If you are looking for an organization that focuses on the use of steroids among athletes, The Taylor Hooton Foundation is the answer. It might be the only foundation that tackles performance enhancing drugs and educating people about its adverse effects especially among the young athletes. Another unique in this foundation is the crusade of its founder, Don Hooton, to reach out to as many people as he can just to educate people.

What makes him an advocate of steroid awareness, not just to young athletes but to everybody, is his experience seeing his son ruined by steroid abuse. He wants people to understand where he’s been and what he’s seen, the pain he experienced when his 17 old son died in July 2003 as a result of steroid abuse. He wants everybody- athletes, coaches, administrators, parents, politicians to listen and take part in his crusade. He’s glad that Alex rodriguez is one of the professional athletes whom he consider as a great help in the foundation.

Taylor’s dream of becoming a good pitcher and become a pro prompted him to take steroids at a very young age. His high school baseball coach also influenced him to take steroids. Taylor is 6 feet 2 and 180 pounds but was told that it was not enough. He injected one substance and ingested another, gaining 30 pounds in a very short period of time.

Don Hooton subjected his son to therapy but things just got worst. Aside from changes in moods and depression, Taylor also resorted to stealing things. Their doctor suggested to quit steroids abruptly instead of weaning his mind and body off the substances that already had begun influencing his thoughts and behavior. But it was too late when they realized that Taylor has the tendency to commit suicide. This story is being told again and again by Don Hooton in his speaking engagements across the country.

The foundation was established in 2004 with corporate headquarters at Plano Texas. This Foundation was founded by the parents, family and friends of Taylor after his death when the founders became aware of the magnitude of a growing problem among high school athletes across the country. They discovered that this is a serious problem among young athletes. they believed that young people and their parents are generally ignorant of the real dangers of these performance enhancing drugs.

It is headed by Taylor’s father, Don Hooton together with other prominent people. The board is composed of Jim Aderson, Ron Arp, Matt Butkus, Gene Gieselmann, Robert Housman, Jim Whitehead, Stratton Nicolaides and Gary Wadler.

The Taylor Hooton Foundation gets its funding from corporate sponsor which supports majority of its activities. One major contributor is the Major League Baseball where the foundation was able to get a 5 year contract worth $500,000 annually. Other major sponsors include Numerex, Wachovia Securities, Hewlett Packard, Steve Fields’ Steak and Lobster Lounge and Dancing Deer Baking Company. Don Hooton is still looking for more corporate sponsors to be able to reach out to all young athletes.

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