{"id":83,"date":"2008-02-13T16:00:42","date_gmt":"2008-02-13T16:00:42","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2013-11-27T16:26:14","modified_gmt":"2013-11-27T16:26:14","slug":"a-coachs-guide-to-recognizing-alcoholdrug-problems-among-athletes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/a-coachs-guide-to-recognizing-alcoholdrug-problems-among-athletes\/","title":{"rendered":"A Coach&#8217;s Guide to Recognizing Alcohol\/Drug Problems Among Athletes"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"submitted\">Submitted by: University of Massachusetts Athletic Health Enhancement Program<\/div>\n<p><em>How do I know if one of my athletes is abusing alcohol, drugs, or both? <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Assessing a potential alcohol or drug problem is a difficult and often frustrating process. Your influential role as a coach and a confidant, however, places you in a unique position to successfully reach a troubled student.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\"><em>What should coaches look for? <\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\">There are many reasons why students may show the following signs and symptoms. The behavior may or may not be alcohol or drug related. When these behavior patterns occur with some regularity and are interfering with the student&#8217;s performance, it&#8217;s time to intervene.<\/p>\n<p><em>Behavioral Patterns<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Actions <\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Physically assaultive or threatening<\/li>\n<li>Exaggerated self-importance<\/li>\n<li>Rigid, inflexible, unable to change plans with ease<\/li>\n<li>Incoherent, irrelevant statements<\/li>\n<li>Excessive attention to routine procedure, almost making it a ritual<\/li>\n<li>Frequent arguments<\/li>\n<li>Frequent outbursts of temper<\/li>\n<li>Frequent episodes of crying<\/li>\n<li>Excessive amount of breaks at practice<\/li>\n<li>Reports from peers who are worried about the person in question<\/li>\n<li>Complaints from community regarding debts, rude behavior<\/li>\n<li>Minor scrapes with campus or municipal authorities<\/li>\n<li>Depressed<\/li>\n<li>Withdrawn<\/li>\n<li>Suspicious<\/li>\n<li>Mood swings: high and low<\/li>\n<li>Oversensitive<\/li>\n<li>Frequent irritability with teammates and other students<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\"><em>Performance<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Accidents <\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Frequent minor injuries due to carelessness, lack of conditioning<\/li>\n<li>Mishaps not related to sports<\/li>\n<li>Frequent physical complaints<em>Athletic Performance and Patterns: <\/em><\/li>\n<li>Assignments take more effort and time to complete<\/li>\n<li>Difficulty in recalling instructions<\/li>\n<li>Difficulty in handling complex procedures<\/li>\n<li>Lack of interest in one&#8217;s game<\/li>\n<li>Difficulty in recalling previous mistakes<\/li>\n<li>Absent-mindedness, general forgetfulness<\/li>\n<li>Coming to practices or games in an intoxicated or impaired state<\/li>\n<li>Fluctuating periods of high or low productivity<\/li>\n<li>Mistakes due to poor judgement<\/li>\n<li>Complaints from others concerning her work or habits<\/li>\n<li>Improbable excuses for deteriorating performance<\/li>\n<li>Overall carelessness<em>Academic<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Poor reports from instructor or academic advisors<\/li>\n<li>Lateness or failure to complete assignments<\/li>\n<li>Listlessness or sleeping in class<\/li>\n<li>Sharp fluctuations in classroom work<\/li>\n<li>Evidence of cheating or using someone else&#8217;s work<\/li>\n<li>Frequent cutting of classes<\/li>\n<li>Excessive time spent sick<\/li>\n<li>Misuse of excused absences<\/li>\n<li>Unreasonable resentment to discipline or mistakes of others<\/li>\n<li>Excessive lateness for practices, meeting, or after breaks<\/li>\n<li>Increasingly improbable and peculiar reasons for absence<\/li>\n<li>Absences after weekend, holidays, or other time off given to team<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Strategies for Approaching and Helping a Student<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>If the student comes to your for help <\/em><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Commend the student&#8217;s initiative and courage for coming to you for help. This first step is one of the toughest.<\/li>\n<li>Listen. Listen. Listen. Allow the student to tell you why she thinks there&#8217;s a problem.<\/li>\n<li>Discuss options available for ongoing help. The student may want to continue talking to you, in which case you may need to set a limit on how long you can be put in this position. Encourage the student to seek professional help.<\/li>\n<li class=\"rtecenter\">Know the resources on campus: Alcohol and Drug Awareness Project x2616, Health Education x2466, Health Services x2121, Counseling Center x2307\n<p class=\"rtecenter\"><em>If you have reason to suspect a drug\/alcohol problem<\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>Arrange a private meeting with the student.<\/li>\n<li>Develop a highly specific list of facts which substantiates your reasons for believing the student may have a problem.<\/li>\n<li>During your initial meeting with the student, express your concern based on the list of facts you have documented about behavioral changes.<\/li>\n<li>If the student denies there is a problem, continue monitoring his or her behavior. Approach the\u00a0again in a couple of weeks.\u00a0If there&#8217;s no change in behavior or if denial persists, you may need to consider stronger action.<\/li>\n<li>If the student acknowledges there is a problem, be prepared to suggest where she can go for help.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\"><em>Key Points to Remember <\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Remember that the message you want to convey is: &#8220;There is a problem and I care.&#8221; (Note: Anticipate your own anger fear and\/or disappointment, so that it can be controlled.)<\/li>\n<li>Policies and procedures you follow must be consistent with\u00a0all of\u00a0your students.<\/li>\n<li>Privacy and confidentiality are necessary to ensure trust.<\/li>\n<li>Speak in terms of behavioral fact: weed out your personal judgements on personality, performance, etc. (Note: Avoid &#8220;labeling&#8221; the individual as an alcoholic or drug addict.)<\/li>\n<li>Anticipate the student&#8217;s reactions; learn to expect:\n<ul>\n<li>Defensive reactions: denial, rationalization, blaming<\/li>\n<li>Emotional reactions: anger, shame, embarrassment, hopelessness, despair, disappointment in self and support system<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Robin Harris, Mount Holyoke Health Educator, UMASS Athletic Health Enhancement Program, (414) 545-4588.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"submitted\">Submitted by: UMASS Athletic Health Enhancement Program<\/div>\n<p> <strong>How do I know<br \/>\n          if one of my athletes is abusing alcohol, drugs, or both? <\/strong>Assessing<br \/>\n          a potential alcohol or drug problem is a difficult and often frustrating<br \/>\n          process. Your influential role as a coach and a confidant, however,<br \/>\n          places you in a unique position to successfully reach a troubled student.\n          <\/p>\n<p><strong>What should coaches<br \/>\n          look for?<\/strong> There are many reasons why students may show the following<br \/>\n          signs and symptoms. The behavior may or may not be alcohol or drug related.<br \/>\n          When these behavior patterns occur with some regularity and are interfering<br \/>\n          with the student&#8217;s performance, it&#8217;s time to intervene.<\/p>\n<p> <strong>Behavioral Patterns:<\/strong>\n          <\/p>\n<p><strong>Actions<\/strong>\n            <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[290,295,291,296],"tags":[32,8,23,28],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4btio-1l","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":85,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/model-student-athlete-drug-testing-policy\/","url_meta":{"origin":83,"position":0},"title":"Model Student Athlete Drug Testing Policy","date":"February 13, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by: Hoover City Schools- Hoover, AL STUDENT DRUG SCREENING The Board of Education values student athletes not only for their athletic talent but also for their leadership and scholastic abilities. Student athletes, as role models for other students, are a key to our goal of providing the best possible\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contemporary Sports Issues&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":79,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/generic-alcoholism-are-college-athletes-at-risk\/","url_meta":{"origin":83,"position":1},"title":"Generic Alcoholism: Are College Athletes at Risk?","date":"February 13, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by: Michael Moulton, Ed.D Alcohol and other drug use by college athletes have received increased attention in recent years. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of collegiate athletes and non-athletes drinking patterns to those of generic alcoholism. 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The MABQ was developed to measure patterns of addictive behaviors and to ascertain gender differences as well\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contemporary Sports Issues&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":82,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/student-athlete-drug-testing\/","url_meta":{"origin":83,"position":3},"title":"Student Athlete Drug Testing","date":"February 13, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by: Joseph C. Franz, M.D. Since the June 1995 U. S. Supreme Court ruling in support of random interscholastic student athlete drug testing, more schools then ever before have begun either mandatory, reasonable suspicion or voluntary types of drug testing as they battle drug abuse by their students. By\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contemporary Sports Issues&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":344,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/a-study-of-alcohol-responsibility-among-college-athletes\/","url_meta":{"origin":83,"position":4},"title":"A Study of Alcohol Responsibility Among College Athletes","date":"July 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by: Frank B. Butts - University of West Georgia Abstract This study examined alcohol related behaviors among college athletes and the impact of a one year, alcohol responsibility intervention program on reported behaviors. A sample of 150 athletes was selected to go through three specific alcohol responsibility intervention programs,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contemporary Sports Issues&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":239,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/performance-enhancement-drugs-knowledge-attitude-and-intended-behavior-among-community-coaches-in-hong-kong\/","url_meta":{"origin":83,"position":5},"title":"Performance Enhancement Drugs: Knowledge, Attitude, And Intended Behavior Among Community Coaches In Hong Kong","date":"June 7, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by: Lena Fung Abstract The purpose of the study was to elucidate the perceived knowledge, actual knowledge, attitude, and intended behavior of community coaches with respect to performance enhancement drugs (PED). The Theory of Planned Behavior was used as a guiding framework to structure the questionnaire used for data\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contemporary Sports Issues&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Table 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/Table12.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1280,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83\/revisions\/1280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}