The Wake

Everyone knows the old phrase “practice makes perfect.” It was pounded into our heads by parents, coaches and teachers when we were young. But today, it seems like practice just isn’t enough. Some athletes are turning to a much more dangerous and risky method to help them obtain their goals — steroids.

Drug enforcement officials have been at war with steroids for ages. But surprisingly, some sports are under fire more than others. If you enjoy a round of golf or like to play tennis every now and then, have no fear. You will probably be skimmed over when it comes to drug testing.

During the 2004-05 championship season, 109 football students from Division One colleges across the country were tested for steroid use, according to the NCAA drug reports. Compare that number to the measly eight golfers that were tested and it is easy to see that football players are targeted. Mary Wilfert, NCAA Associate Director of Health and Safety, says that ever since the NCAA started drug testing athletes yearround in 1990, football players have been at high risk for steroid use. And surprisingly, it took nearly 15 years for the NCAA to find out that drug use was happening in other sports. “The NCAA began drug testing in other sports in 2004,” Wilfert says. “But the testing was designed to maintain a heavier presence in football programs since research indicated that football students were still reporting high use of steroids.”

So why are some athletes using more steroids than others? Dave Schueller, Assistant Director of strength and conditioning at the U, says that it just depends on what sport you’re in.

“Tennis and golf players are more focused on hand-eye coordination rather than huge muscles,” Schueller says. “Those athletes really have no reason to dope.” However, football and baseball players are looking for strength and speed. “Football players seem to have the ‘bigger is better’ mentality,” Schueller says. “A lot of them look at body building magazines or see body building competitions on TV and think ‘I want to look like that.’ ” What’s more, Schueller believes that some coaches, whether they mean to or not, put pressure on athletes to get big fast. It is this line of thinking that pushes student-athletes to abuse steroids.

“A lot of coaches have an old school mentality,” Schueller says. “They want their athletes to do whatever it takes to win.” It is important to know that there are other ways to increase muscle mass besides using drugs. “Be consistent in the weight room, practice proper nutrition and use the right recovery techniques,” Schueller says. With a little hard work and rest, you can’t go wrong.

The NCAA targets certain sports for drug use, but college students are the least of the problem. Instead of student-athletes professional atheletes are most often put in the spotlight.

Take the sport of cycling for example. Before the Tour de France started this year, cyclists Ivan Basso, 2005 runner-up and Jan Ullrich, 1997 winner were forced out of competition because of steroids. However, American cyclist and Tour de France winner Floyd Landis is at the center of the latest cycling scandal. And because of the recent accusations about Landis and doping, the sport of cycling is in a sad place.

The Tour de France is said to be the most grueling and challenging bike race in the world. The race lasts for three weeks with only two designated rest days and, within those three weeks, the bikers ride a total of 2,272 miles. Daniel Coyle, a writer for The New York Times, compared the Tour to running a marathon every day for 21 days straight. So it is no surprise that when Landis reached stage 17 during this year’s Tour, he was exhausted, sore and in desperate need of recovery.

Everyone has their own opinion about what Landis did to raise his testosterone level to nearly three times the allowed amount. Maybe his body can produce testosterone at a surprisingly high rate, maybe some doctors purposely spiked his drug test. Or, what seems to be the more popular opinion, maybe Landis took steroids the night before the 17th stage to help his muscles recover.

“If there is a testosterone increase in the body, then the speed at which the muscles fatigue will decrease,” says Andrew Rosch, president of the U’s cycling club. “In other words, the more testosterone you have in your body, the less sore you will be.” With that in mind, it makes sense that Landis would want to take the drugs.

“A ton of pro cyclists dope,” Rosch says. “I even think that Lance Armstrong was doping.” And if the top bicyclists in the world are using steroids, there aren’t many idols left to look up to. “Doping is really ruining the sport of cycling right now,” Rosch says. “All of our heroes are on drugs.”

Steroid use in professional cycling may be popular, but on the collegiate level doping is not a common trend. “College cycling is a very small step on the road to becoming a pro,” Rosch says. “I have never heard of a college cyclist using steroids.”

So why are professional cyclists doping while collegiate bikers aren’t? Maybe everyone is a little smarter than the pros, but more likely, college bikers simply don’t need to. “We don’t receive money or prizes if we win a race,” Rosch says. “So there isn’t a whole lot of pressure to dope,” Rosch says. Compare that with the 400,000 euros, or roughly $500,000 that the winner of the Tour de France takes home. Add in money from sponsors and there is no comparison in the differences between the value of the races.

Professionals may feel more pressure to perform than the everyday college athlete, but that might not be the whole story. There is a high potential that they will be caught through drug testing and end up with consequences larger than losing. It might be smarter in the end to abide by the “practice makes perfect” rule.