Why Talking to Youth About
Alcohol and Drugs is Part of a
Winning Game Plan
The Competition
The Best Defense
(The Facts We’re Up Against)
(Evidence-Based Strategies for Prevention)
• It’s likely that 1/3 of your athletes are drinking
alcohol on a regular basis. This means they
are more likely to experiment with drugs,
become addicted to alcohol, engage in risky
sex and become the victim of a violent or
sexual crime.1
• As a coach, the impact you have on a young
person is immeasurable – Let them know that
you want them to make healthy life choices.
• Set clear expectations around drinking and
drug use and clearly define the consequences
for being caught.
• 1 out of 7 Cumberland County High School
students has misused prescription drugs and
• Let your athletes know that alcohol and
drugs are not a part of celebrating the team’s
success or mourning losses.
thinks they are safer than other drugs.2
• 1 out of 6 people who start smoking pot at a
young age become addicted. Marijuana use
is connected to an increase in mental health
• Connect with local resources to educate and
raise awareness around the risks and harms
of substance use.
problems and drop-out rates.3
• 14% of high school males say they use
smokeless tobacco. 4
• Alcohol and other drugs decrease an athlete’s
physical and mental ability (over time).
Reaction time is slowed, lung capacity is
diminished and strength/speed are reduced
in ways that impact their ability to compete.5
Strategy Tips:
Individually: Emphasize that sports are about being a
These issues may come up
one-on-one, during practice or
at an after-game-get-together.
Be prepared to listen and
respond to the ideas you hear
from athletes that normalize
substance use.
1
team player and about being accountable to one’s peers in
their choices and their actions.
On the field: Remind athletes that the goal is to bring
one’s best self to the field and to practice and learn those
skills to be their best on and off the field. After-game BBQs: Reinforce that celebrations should
not be synonymous with substance use, and remind your
athletes that partying with alcohol/marijuana and/or
prescription drugs is not the norm and is unacceptable.
Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS) 2011 2MIYHS 2011 3Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) 4MIYHS 2011 5American Athletic Institute
Communities Promoting Health Coalition
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
SOURCES
PREVENTION RE
www.communitiespromotinghealth.org
[email protected]