Supplements

The following is the first sentence from an article in today’s New York Times sports page.(http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/health/AP-Tainted-Supplements.html?ref=sports) “One quarter of dietary supplements purchased in a recent sampling contained traces of steroids and 11.5 percent had banned stimulants, according to a study to determine whether supplements sold across the United States are really clean.” It certainly is not shocking to anyone who has their eyes and ears open and has been around sport for any length of time. The supplement industry is basically unregulated so this should not be surprising. What I do not understand is the number of people in my field that are still pushing supplements. We should know better. Even if the supplements are totally clean what message are we sending the athletes? We are telling them that there is more that can enhance their performance aside from good training and coaching. I was shocked with an ad I saw in a recent Baseball America where the lead endorser was a former major league trainer who I held in high regard endorsing a product that was a testosterone precursor. Where does it stop? The real sad part of all of this is many of the young athletes I see just need to eat! Yea eat, eat three meals a day, not fast food, but real food. If you question many athletes at the high school and even the collegiate level, unless they are on a training table, they do not even eat breakfast. One again I am a minimalist on all of this. Take care of the basics. Believe me in my approximately 45 years of being a coach and an athlete I have seen it all and it still comes down to basic nutrition, not exotic potions.