On the edge between big-league and also-ran
As we grow, most of us realize we don’t have the talent to reach that dream. But the few who do lock onto it and devote themselves to reaching secular Nirvana. The very few who have surpassing talent have their paths clear. But a lot of kids are on the edge between big-league and also-ran.

Forty years ago, the kids who weren’t quite big enough lifted weights to get bigger. Then diet became a big issue and advanced types of training. Eventually, these magic drugs that make your muscles grow like kudzu became popular.

Arnold Schwarzenegger launched a career that has taken him to the California Governor’s mansion on steroids. Vince McMahon’s pro wrestling empire got where it is via the same vehicle. NFL locker rooms 20 years ago looked like Mr. Universe conventions. Muscles were definitely in.

It’s a different world in the NFL today. You don’t see the 300-pound guys with 3 percent body fat anymore. You get caught doing steroids, it’s a four-game suspension for the first offense. It’s not worth it.

But it is worth it in high school, because you can’t get caught. The rewards of being one of the few who makes the big time are enormous. When you’re talking to kids who feel immortal, dire warnings of what can happen down the line don’t cut it.

We have to find the national will to test for performance-enhancing drugs at the level at which the greatest numbers compete, at the level at which kids are being told every day that if they get bigger and stronger, they can make it to the next step on the climb to superstardom.

And it can’t be left to the individual school systems. When they say they don’t have the money, they’re not just avoiding the issue; they’re being honest. State governments and the federal government, which are bigger on talking about education than actually paying for it, have to find the money to do this.

It’s not really an option, something we can do or not do. We want our competition to be clean. That means testing kids in high school. Now.

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