The biggest concern about steroid testing at the high school level in Lawrence is the cost.

That’s not to say area administrators and coaches aren’t interested, it’s just that they question whether the potential benefits would justify the exorbitant costs.

“In Texas they (passed legislation to begin) testing because it was so rampant,” Lawrence High football coach Dirk Wedd said. “All of the big-time programs had so many guys using them that they had to do something. I don’t think it’s a problem here.”

Neither does LHS athletic director Ron Commons.

Although Commons said he doesn’t believe steroid use has found its way into the hallways and locker rooms of Lawrence’s schools, he said he’s not surprised the topic has found its way into conversations about scholastic sports.

“All that type of stuff trickles down hill,” Commons said. “The big boys do something, and eventually it gets down to the collegiate level and then the high school level and then down to junior high school and even youth sports. I know there are instances in high school sports where kids have tried to take the shortcut and do things like that. I don’t know that it is a big issue with the Lawrence school system and the people we compete against, though.”

Free State High football coach Bob Lisher certainly hopes not. Lisher and Wedd both spend time educating their athletes about the evils of performance-enhancing drugs. A good diet and hard work in the weight room are all they need to be competitive, Lisher said.

“Our guys work their tails off to get better,” Lisher said. “I would hope they wouldn’t have to play against guys who use performance enhancing drugs, but you never know. Several years back it was just a problem in football. Now it’s found its way into every other sport, and I imagine eventually it’ll find its way to this level, too. You hope not, but this day and age you never know.”

Regardless, the issue remains that, even if steroids were being popped and shot up in locker rooms across Lawrence, the cost of bringing tests to town would be difficult to justify, especially at a time when state funding for schools is down.

“The more money you spend, the more accurate testing would be,” Commons said. “But for drug testing to be mandated, I just can’t see it unless it’s going to be funded. There would have to be some kind of financial support outside of the state funding.”

Gary Musselman, executive director of the Kansas State High School Activities Association, said he had been in contact with officials from New Jersey, the first state to implement testing plans for high school athletes. New Jersey is in its second season of testing, Florida its first. Texas is on the verge of what would be the most comprehensive testing program to date at the high school level.

Although those conversations proved informative, Musselman said Kansas was not likely to put a testing plan in place at this time.

“It has been discussed,” he said. “To date, some of the issues have been real difficult for people to get their arms around. The expense is enormous. There are concerns, obviously, with whether the results justify the enormous expense. Discussions tend to fall into the area that we would be better advised to spend the resources and time on the education/prevention side.”