What should athletic administrators and coaches tell their athletes about creatine and androstenedione?

If you work directly with young athletes, you can have a powerful influence over the choices they make for the rest of their lives. The short-term risks of creatine and androstenedione may not be serious enough to deter a determined athlete, and young athletes may disregard information about long-term risks. However, the use of these substances to increase performance establishes highly risky attitudes and behavior among young and impressionable athletes. As a coach, athletic director, or trainer, you can encourage young athletes to do their best while discouraging an attitude of "winning at all costs," which can lead to many problem behaviors.

There are many actions you can take. You can set a positive example for healthy behavior, including diet, exercise, and the use of substances. You can establish and enforce rules and policies that discourage the inappropriate use of food supplements and other substances. You can get help for young athletes for whom you are concerned. And you can use teachable moments to talk about this issue with your athletes.

While we need to be truthful about possible benefits from the use of creatine and androstenedione, we need to send a strong message that discourages their use to enhance performance. Here are some messages that other coaches have used to counteract the potent advertisements that come from manufacturers of nutritional substances:

If it's too good to be true, it probably is.
There is no short-cut to excellent performance; it takes hard work.
Let the buyer beware: If someone can gain from your decisions, check it out thoroughly before you choose.
If you win naturally, you'll know it was you who won.
No drug is harmless and free of consequences.
Even natural substances in unnatural amounts may have short-term or long-term negative health risks.
We have rules against the use of creatine and androstenedione because we believe they are too risky to be used by young athletes.
There is not enough research on the long-range risks of creatine or androstenedione to make these substances worth the risk of using them.
I'm your coach (or trainer, or athletic director) and I don't think the use of these substances is a good choice for you, or for the team.
For a helpful guide to using teachable moments and other approaches given above, see "Coaches Guide to Drugs and Sport," published by Human Kinetics and used as the text for Drugs and Sports Course as part of the National Federation Interscholastic Coaches Education Program (NFICEP).

For more information:

The Iowa High School Athletic Association Web site also has excellent information on creatine and androstenedione.

Creatine: http://www.iahsaa.org/wu98-4.htm - WELLNESS UPDATE 1998, #4 Androstenedione: http://www.iahsaa.org/wu98-8.htm - WELLNESS UPDATE 1998, #8. Some information from these WELLNESS UPDATES (http://www.iahsaa.org/) was drawn upon for the creation of this site. We thank its author, Alan Beste, for permission to link to the IHSAA's Web site.