What percentage of players in High School and/or College baseball show up to games stoned? (Hint: If you say zero, you're not paying attention.)
I don't think it's a lot. But, I know it's not zero, at least on the stories I have heard.
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Dave’s not here!
I thought I was tuned in when I was coaching and a high school parent. Of all the things I heard pot never came up in baseball/softball discussion. Steroids did. One of my son’s high school teammates and a travel teammate did steroids. Some of the stuff that came up in 18u softball discussions I would have preferred not to overhear.
I would think pot would have the opposite effect of the mental state you are trying to accomplish to compete. I do know there are a ton of MLB players who use after night games to calm themselves down so they can sleep. No idea about high school and college though.
Freshman year of HS. Son is a freshman playing on varsity. There's a kid on the team who had a tendency to make some questionable throws on defense. I asked my son one day "Is XXXX a bit of a space cadet?" His answer was "XXXX and YYYY go behind the outfield fence before every practice and sit there smoking pot. He's always high."
Collegiate Summer League team. Watching the team from a far. One kid rarely plays but he always seems like he's happy. I mentioned to my son that he seems like an upbeat kid and it's too bad he doesn't get much of an opportunity. My son's reply was "You don't know. I have never seen him when wasn't high. He's always stoned."
College fall scrimmage game. There's a transfer on the team that we know and he's a great hitter. He didn't play, which was surprising. After the game, I asked my son if he was injured. He says: "He told the coach not to play him today and then he told us in the dugout that he was so high on mushrooms that he didn't even remember driving there."
It appears your son has made some serious bad baseball decisions. He’s around players making bad decisions. Everyone my kids played with (baseball and softball) were serious about getting on the field, playing and improving. My kids have always been open with me. I never heard of any impairment beyond a hangover or lack of sleep about any players. These stories were rare.
HS game last spring. Was a good back and forth game till about 5th inning, other team's play started going down hill and kept going down till the end of the game. Son talked to one of the players from the other team, that he played summer ball with after the game. Player told son that about half the players were "taking hits off a THC vape" during the game (in the dugout). Know wonder their play went down hill.
We have always played with guys that were really serious about baseball. If you weren't playing well, you wouldn't be playing, so I haven't seen much of this.
It goes on. In HS baseball. In college baseball. In MiLB. In MLB. Not a lot of use during game play I would surmise. And there should be no tolerance of it during a game as it subjects all participants to a greater risk of injury. A lot of use off the field among baseball players - regardless of level of talent and regardless of age. And within reason I have no problem with it as I believe it’s less harmful than alcohol for most people.
@RJM posted:It appears your son has made some serious bad baseball decisions. He’s around players making bad decisions. Everyone my kids played with (baseball and softball) were serious about getting on the field, playing and improving. My kids have always been open with me. I never heard of any impairment beyond a hangover or lack of sleep about any players. These stories were rare.
You can't pick your teammates.
That said, my son has cut loose friends off the field because of their drinking and drug use. He doesn't do it and doesn't want to be around it.
I agree with Adbono. Having had 2 sons who play/played D1 baseball and one coaches college softball and friends who are coaches. It is very prevalent in college sports. It may not be before games but I know that it happens on a regular basis. It is amazing how many times my son has had to take the drug test because I'm sure they know he is clean even though they say it is random. I think he averages 3-4 times a year for 4 years now and other son was about the same.
I agree that it is very prevalent in college sports. NCAA requires testing after championship games, unless things have changed, most programs will test regularly, sending a warning message. I don't think that they are looking for who smokes weed as it's not a performance enhancing drug, but rather recreational.
What I don't understand is why Francis7's son would share that information.
JMO
What I don't understand is the repetitive Francis7 bashing. Exactly what bad decisions did his son make? And what is the big deal about his son telling his father about stuff like this? Not exactly like he went to the coach and ratted out the players.
@Dadbelly2023 posted:What I don't understand is the repetitive Francis7 bashing. Exactly what bad decisions did his son make? And what is the big deal about his son telling his father about stuff like this? Not exactly like he went to the coach and ratted out the players.
What was the purpose of this topic?
You want stories of what goes on in HS, college, professional ball? I can supply.
But what my son has shared with us on his journey is no one's business and I respect that. If your son is playing on a team and these things happen it's the coaches who aren't paying attention.
I think most parents out there are not as clueless as he indicated.
JMO
College baseball reflects society. This is America, and you have choices with just about anything. Nobody here should be surprised at these stories. Have my kids come to me (in confidence) to share some of the stuff that happened on their high school, Legion, travel and college teams...absolutely. They came to me because they had questions about it, and I appreciated and respected that.
I'm not going to judge other people's kids if they drink or smoke some weed. It s not the end of the world if they are sitting in their dorm rooms. But I think there is a time and a place for it if you choose to do it. Before and during a team athletic event is not the time or place and especially if their is a governing body that tests for it. Your team needs your mind and body 100% focused on the sport and you are selling your teammates short if you aren't in that mindset.
JMO.
@Dadbelly2023 posted:What I don't understand is the repetitive Francis7 bashing. Exactly what bad decisions did his son make? And what is the big deal about his son telling his father about stuff like this? Not exactly like he went to the coach and ratted out the players.
It's because everyone is better and smarter than me. Did you miss the memo? <wink>
@TPM posted:That's wonderful! Let me rephrase that. Why would you share what your son told you. I don't get that Francis, what was the purpose of the post. Seriously.
JMO
To have a conversation here with others about it. To educate and inform others who are not aware that such a situation exists.
Francis
the player’s lack of talent will equal his “shortcuts” to his perceived goals.
The network of pro scouts, youth Coaches and College Coaches is amazing .
Do not underestimate. Ask questions of policy.
Bob “Area Code Founder”
You never know where Francis7's topics will go. Sometimes he hits, sometimes he misses, sometimes he is derailed.
@Francis7 posted:You can't pick your teammates.
Well, you can kind of pick your teammates, or at least you can hopefully pick your team culture. Of course, new players change things every year. Nice thread about being offered substances during recruiting:
Like most baseball and life topics this one falls under “what can up you control?”
You can’t control what other players do as a parent. So, why is it a topic? A player can choose a program and parents provide input based on the observed culture. Otherwise, it’s transfer or deal with it. I would advise any player to maintain distance to reckless behavior from the locker room to the field.
I am actually still trying to figure out the purpose of the post that Francis titled "Cheech and Chong Baseball".
Cheech and Chong are comedians. I am trying to find the humor in the post. Am I missing something?
Was this post supposed to be funny?
Francis, I will also share a story.
Without giving too many specific details, one player that was on sons HS travel team turned down his college commitment and drafted pretty high and turned pro out of HS. The ironic part of the story, his close friend who also played on the same travel team was drafted by same team (not that high) and gave up his college commitment also. Everyone thought it was so cool, 2 friends off to play together.
It turned out, a few years later, that one was an addict, the other had supplied his drugs at one point. One, several years later committed suicide, the other went to jail.
The one good thing about this story, which was big in the local news, I think, changed a lot about how MLB went about addressing the drug problem among their players.
These days, getting high is not illegal, but getting high and showing up to play ball in HS or college summer ball is real bad news and not funny.
It's just stupid.
Let’s keep it real, most college and many HS athletes have regular access to beer and alcohol. However, if there’s beer in the dugout there’s likely a huge issue. Weed has a stigma, but I don’t see much difference other than if you do weed, a drug test can stop your journey. Neither is great for your body, and as parents of athletes our preference would be complete abstinence – I just think that’s a head in the sand mentality.
I think most of the dads on this sight can tell a story or two about pre 21 bad choices involving alcohol or drugs. I’ve got plenty; some funny, some scary and some that could have been life altering. If that’s most of the dad’s reality, is it realistic to assume our kids don’t have similar stories? With the youngest being 27, I think I’ve heard most of them by now and thankfully way tamer than mine…
I’ve never done drugs beyond booze, but I was around them enough to have has some close to life altering experiences. It’s not always what you do, but who and what you’re around. I made sure my kids knew this early on (by sharing my mistakes – probably shouldn’t borrow a car with an 8ball of cocaine in the glovebox). By the time they’re in college, we’re going to have little impact on the choices – hopefully we’ve created a relationship where they trust enough to share what’s real…
I am ok with the sharing. Heaven knows my kids have shared enough to write a novel! I just don't share it on a public forum.
Those players Francis wrote about don't sound like they are serious about baseball, that's a shame.
@Francis7 posted:Because we have a good relationship and talk to each other.
AMEN! That makes you a good parent when your child feels confident enough to share what is going on in their life. That means you are involved and they know you will give them proper advice on how to deal with it whether they are a teenager or adult. Thank you. It is an issue in sports and there may be some parent reading this who needs to know how to deal with it. I think your topics are great, especially during the off-season. Keep them coming. If others don't want to read them, they can not. I don't read various things on here because they don't or won't or haven't applied to me or my family but obviously they do apply to someone.
I have definitely heard of kids showing up to high school games stoned. To me, it’s the same as showing up drunk but it is a lot harder for umps and coaches to recognize it when it happens. Francis, thanks for bringing up this topic as a reminder to what happens out there.
I have shared these stories before. 1st story, I became the HC at a school where one of my pitcher's nicknames was "Chief." He didn't make it to pitch in any games.
My daughter might be the most drug-tested collegiate athlete in history. Somehow, she was tested "at random" a couple of times in each of her years in college. As parents, we believe that she was "randomly picked" because the AD knew that she would be clean. I can't say that about other members of her softball team. She is a lot like her mother and me and won't even take Tylenol unless she is in serious pain.
So do we really think these tests are random? I know my answer. One mom said her son was never tested. I’m pretty sure why he was randomly never chosen.
Definitely not random. My husband was "randomly" chosen every single time when he was in college.
@PitchingFan posted:So do we really think these tests are random? I know my answer. One mom said her son was never tested. I’m pretty sure why he was randomly never chosen.
Does anyone ever test for drug use in HS?
In college there is NCAA testing as well as the schools testing. I think each state has their own guidelines.
Alcohol does appear to be more of an issue at certain times of the year.
I've coached at three that did and know of many that do, but most are just ultimately a joke because they tell the kids a month in advance of when they are testing.
The one school tested all middle schoolers twice a year and high school athletes 3 times a year. Once in early part of school year, right before Christmas break and halfway through spring.
I'm not real sure the NCAA are completely random. Son and another kid everybody knew would be clean have been tested multiple times each year. Makes everything look good which is the ultimate. Even if a player tests positive, the punishment is weak at the beginning.
Per NCAA:
The NCAA tests for steroids, peptide hormones and masking agents year-round and also tests for stimulants and recreational drugs during championships. Member schools also may test for these substances as part of their athletics department drug-deterrence programs.
The NCAA bans the following drug classes.
- Stimulants.
- Anabolic agents.
- Beta blockers (banned for rifle only).
- Diuretics and masking agents.
- Narcotics.
- Cannabinoids.
- Peptide hormones, growth factors, related substances and mimetics.
- Hormone and metabolic modulators.
- Beta-2 agonists.
The biggest thing son has to worry about is when he gets a cold he can't take many over the counter meds.
My son had at least two high school teammates that got high during a game last year. One of the guys was injured and one was a bench player. Still....
Guy;
Does your son understand that the two players have "NO respect". College Coaches are aware of HS players, who have NO respect.
Bob
@TPM posted:Does anyone ever test for drug use in HS?
In college there is NCAA testing as well as the schools testing. I think each state has their own guidelines.
Alcohol does appear to be more of an issue at certain times of the year.
Our hs requires that you submit to random drug testing to be involved in any school related sports or extracurricular activities.
As stated, I don’t think the testing is random. My son was tested in HS, juco and D1 just about every cycle. It seems like they know who to test for the results they want…
When the kid was drafted out of juco, Boston sent a person to the house to witness the sample. I was taken back, but my son knew the drill, Strange job?
Testing at the HS level (at least at our HS for the several years I coached not too long ago) was regular and was random. I was there at the field often when the person administering the test would show up and call out a name or two for our baseball players and the softball players on the adjacent field. I knew the kids well and could read reactions. I also usually knew the AD's well and was involved in the discussions surrounding the testing.