So here we are.  Today’s the day; the day of the release of the long awaited Mitchell Report, baseball’s Who’s Who Among American Steroid Users.   The report threatens to name names, big names, names we’ll be surprised to see.  Oh really?  Does anything surprise us anymore?  Steroid abuse is rampant in baseball as well as other sports and there seems to be no end to what athletes will do to enhance their ability to compete.

San Francisco Chronicle writers Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams stepped into a hornet’s nest when they broke the story about Balco and the doping scandal.  Sure, the story is about professional athletes. Names like San Francisco’s Barry Bonds, former A’s Jason Giambi, and San Francisco’s Matt Williams, runners like Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones and football players like ex-49er Bill Romanowski and the Raiders’ Barrett Robbins come to mind but the story can be found much closer to home without much difficulty.

The debate goes on in sports circles.  What do steroids and performance enhancing drugs do for the athlete and is it cheating?  What will they do to get ahead?  And where does it all start?

Much earlier than we would like to admit, I’m afraid to say.  It starts quite innocently.   A young athlete wants to get stronger, faster, more agile.  It takes time; hours at the gym or on the field, in the weight room or in the pool and progress is slow.  Body image is important to adolescents and they notice each other’s changing bodies with regularity.   As their teammates’ bodies change, growing larger or leaner or stronger, the young athlete begins to worry that he or she is falling behind and may never catch up.

We’ve had the conversation in our house.  Are supplements OK?  What about the ones they sell at the health food store?  Is extra protein necessary?  Protein shakes can be found on the grocery store isles alongside the vitamins, deodorant and toothpaste.  In high school locker rooms the rumors abound.  This one’s using creatine, that one’s on mega doses of supplements, encouraged by a parent who wants to help him get a competitive edge.

Frankly, the whole thing frightens me.  While many of these things our young athletes are using are legal, can illegal substances be far behind?  Maybe not today or tomorrow, but if they stick with it, the question will be posed to them at some point in their athletic career.

I had the chance to talk with John Goelz, the head baseball coach at Sonoma State a few weeks ago.  Sonoma State has a fantastic baseball program and Coach Goelz is a gem of a coach, a hard working, dedicated passionate guy who doesn’t close the doors to anyone with an interest in playing.  He has 12 guys in the big leagues right now, former players who played for him at Sonoma State.  Once the guys get called up, it’s not too long before the pressure starts and the phone calls start coming. To his credit he gives them the best advice he can.  Stay away from that stuff.  There is no substitution for hard work.

Will it limit their success?  Perhaps, but they will know that they did it on their own, through hard work, determination and a never quit attitude.  And 20 years from now, they’ll have their health to thank him for.