' Track Athlete
of the Year as a junior, said athletes only have themselves to blame
if they fail a test.

"We're told from the first day what we have to go through, and we're
told not to use drugs - period," said Bailey, who attends George
Mason University. "I think it's very important. We're not
professionals, but we are athletes. You don't want anyone on your
team doing drugs. If reflects badly on your program and your school."

Head football coach Chris Parker and head cross-country coach Nancy
Specht have never had an issue with the drug-testing program. Parker
thinks it's been great for the school, and Specht said she just wants
what's best for the athletes.

"I'm not going to say I'm for or against it," Specht said. "But if
there's ever a point where we can't afford uniforms or rehabilitation
equipment because of the expense [of drug testing], then there's a
problem."

Athletes say they didn't have a problem with the process, which
involves pulling athletes out of class with no notice. Depending on
how many students are being tested, they might miss 15 to 30 minutes
of class time (unless they're delayed because they get nervous
giving the urine sample). Because an athlete is unlikely to have to
submit to a drug test more than five times in a year, they don't
consider it a hassle.

What some athletes do have a problem with is that they're the only
students tested. Moyer and Bailey think the program should be
extended to any student who participates in extracurricular activities.

"I don't think athletes should be singled out," Moyer said. "If you
want to participate in DECA or band, you should be held to the same
standards."

Simon Biddle-Snead, a 2007 graduate who won a total of six individual
titles on the track and cross country and now runs for the University
of Virginia, said he thinks the money spent on athlete drug testing
would be better spent on drug-education programs.

Biddle-Snead agrees with the concept of drug testing, but he said
Clarke's program doesn't scare athletes off drugs, and he doesn't
think athletes are the biggest abusers.

"If they really want to get kids off drugs, they should show them
just how dangerous they are for you," Biddle-Snead said. "They should
implement more after-school activities and get involved with
community service projects to give kids something else to focus on."