Several North Side athletic administrators, reacting to the Illinois High School Association's expansion of drug testing of athletes, support the plan but want a more extensive program and greater independence in how they comply with the regulations. 

Monday, the IHSA announced an expansion of its January 14 decision to implement mandatory random drug testing for high school athletes in Illinois.

The new plan will widen the spectrum of substances tested and the sports covered.

“The board approved what our testing philosophy will be,” Kurt Gibson, IHSA’s assistant executive director, said Tuesday. “We are testing for all drugs across all sports.”

Illinois is just the fourth state to institute testing of high school athletes.

The substances to be tested are stimulants, anabolic steroids, diuretics and peptide hormones, including HGH.

Testing will begin next fall and will affect athletes competing in postseason tournaments. The IHSA will spend about $100,000 to 150,000 on the testing, which will likely affect fewer than 1,000 students, Gibson said.

The IHSA also announced plans to conduct regional workshops, beginning this spring, to educate student-athletes about the risks of using performance enhancing substances.  

Athletic administrators at several high schools reacted positively to Monday’s announcement but said it doesn’t go far enough.

“You’re just touching the tip of the iceberg when you test only in state competition,” said Jim Richard, athletic director at Mather High School on Chicago’s North Side. “We don’t have many D-I athletes here, but that doesn’t mean these kids aren’t using,” Richard said.

Coaches and ADs also said they want an expansion of current educational initiatives about performance-enhancers and a more ambitious program on all levels.

“We have to educate these kids in addition to testing them,” said Tom Horn, the head boys basketball coach at Chicago’s Northside Prep. “They need to know what’s wrong with what they’re doing.”

A number of coaches, including Horn, also said they want more control over testing programs.

Much of this concern is related to their fear that a school would be punished for the actions of a single athlete. A decision regarding penalties is expected at the IHSA’s March 15 meeting.

“If you’re going to punish the school, give it enough money to test independently,” Richard said. “Schools are more in-tune to the activities of their students. We can test, remove the student and avoid making the rest of his or her team liable.”

Most administrators agreed that a more independent testing program would make penalties for schools more reasonable; others worried that allowing schools to test their own students raises serious issues, namely credibility.

“State tests through an independent testing agency won’t be biased,” said Rich Rio, athletic director at Chicago’s Lane Tech. “Schools shouldn’t be setting their own formats. Who knows what they’ll do?”

Rio agreed, however, with most other administrators that the IHSA should consider input from each school about the nature and extent of penalties.

At least one athletic directors, however, said he isn’t concerned about students using performance enhancers for reasons that have little to do with athletics. 

“Steroids aren’t a problem for our kids,” Simeon Athletic Director Marque Riley said. “They can’t afford them.”