Write your search in the input below and press enter.
Esc to close.

The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich

Peak Performance:
Not Just for Sports, for Life

  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
    • Recent
    • Athletes
    • Coaching
    • Sports Parenting
    • Sports Administrators
    • Life
    • Administrators
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Hello. Sign In

My Account
  • Login
  • Register
0
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk
Subscribe
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich
  • Recent
  • Athletes
  • Coaching
  • Sports Parenting
  • Life
  • Administrators
Home / Blog / A Drug Loophole Exists Relating to Sports & Performance

A Drug Loophole Exists Relating to Sports & Performance

By: Dr. Chris Stankovich | @DrStankovich | Sep 15, 2016

No Comments

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent and easiest psychological diagnoses to receive these days, with many of the kids “diagnosed” only in the sense that they (or their parents) asked their doctor for medicine to help with their attention challenges.  In too many cases an actual psychological diagnosis doesn’t take place; instead, the physician acquiesces to the request for a free trial run of a drug advertised on television.

Unique sport concerns

There are always serious side effects when taking these drugs, especially for kids.  Student athletes, however, present a new concern when using ADHD Schedule II drugs as it applies to on-field focus that may provide a competitive advantage.

This week it was revealed (through a computer hack) that Olympic gold medal winning gymnast Simone Biles is ADHD and takes a drug for her condition.  While I have no knowledge about Biles and her ADHD diagnosis, as a clinician who regularly treats athletes I have witnessed a significant increase in the number of athletes being prescribed psychostimulant drugs like Adderall, Vyvance, and Ritalin.  More troubling is that in the majority of cases the athletes received the drugs they actively sought by merely telling their doctor they needed help with their focus.  From these observations I offer the following:

  • It has become remarkably easy to obtain Schedule II drugs (a drug category that includes cocaine and morphine), and a growing number of people are asking (and receiving) these drugs by prescription from their doctors.
  • Many athletes have told me directly that they had no idea if they had ADHD, but that they very much liked using drugs like Adderall to help with focusing on their studies, as well as improving their athletic performance on the field.
  • Leagues to date, including college, pro and and even the Olympics, freely allow athletes with a diagnosis of ADHD to use these drugs, thereby providing potential on-field advantage over athletes not using psychostimulant drugs.

ADHD is a very controversial disorder to begin with, but even sketchier when clients are being assigned the label without even having a psychological diagnosis take place.  When athletes are prescribed psychostimulant drugs without a formal diagnosis and for an indefinite amount of time, they experience real focus advantages over the competition not using these drugs.  In essence, what is happening, in my opinion, is that athletes have found a loophole by learning about a drug that helps performance, is easy to get, and not banned by any leagues to date.

Final thoughts

There are countless athletes across all levels of sport, including as young as Jr High, regularly using psychostimulant drugs to gain an on-field advantage.  The potential side effects are very concerning — far greater than any athletic advantages the drugs may provide –and that should not be lost in this assessment of student athletes using psychostimulant drugs.  But athletes who purposely seek out the drugs to gain an athletic advantage have prompted a deeper conversation around integrity and the exposure of a loophole that needs to be re-examined.

www.drstankovich.com

 

ADHD, attention, drugs, illness, mental, psychology, sport

  • Author
  • Comments
  • Details
Get to Know the Author

Dr. Chris Stankovich

Dr. Stankovich has written/co-written five books, including Positive Transitions for Student Athletes, The ParentsPlaybook, Mind of Steel.

Latest Blog Posts

  • June 29, 2022 Don’t Discount the Value of Fun, Unstructured Play for Kids Mental Health
  • June 20, 2022 Sports Parents & Coaches Can Use Youth Sports as a Mental Health Boost for Kids
  • June 15, 2022 Show Kids How Much You Care Before You Teach Them What You Know
  • June 14, 2022 Study Finds Team Sports May be Best for Kids & their Mental Health
  • June 8, 2022 Accepting that Life is Difficult is a Healthy 1st Step Toward Life Success

Comments are closed.

PREVIOUS POST

The Athlete’s Mind: TEAM BUILDING

NEXT POST

The Athlete’s Mind: SUPERSTITIONS

Category

Amateur , Athletes , Athletic Counseling , Coaching , College , Focus , Leadership , Leadership and Role Modeling , Off Field Issues , Parent Training , Performance Supplements , Prep , Pro , Pro and College Sports , Sport Psychology , Sports Administrators , Sports Culture and Society , Sports Leadership , Sports Parenting , Sports Performance Science , Training and Development , Uncategorized , Youth and Interscholastic Sports , Youth Sports

Tags

ADHD, attention, drugs, illness, mental, psychology, sport

  • Recent Posts
  • Most Read
  • Don't Discount the Value of Fun, Unstructured Play for Kids Mental Health
  • Sports Parents & Coaches Can Use Youth Sports as a Mental Health Boost for Kids
  • Show Kids How Much You Care Before You Teach Them What You Know
  • Study Finds Team Sports May be Best for Kids & their Mental Health
  • Accepting that Life is Difficult is a Healthy 1st Step Toward Life Success
  • Overcome the Fear of Failure, Improve Mental Toughness, & Experience Success
  • How Much Impact Does a Coach Have on Sports Team Success?
  • Avoid the Dangers of "Whataboutism" for Better Relationships & Improved Mental Health
  • Help Kids Maximize Youth Sports by Using Athletic Transferable Skills
  • Improve Mental Health by Means of Catharsis & Purging Negative Thoughts
  • The Sports Doc on TV

    Catch Dr. Stankovich’s tv, radio, and print interviews and columns here!

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Watch Videos
  • Sport Performance Assessment

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Quickly and accurately test your level of mental toughness in just a few minutes using the Sport Performance Assessment.

    (SPA), an easy-to-use sport psychology system specially designed to help you REACH YOUR FULL ATHLETIC POTENTIAL.

    learn more
  • SportsSuccess360

    Life strategies for performance and character development for coaches, parents, and student athletes competing in youth and interscholastic sports.

    Life Strategies learn more
  • Contact Dr. Stankovich

    1395 Grandview Avenue Suite 6, Columbus OH 43212

    (614) 561-4482
    Media & General Inquiries
    information@drstankovich.com
    Sales & Product Support
    sales@drstankovich.com
  • About Dr. Stankovich

    • Media
    • Blog
    • Testimonials
  • Products

    • Toolkits
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Audio
    • iPhone Apps
  • Services

    • Athlete Performance Training
    • Parent Community Forum
    • Coach Education & Development
    • Athletic Crisis Response and Intervention
    • Drug & Alcohol Assessment
    • Life Success Programs
    • Counseling & Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • twitter
  • facebook

All rights reserved © 2022 Advanced Human Performance Systems™

↓ ↓