What many athletes don't know about performance-enhancing drugs are all the negative side effects. Steroids are common performance-enhancing drugs that increase an athlete's strength and endurance. Athletes know that by using steroids they will be able to hit the ball harder, tackle a guy faster, or run faster than the opponent. But what they don't know is that steroids are addictive, in males they cause impotence, shrinking of the testicles, reduce sperm count and increase baldness. For females that use steroids some of the negative side effects are growth of facial hair, changes in or cessation of the menstrual cycle, enlargement of the clitoris, deepened voice, and breast reduction.
Anabolic steroids can halt growth prematurely in adolescents.
As coaches we need to be sure and instill in our athlete's minds that these drugs are illegal and unnecessary. We need to reinforce good plays and praise our athletes when they perform well. This way athlete's won't feel such a need to use drugs to increase their performance. We need to protect them from the dangers that they may be choosing to ignore. As coaches we are responsible for our players and their actions that may affect their playing condition and affect the safety of others.