The NJSIAA is determined to achieve its goal to keep the high school sports drug-free in its state despite of the high cost it requires. As an advance step into this goal, New Jersey interscholastic athletic association set out its 2008-09 contract with The National Association for Drug Free Sport, Inc last season as reported by Scott Chappelear of Today’s Sunbeam Sports. The contract is viewed to be a part of Executive Committee Meeting this October.

Meanwhile, Drug Free Sport is contracted once more to perform full 500 anabolic steroids panels along with a random sampling of high school athletes competing in the championship tournaments and events in NJSIAA. The cost for the testing was outlined in the contract that includes the specimen collection, study, equipment, delivery, and results. Each sample will cost $190 making a total of 95,000 for the entire year’s testing.

NJSIAA associate director Bob Baly said that they are after to anything that makes the young athletes healthier. Currently, they are hearing from physicians and kids that this testing serves as prevention for kids to take any form of performance-enhancing drugs.

“Most athletes are not going to go on to be professional athletes, or even college athletes, but they take some of these substances that will have an (adverse) effect 30 years from now. Obviously nothing is perfect, and we are hoping to do some things to make things better,” Baly explained.
However, the expenses are presumed to go over the total cost to achieve a better result because of the additional cost for extra testing. Example of this is the EPO testing, which will cost $250 each sample; and lab documentation packets, which will cost $300 each packet. Although, Baly confirmed that these are no problem since these instances are only seldom.

So far, last year’s result only detected one student-athlete to be positive for using performance-enhancing drugs out of the 501 that was tested. This kid was required to sit out for a year and undergo counseling as well. For the meantime, there are still no supporting studies to support the claim that this steroid testing serves as a restriction for the kids to take performance-enhancing drugs; however, last month’s report for steroid from Baly gives hope to the team along with the Department of Education of the state to survey this issue on the student-athletes.

NJISAA is also aiming to gather additional financial support from outside sources to extend testing even to non-championship sporting events as noted in the report of Baly. He said, “We want every kid, whether they think they are going to be a state champion or no, to be a little fearful they could be tested.”

Of course, to serve as a motivation for the public, NJSIAA support annual awards for people in different sports and endeavors. This year, one of the people who was nominated and approved to one of these awards is the high school director of Washington Township High School Kevin Murphy. Murphy belongs in the service category.

Murphy said,” I was humbled by it; I don’t know who nominated me. I even joked with my wife that I don’t feel like I have done anything to get recognized by the NJSIAA, but I am certainly appreciative of it. It is a tribute to the community and the kids.”

According to the report of Chappelear, Murphy has drawn so much interest in North Jersey because apart from serving the state boys’ soccer committee, Murphy is also a former member of the original conference realignment committee. Currently, Murphy is already serving for two years as a president of the Olympic Conference. 

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