My experiences playing Little League and in youth baseball organizations are some of my fondest childhood memories. I remember playing baseball with the neighborhood kids in the sand lot behind Saint Henry's church. I would imagine I was Rusty Staub hitting a homerun. I would round the bases, head held high, with a big smile on my face. Those were the days when the world seemed a gentler, easier and simplier place.
Just the other day my 10 year old son, who plays youth baseball, came into the living room, sat down beside me, and asked me who my favorite baseball player was. "Was he on steroids, Da"? I almost fell out of my seat.
It's so sad that a 10 year old boy even knows what steroids are - but we're in the digital era and maybe the age of innocence doesn't exist anymore. So many thoughts went through my mind in an instant - My little boy is growing up! He's losing his innocence! My son is starting to questions things!
So I sat him down and told him the truth about the history of baseball, about steroids, about steroids in sports and the negative effects that steroids have on everyone, not just Major League Baseball players.
I explained to him that there are people who will try to get ahead regardless of the consequences. It could be in sports, at home or even in school. "Have you ever seen somebody cheat in school?" "Yup!" he said, "and the teacher called his parents and he got in a lot of trouble". So he understood the first thing - that taking steroids is cheating - plain and simple.
I then said, have you ever seen an adult smoking cigarettes? Again he said "Yeah, daddy, I think it's disgusting". Well, that person is harming themselves and they know it! And the baseball players who took steroids are a lot like that - but much worse.
Then I talked about the fact that steroids help millions of people all over the world as a treatment against pain and disease. And when doctors use it, it can save peoples lives, but in the wrong hands it is very, very dangerous.
And the last thing I said to him was, that the baseball players who take steroids might be good in baseball but they are not the type of people you look up to as a role model.
My son said, "I don't need to - I got you to look up to!"
In an instant he ran back to his room to play video games -as if nothing every happened.
Print this page
