For Coaches

According to a 2011 study sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) high school athletes are more likely than other students to drink alcohol and binge drink.

Young athletes should be sent the message that “being a competitor and being at the top of your game does not have to mean high alcohol consumption,” said Yvonne Terry-McElrath one of the study’s authors from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Source: Reuters Health

You Can Help Send The Message!

"High school coaches should be educated about this issue as well"

Yvonne Terry-McElrath

Know The Truth About Alcohol and Other Drugs!

The American Athletic Institute (AAI) has researched the effect of alcohol and other drugs on elite athletic performance and here’s what was found:

• Alcohol can impair an athlete’s blood glucose system for up to 36 hours

• Alcohol reduces the immune system capability Athletes who drink get sick more often

• Drinkers are twice as likely to become injured as non- drinkers

• Alcohol reduces performance potential by up to 11.4% in elite athletes (and perhaps by as much as 15-30% in high school athletes)

• Alcohol impairs reaction time up to 12 hours after consumption

• Alcohol negatively affects heart lungs and muscle performance (<VO2 > Lactate < Ventilation >H.R.)

• Binge drinking can result in losing up to 14 days of training

Are your athletes underperforming because of alcohol or other drugs?

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO:

• Set a good example in your life and in learning about abused substances.

• Don’t “wink” at partying. Enforce the rules with tough love.

• Be alert to abnormal or suspicious behavior by your athletes that may be caused by alcohol or other drugs.

• Talk to your athletes about the impact alcohol and other drugs have on performance.

• Set high expectations for your athletes. Talk with them about the use of alcohol and other drugs and tell them it won’t be tolerated.

• Explore the Oklahoma Life of An Athlete program (www.okloa.org available September 26, 2011) and encourage or require your athletes to complete the on line program (app. 50 Minutes).

• Invite a representative of Oklahoma Life of An Athlete to address your school or school district.