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Tazsport.com News

Tazsport Newsletter
Issue 1
Aug 1, 2006

Hey, Coach!

In this issue, you'll read:
Welcome - Dan Payne, CEO Tazsport.com
Steroid Use at the High School Level - Dan Payne, CEO-Tazsport.com
"The Coaching Movie" is dedicated to coaches and parents - staff

Welcome - Dan Payne, CEO Tazsport.com

Welcome to the first issue of Tazsport's monthly newsletter! About once each month we will be sending this newsletter out to members who opted to receive news and announcements. Each issue will contain news about Tazsport.com as well as sports related issues that might be of interest to high school coaches and Athletic Directors.

In order to minimize the space that the newsletter takes on your computer or email server, each headline is followed by a brief summary of the article, and a link back to the web site for the full story.

If you have a question or comment about the newsletter, feel free to contact us. We hope you enjoy it - Dan Payne, CEO- Tazsport.com

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Steroid Use at the High School Level - Dan Payne, CEO Tazsport.com

Introduction

The 21st century in athletics will be known as "the age of the shortcut". Since the average professional contract is only four years, pro athletes feel they must maximize their potential. Major League Baseball has been in the headlines for some time with regards to this matter. It is suggested that rampant steroid use by professional baseball players has been undertaken to increase their muscle mass and their overall strength.
This is illegal, and values-based athletics demand a level playing field. Using drugs in order to gain a physical advantage is considered unethical if not immoral by most Americans.

Background

There is this certainty; the use of drugs did not begin yesterday. The use of steroids and other enhancing drugs has been going on for decades. The history of size and strengthening drugs began in the 1960 with the Russians and others using drugs for Olympic athletes.

"To use" by a professional is an adult decision, making a choice to break existing laws and accept the risk of using substances not fully researched. And yet, steroid use in all professional sports is just the tip of the iceberg and accounts for only 1% of the total involvement in illegal substances.

The Other 99%?

This article is not meant to be a litany of drug use in all the sectors of the population. As the title suggests, it will discuss drug use in teen athletes.

Studies in Drug Use in Adolescent Athletes and Non-Athletes

It is interesting to note that although anabolic steroid use by athletes has been a frequent topic in recent reports, most of them have been written in lay literature instead of scientific literature documenting the actual use of steroids, particularly in adolescents.

In 1990, Terney McLain, of Loyola University in Chicago, described the results of a survey of 2113 high school students. The survey was interested in eliciting information about the general knowledge of students about anabolic steroids, awareness of the risks and side effects and use. The results are below:

94 (4.4%) of the 2113 admitted using anabolic steroids
Of those 94, 67 (71%) were males
27 (29%) of the 94 were females

Athletes in the study had a higher use of steroids:

Of the 1436 subjects that were athletes, 79 (5.5%) admitted some steroid use
Of the 636 non-athletes, only 15 (2.4%) admitted steroid use

McLain concludes that the data suggests we have another serious drug problem in our adolescents. My assertion is that in the 15 year interim since McLain's study the problem has exploded.

A More Recent Study

In 2001, a study to examine drug use patterns and perceptions off drug intervention programs among adolescent interscholastic athletes and non-athletes explored whether participation in high school athletics is related to a healthier lifestyle and decreased use of recreational drugs and acids.

Gardner Naylor of Boston University conducted the study using 1515 subjects. Results revealed that athletes were significantly less likely to use cocaine and psychedelics, and less likely to smoke cigarettes than non-athletes. The study suggests that athletes have a healthier lifestyle than non-athletes.

Although these findings are initially encouraging, their initially healthier life-style can be greatly compromised by the headlines of pro-athletes, often heroes to young, aspiring players, and current steroid headlines.

Related Thoughts

-The generation of the video game is unwilling to wait for natural body growth and long hours in the weight room to achieve results in a more natural way. Long gone are the values of working hard to obtain the prize. It is all about getting there quickly these days.

-Funding for steroid use at the high school and junior high school level is vital since costs for school boards and sports administrators is rarely considered.

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"The Coaching Movie" is dedicated to coaches and parents - staff

Tazsport would like to share with you "The Coaching Movie" a Flash movie dedicated to our first coaches (our parents) and coaches all over the world.

As coaches and parents, sometimes we don't stop to think about the many ways we influence our children and young people. "The Coaching Movie" (http://www.thecoachingmovie.org) recognizes that influence. The text and images (written and produced by Richard Bruce Consulting) illustrate just some of the many ways we, as parents and coaches, positively influence our children, beginning at birth. The music (composed by Prescott, Arizona's own Michael Mahaney) evokes memories of bicycle rides and baseball games. Together, they pay tribute to parents and coaches everywhere, and remind us of our responsibilities to continue guiding our children and charges.

To experience the movie, go to www.thecoachingmovie.org and turn your speakers up! At the conclusion of the brief Flash movie, you will be given the opportunity to signup for a newsletter, similar to this one, that will highlight the positive impact parents and coaches are having on our children each and every day. And don't we need more good news like that?

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