Is school rugby tainted by drugs?
View(s):The biggest issue faced in school rugby at the moment is the pressure to win and the unrealistic expectations from schoolboy rugby players to perform at any cost. This is essentially due to the prestige attached to the results, fuelled by the support and determination of some old boys and parents of the school, who go to great lengths to maintain that superiority. In most cases, the Principal and school authorities appear to be helpless and turn a blind eye to the residual dangers that comes with the glory and reputation.
A careful study reveal that
players are forced to:
- Train extra-long hours and compromise their school work and exams.
- Rugby training happening during school hours.
- Sometimes due to exhaustion and missing school and not being able to study, they fail their exams or are forced to delay their Advance Level examinations.
- Forced to consume performance enhancing drugs and nutrition supplements that are harmful to health.
- Some performance enhancing drugs are prescribed with the guise of nutrition supplements by coaches, so players can train long hours without fatiguing and build unnatural muscle mass.
- Most nutrition supplements prescribed for school teams are not administered by doctors and given without the consent of the child’s parents.
- Some coaches physically abuse their players as witnessed
in public.
Some overtraining solutions
that should be considered
are as follows:
- Making it mandatory that students can attend evening training, only if they attend school.
- Prohibit teams training during school hours.
- If logistical issues arise due to ground availability, obtain approval from the Ministry of Education to train during school hours.
- Regulate number of training hours during the week for rugby players. Maximum of three times a week training and training sessions should not exceed two hours.
- The team training for the year should not exceed more than six months during the year. Three months off season and three months in season. This will allow them to play other sports and also focus on academic pursuits and derive a good sport – life balance.
- Example: Under-20 teams in Australia only train twice a week.
Protecting players
from drug abuse:
- Thorough evaluation by a doctor if nutritional supplements are required and if the nutritional requirement can be achieved through natural foods instead of supplements.
- Only a doctor can prescribe nutritional supplements to a player.
- Forbid coaches or fitness coaches to prescribe nutritional supplements to players.
- If prescribing a nutrition supplement, get a written consent from the parent that they have no objection to the supplement being given to their child.
- If a player consumes nutritional supplements without the above approval, principal and master in-charge needs to take responsibility.
- Player should be suspended for few weeks from the sport for consuming supplements without approval.
Coaches assaulting players
should be penalised:
- One year ban for the first assault.
- 10 year ban for the second assault.
- Coaching education from psychologist.
Social media is rife about the coach and fitness trainer of a championship school team indulging in the use performance enhancing drugs coercing schoolboy players to excel even under the threat of assault. A former captain of the school testifies to these malpractices while the authorities choose to use the ‘blind side’ and carry on regardless. At least to allay these allegations, the powers that be must carry out impartial investigations and put to rest this sordid tale.
Interview given by doctors explain the dangers that exist. Drug testing is not cheap but given that schools rugby spends on average, about Rs. 50 million per season, this cost is negligible, and must be made mandatory by the Ministry of Education. It must in fact be the duty of all school Principals to ensure that glory is not at the expense of gory outcomes for students for whom they are responsible.
A concerned rugby fan