POT WORRIES COACHES MORE THAN STEROIDS

High School Coaches Favor Regular Testing For Marijuana Use

As concern about steroid use among elite athletes stirs national debate,
some Santa Barbara coaches say the focus is on the wrong drug.

High school athletes should be tested for marijuana -- not steroids -- if
school officials want to make a dent in teen drug use, according to local
coaches and players interviewed about substance abuse in sports.

"We're more worried about kids smoking pot or drinking alcohol," said Santa
Barbara High baseball coach Fred Warrecker. "That's the thing we talk about
the most."

Several coaches who work with young baseball and football players say it
would be a good idea to begin regularly testing those athletes and their
peers in other sports for marijuana use. They say that they would support a
random drug-testing program, similar to the one instituted at Carpinteria
High School, at the three Santa Barbara School District high schools.

According to a recent study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over 1
million teenagers reported using steroids. Another study says that 3.5
percent of high school seniors have used steroids at least once.

But about one in five teens between the ages of 12 and 17 has tried pot,
according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"That leads to more experimenting (with drugs)," said former Dos Pueblos
High football coach Armando Gonzalez, who will coach at Dana Hills High
School in Orange County next year. "I think with students in general it's
probably at least one out of 10 (that smokes). I really think that
marijuana should be where a drug-testing program should start and move on
from there."

One high school athlete said he wasn't sure if he liked the idea, but
thought it might cut down on drug use.

"Then all the people who care enough to stop, so they could play that
sport, stay," said the player, who spoke to the News-Press on condition
that his name not be used.

Others countered that they didn't think it was fair to limit testing to
those on sports teams.

"People do use, but it's not just athletes," said one Santa Barbara
athlete. "I don't know why we'd limit (a test) to just athletes."

Carpinteria High School is the only high school in the county that randomly
tests student-athletes unannounced. Each week, Vice Principal Geraldo
Cornejo randomly pulls five students out of class and administers a urine
test that checks for methamphetamines, marijuana, cocaine, opiates and
amphetamines.

If an athlete tests positive, he or she is pulled off the team. But because
of confidentiality rules, said a coach, the athlete's teammates cannot be
told the reason.

Parents must give permission for the testing when their child joins an
athletic team. A Supreme Court ruling in 1995 made it possible for testing
to be required as a condition of athletic participation.

As a national dialogue about athletes and performance-enhancing drugs is
carried out by a congressional panel, and allegations target some current
and former professional baseball players, local coaches say they do not
believe that athletes are using steroids in their programs, and athletes
contacted by the News-Press concurred.

"(Steroids) are a joke, more than anything," said one high school baseball
player.

Testing for steroids in high schools is almost unheard of across the
country because it is more expensive than testing for recreational drugs. A
steroid test costs about $100. Tests for other drugs go for about $10.

Carpinteria High School considered testing for steroids, as well, but
decided against it because the test is expensive, Mr. Cornejo said.

In the Santa Barbara High School District, the only way a student can get a
drug test is if a parent requests it. Mr. Warrecker said that he's had
parents tell him that if their child tests positive for drugs, they'll yank
him from his team. But he hasn't lost any athletes that way.

District spokeswoman Barbara Keyani referred inquiries about the district's
drug testing to the board policy, which states that superintendents are
responsible for instruction on the dangers of drugs, a student known to be
using should be referred to rehab, and discipline and outreach should be
emphasized to parents and community groups.

Though Mr. Warrecker's team talks about players like San Francisco Giants
outfielder Barry Bonds in the dugout -- and many believe he has juiced up
to reach his current size -- when it comes to warnings, steroids are barely
mentioned, said the coach.

San Marcos High football coach Will Gonzalez fields questions all the time
from his athletes about steroids and supplements, asking what they can do
to gain muscle mass cleanly.

"We're trying to get these guys to know: it's not important that you be 275
pounds. That's not going to make you a better football player," said the
coach. His program emphasizes speed and core strength, developed through
conditioning and weight lifting. Ideally, a player will be able to move
with the same agility and energy in the fourth quarter as he did in the
first, he said.

The risk of taking steroids, he cautions them, is too great to chance.

"I played college football, and I played with guys I'm sure were doing it.
But there are such short-term rewards. Your body is too valuable. You're
going to need it for too many years to take a chance."

At Dos Pueblos, Mr. Gonzalez thinks that eventually, testing everyone, for
all drugs, will likely be the norm. He said he suggested to the high school
administration last year that it start with marijuana.

"I imagine sooner or later (testing) is going to be common in high schools.
Things from the pros slowly filter down."