High Schools Starting To Test Athletes For Alcohol

December 14, 2011 /

Newark Advocate, Seth Roy

http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20111214/NEWS01/112140301

HANOVER — Licking Valley hopes its new alcohol-use test for athletes will help discourage them from drinking.

“We don’t want this to be a, ’haha, we caught you,’” Athletic Director Mark McCullough said. “We want this to be a deterrent. … To help kids make good decisions.”

The district has tested for various drugs — marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and more — for years, but hasn’t been able to test for alcohol. The testing program is paid for by the district.

“Quite honestly, there hasn’t been an overly reliable test out there for a while,” McCullough said.

Licking Valley contracts with Licking Memorial Health Systems’ Company Care for its testing. The lab they send samples to now uses a test that can detect ethyl glucuronide — an indicator of alcohol use — in urine for up to 80 hours, depending on weight and consumption.

Through in-school and countywide student surveys, it’s apparent students have far more access to alcohol than any other drug, McCullough said.

“Kids are admitting that they’re experimenting with alcohol at a younger age,” he said. “We see this as being probably the biggest issue we’re dealing with. … You have parents who are willing to host parties that have alcohol.”

At the beginning of each sports season, all new athletes must submit a urine sample.

“Any kid who’s going to play a sport or be in marching band has to submit a sample,” McCullough said.

In each season, the school randomly tests 10 percent of athletes twice. Now, it will test once for drugs and once for alcohol.

In the fall, more than 350 students in the middle and high schools were involved in extracurricular activities; about 190 are involved in winter and spring, with many duplicate athletes, McCullough said. The high school has more than 500 students.

In McCullough’s two years at Valley, he said he hasn’t seen a positive drug test, and neither has Principal Wes Weaver during his teaching and administrative career.

“He could not think of one time that we’ve actually had a (positive) result,” McCullough said.