Alcohol, marijuana or performance-enhancing drugs
– whichever is the choice for student-athletes at San Benito
High School, officials focus on intervention and rehabilitation
instead of random drug testing.
Alcohol, marijuana or performance-enhancing drugs – whichever is the choice for student-athletes at San Benito High School, officials focus on intervention and rehabilitation instead of random drug testing.
“We don’t do random drug testing only because the cost tends to be very expensive,” said Dave Tari, SBHS interim athletic director and head athletic trainer.
A test for alcohol and marijuana costs between $50 and $100 per test, per athlete, Tari said. Testing for cocaine or steroids increases the cost.
“The NFL spends $2,000 per test, per athlete – they test for everything,” Tari said.
Tari also said parents would not support drug testing of athletes. The U.S. Supreme Court did rule in June that students attending public schools can be required to participate in drug testing if they join any competitive after-school activity, from football to chess. Tari said parents do not want to admit there’s a problem or they think their children are incapable of wrong.
Anzar High School does not drug-test athletes either.
“We want our athletes to be treated like everyone else,” Anzar Site Manager Wayne Norton. “… We’ve never had a need to. … We don’t presuppose.”
Norton also said the school does not have the capabilities to perform drug tests.
Despite road blocks at SBHS and the arguments against it, Tari said he would support drug testing of athletes.
“I think it’s needed – not to punish the students but to let them know we care,” he said. “People think we want to catch them, but that’s not true.”
The two substances abused most frequently by athletes are alcohol and marijuana, and both are easy to purchase, Tari said.
Although performance-enhancing drugs such as creatine and human growth hormone are also common among young athletes, Tari said he does not see SBHS athletes playing above their normal potential.
SBHS wrestler Octavio Lucatero said he sees a variety of both alcohol and marijuana abuse by student-athletes. Such abuse effects how well the athletes perform in games and at practice.
“They can’t wait till the sport ends. They want to go and party,” said Lucatero, a junior.
Teams that Tari said would have the highest incidence of drug use are football and women’s volleyball and softball.
“Football players drink and party more,” he said. “And they only play once a week.”
Even without drug testing, SBHS athletes have been caught using drugs. Warning signs include pictures students draw, what they talk about, how their eyes look and their behavior, Tari said.
Effects of drug use on athletes can include weight gain and impaired judgment and decision making, he said.
“There’s (drug abuse) during the weekends and nights – some people have come hung over to practice,” said Kaylie Kortsen, a SBHS senior and volleyball player. “(Athletes taking drugs) lose their concentration, their focus.”
SBHS cheerleader Jamie Sanchez said students who abuse drugs do not show up to practice on time and do not work as a team.
“I think it’s (drug testing) a great idea. It would solve a lot of problems,” said Sanchez, a senior. “Kids would play better if they were sober and wouldn’t have problems later on. If we tested, we could identify it (drug use) early instead of in the middle of the season.”
