Striving to be Part of the Fastest in the World Club - An Ethical Dilemma for Some?

Being that my job, my livelihood, depends on my ability to develop athletes to their full potential, the recent events involving the use of performance enhancing substances are certainly disturbing. Of course, I'm talking about the Landis and Gatlin revelations - testosterone positives - that have come to light in the past week. I am not naive to the realities of sport at the highest level, but sometimes you wonder if all of the effort you are putting into training your athletes is all for naught. Are we simply doing it for the love of the "pursuit of excellence" or do we hope to some day have athletes standing on the top of the podium?

I'm as skeptical as the next guy (if not more) when it comes to evaluating the world's best performances in any sport. Do I think use of illegal substances such as growth hormone, testosterone, steroids, EPO, stimulants and other drugs is more commonplace than people would like to admit? Certainly. Does this mean I condone the use of these substances? Absolutely not. But I have been around long enough in the sports world to understand what is "natural" and what is "enhanced" and how it affects my field.

It is not common for incredible performances to be explained away by, "Well, he's just a freak of nature," or, "She just trains harder than everyone else." Improvements in performance in mature athletes come very slowly. Of course, I am speaking about athletes who have been training properly for a significant period of time. When you haven't trained, improvements should be easy and can be significant. Not unlike the changes you would experience when you were 13 years old and from year-to-year you would be able to jump higher, run faster and, of course, grow taller. But it's unlikely for athletes, such as veteran Major League Baseball players, to begin to peak in their home run hitting in their mid-thirties. C'mon, I'm in my mid- to late- thirties and I'm not getting better at anything, except being more patient with those around me.
So, let's say drugs are the "express-train-to-success" that must be in the arsenal of high performance coaches and athletes. It's becoming more clear to the general viewing audience that this is the case. And, it's likely leaving an indelible impression on your young, up-and-coming athletes. What are the options?

1. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

While this is not an acceptable choice for most people, including yours truly, it may be a credible option to athletes who are close to the top, but just can't make the next leap to success. It will also be easier for those who have nothing to lose -- those who come from poor socio-economic backgrounds. We are seeing this now in places such as the Dominican Republic where steroid use is seen as the only way to get out of poverty and into the Major Leagues of Baseball. Just as in every facet of life, there are people who short-cut, cheat and lie their way to success. Why should sport be any different? The sad part is that those athletes who are ethical, hard-working and deserve to be commended for their sporting talents will continue to be the ones placing out of the medals.

2. Working for the instrinsic rewards of sport.

Ahh yes, "Just Do It." There will still be those of us who stick with sport for the right reasons: fair play, health benefits, courage, commitment, leadership and, of course, fun. There is nothing wrong with this. I'm very lucky that I can make a healthy living in sports. I was formerly a consultant in the engineering business, working on projects, managing clients, sitting through meeting after meeting, makeing sure I was keeping my billable hours up there, etc. While there were lots of good things about that job, it just wasn't for me. I didn't have a passion for it. As a strength and conditioning professional and sprint coach, I find I have the freedom and passion that I missed in my other job. While there are times I shake my head at the world of sports, I'm glad I'm a part of it. As an athlete, I know I learned about how to set goals and follow through on them. You also get a good opportunity to develop your coping skills, as we all have our share of disappointments in sport, whether it be dealing with losing, failing or getting hurt. So, just because you don't get a gold medal, doesn't mean you haven't earned something more valuable.

3. Wait and hope the governing bodies of sport and drug testers can clean things up.

We can always hope. But as we've seen over the last few decades, the drug testers always seem to be far behind the drug users. And, we still seem to be having problems with the governing bodies of sport who claim to lose more from toppling champions than they would if they let the drug problem flourish. Professional baseball is the obvious example. And, we are also hearing more and more about gene doping that will go undetected -- at least for years to come. The sad part is that conventional steroids and performance enhancers seem to be readily available through the black market, in many cases via organized crime. So, cleaning up high level sports is not the only challenge. Ensuring that these types of drugs are not offered to our youth and prevalent in our communities should be our primary concern. And more stories about how the elite are benefiting from drug use can only add fuel to the fire.


So, all I can say for now is that I will continue to plug away to make my athletes the best they can be. I do believe in the pursuit of excellence. However, we as individuals may have to re-arrange our parameters of success to reflect our own improvements -- and stop comparing ourselves to those at the top of sports, as they will sometimes find themselves at the bottom very quickly. As Mr. Landis and Mr. Gatlin are quickly finding out.

dh