Therefore, more emphasis should be placed upon developing prevention techniques that will deal with the issues from the athlete's perspective. Athletes must be encouraged to become actively aware of the ramifications of substance use in athletics. The rewards can be obtained from developing positive coping and decision making skills, and recognizing the importance of clarifying their personal values in relation to substance use. The efforts to educate athletes about self-responsibility and drug use require support from everybody involved in the educational system. The athlete's support network must place the athlete's health as the top priority, even before the win-loss record.
Alcohol use is another example that can be related to the pressures of sport.
The demand in this instance stems from the need to relax or celebrate away from the sporting arena. The inherent assumption is that once informed of the facts, from a personal and legal standpoint, athletes will be deterred from using substances illegally. There is evidence that the presentation of information alone can lead to increases in drug experimentation. It has also been reported, by evaluators of information based programs, that a greater familiarity with the drug at the informational level reduced negative stereotypes of the drug and actually increased positive attitudes towards its use. Traditional education represents only one weak force working against many powerful forces.