One of the Two who tested positive - Villager Article

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Positive test not a surprise

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Given the culture we live in, the revelation last week that a former Woodlands student tested positive for steroids was no surprise.

That it was one of only two positive tests out of 10,407 is the surprise.

The Woodlands High School, used to being talked about for all the right reasons, now finds itself in uncharted waters.

The new drug testing program has been applauded and criticized almost equally.

Do two positive tests show it’s a waste of tax payer dollars? Or does that show the testing was effective, and that it stopped young athletes from doping?

I think that only two high schoolers testing positive is one sign the steroid testing program is working. I’m an optimist, so that’s my belief. Others may not agree, and maybe kids have already figured out how to beat the test.

But I’ve talked to people who are well versed in the comings and goings of the local high school athletic community and two themes keep coming up in our conversations.

The first is that there are many people who believe steroids are a problem in this area. Whether it’s because there’s a lot of money, a lot of competition or both is a topic for another day.

The second is that the steroid testing program is thought to be a major deterrent to the (former) users.

For all the great athletes in the Conroe Independent School District, there are even more kids who will get through life on their smarts. If an athlete were bulking up on anabolic steroids, they knew to stop once the testing was implemented.

Mark Cousins, one of four athletic coordinators listed on the UIL’s Web site, spoke with the Villager by phone last week.

Cousins said he could not comment on any specific case, but that the UIL would officially release results from the steroid testing program by the end of the month. For now, the two positive tests remain unofficial in the eyes of the UIL.

There is a chance that the positive test of the ex-Highlander will be nullified by medical exemption. But even if it is, this could be the tip of a nasty iceberg.

It may not get that bad, though, because the names of either of the two students who tested positive are unlikely ever to be released. Unless the athlete from The Woodlands comes out and admits to a positive test, CISD, the UIL or the kid’s coach has no reason to name the name.

If a collegiate scholarship is at stake, however, the information should make the rounds faster than you can say ‘whodunit.’

But, to me at least, it doesn’t really matter who it was, what sport they played or why they did it. It just needs to be learned whether or not it’s indicative of a larger problem.

Cousins said it would be against state law for the UIL to release the names of those who tested positive. He also said that the UIL wouldn’t know the name of the student anyway.

Kathy Clark, CISD’s Director of Communications, said the school district was unable to release personal information regarding its students. That’s the official reason CISD will never make public the name of the ex Woodlands student who tested positive.

Every coach in the state was required to view a steroid education video, Cousins said. Those coaches were not compelled to make any kind of similar presentation to their athletes, however.

“All schools provide this information to students in various modes, including meetings with parents and student athletes, posted signs about the dangers of steroid use, and speakers at student events about the dangers of steroid use,†Clark said in an e-mail to the Villager.

In her e-mail, Clark cited CISD Policy FM (L), which outlines the testing program: “The UIL shall adopt rules for the annual administration of a steroid testing program under which high school students participating in an athletic competition sponsored or sanctioned by the league are tested at multiple times throughout the year for the presence of steroids.â€

“Results of such steroid tests are confidential and, unless required by court order, may be disclosed only to the student and the student’s parent and the activity directors, principal, and assistant principals of the school attended by the student,†according to Texas Education Code 33.091(d)(e), cited by Clark.

There is no provision in the steroid testing program that triggers any sort of penalty for a school from which a student tests positive, but Clark said CISD “will continue to analyze the data to determine if any further action is needed beyond our existing policies and student awareness programs.â€

Because the student that tested positive has already graduated from The Woodlands, he or she does not fall under the 30-day penalty mandated for first-time offenders.

“The district is unaware of any action being taken by any law enforcement agency,†Clark said.

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