Performance enhancers in sports are a big debate in the news today. The controversy that has occurred for years is starting to take heed as more and more athletes are being tested for performance enhancer drugs.

Some reports focus on professional athletes; however, some reports state that middle and high school students are taking enhancement drugs.  Some high school football players have experienced teammates using performance enhancement drugs, while others have not.

However, some programs at big schools may have a higher chance of athletes experimenting with enhancement drugs due to the competitiveness and the desire to be on a team at all cost. 

In the past, working on various college campuses, I have experienced the effects of students being “juiced” up. I have worked in fitness centers on those campuses and students who appeared to be “juiced” were those who were trying to gain weight and/or become more muscular. None of those students I’ve observed were involved in any sports. Therefore, not all performance enhancers are only used for sports, but for other reasons.

I believe that in the years to come, performance enhancers will be used more for other reasons than for sports benefits. None of these observations were on the campus of the University of Houston-Clear Lake. 

I am very happy that issues of enhancement drugs have been recognized and that the professional leagues are taking precautions for future monitoring of the drugs.

With the media coverage, hopefully students and future professional athletes will recognize that taking these drugs will only hinder them from pursuing a career in sports. I would like to see future studies on how the performance enhancer drugs affect other schools such as middle schools, high schools and big universities. 

Since UHCL does not have organized intercollegiate sport teams, I have not seen nor heard of the use of enhancement drugs on campus. Although I am fairly new to the campus and Fitness Zone, I have not observed any obvious side effects of a student using any performance enhancement drugs. These effects can include aggressive behaviors, rage, or violence.

In the past, these are the behaviors that I had experienced with a college student who was on steroids. Luckily, that student is no longer using that performance enhancement drug and his attitude is calmer than before. 

The Fitness Zone has a posting of the Steroid Law Notice. This is a notice that all gymnasiums located on a college campus must post. It simply states (in part): “anabolic steroids and growth hormones are for medical use only. State law prohibits the possession, dispensing, delivery, or administering of an anabolic steroid or growth hormone in any manner not allowed by state law…”