By Derek Stell

Former Cougar Baseball great, Wally Joyner, was facing the twilight of his professional baseball career. Joyner was a long way from the 56 home runs he had hit in his first two pro seasons and even further away from the AL Rookie of the Year runner up he once was. At 36 and in spring training with the '98 Padres, he felt his bat slowing, according to an interview with ESPN the magazine.

Joyner knew other players were cheating age with steroids, and he reached out to teammate, Ken Caminiti, who admitted to steroid use in later years. He told Joyner to make a call to a number he scribbled down.

Joyner saw steroids as cheating, but he still called the number that his friend gave him.

The next day, Joyner had a bottle of pills. He took a few days before he could bring himself to pop one. He finally did, then another the next day. Ten days later he took a third.

Eventually, the guilt got to him and he flushed the pills down the toilet.

He told Caminiti that he was done.

"It's not for me," Joyner told ESPN, recalling the earlier statement.

Athletes at all levels are feeling the pressure to succeed and many are using illicit performance enhancing drugs to do it. For every Marion Jones or Barry Bonds, who are labeled as cheaters, there are thousands of athletes that are taking a competitive edge and getting away with it.

Not every athlete is guilty, but there is no denying the shadow that steroids are casting on the sports landscape. Even high school athletes are being tempted.

"There are a few guys here and there that you kind of question," said Randy Coy, a defensive coordinator for Provo High School's football team. "You suspect it when they go from one physical level to another."

Even in Utah, steroids are suspected of pumping up the athletes.

According to a Deseret News article, in 1992 the average all-state prep football player weighed in at 199.3 pounds. In 2005, the average jumped to 213.8.

All the bulking up comes with huge consequences.

Increased body size puts added strain on the heart, as well as more pressure on joints and ligaments.

Steroids have a laundry list of hazardous side effects. Depression, "roid rage", excess acne, female facial hair, and other side effects may occur.

"Steroid abuse can lead to death," said Coy. "You hear the horror stories all the time."

The NCAA is concerned with steroids. Which leads them to testing, a lot of testing. College athletes are randomly tested by that governing body. For BYU athletes, the university also has random drug testing.

"It is not a temptation for them [BYU athletes], they realize there is testing going on," Cougar strength and conditioning coach Jay Omer said. "We can't even give them anything with more than 30 percent protein."

Prep athletes don't face that strict of regulation.

According to a 2005 USA Today article, in a survey by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, steroid use among high school students more than doubled between 1991 and 2003. More than 6% of 15,000 students surveyed admitted trying steroid pills or injections.

At the same time, less than 4% of the nation's high schools were testing for steroids, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations' survey of athletic directors.

Texas recently awarded a six million dollar contract to Drug Free Sport to test it's over 40,000 high school athletes.

But, even with all the dangers and suspicions of performance enhancing drug use, Utah prep athletes are not being tested.

"If you get caught, it is up to the coaches to be responsible," Coy added. "It comes down to the relationship you have with your athletes."

Athletes who want to stay in bounds concerning the rules have to rely on maintaining a healthy diet. Good old fashioned hard work in the weight room and on the practice field can't be skipped.

"Diet is the most important thing," Omer said. "Nothing replaces that."

All of that can be a little too much for some athletes.

"Some kids want all the benefits, but are not willing to do what it takes," Coy said. "They want the easy way."

The athletes who are going to be most tempted are the fringe players, those who want to get more playing time. Coy said that the high schoolers who spend time at the commercial gyms tend to be suspect. Gyms are full of weight lifters looking to put on more muscle. Some of whom may be taking steroids.

"You worry about kids that are lifting at home or at Gold's or 24 [hour fitness]," Coy said. "They may feel pressure there that they wouldn't get from their coaches."

Copyright Brigham Young University 1 May 2008