OP has never disclosed what her son’s activity or team involvement is.
Yes, OP confirmed her son is an athlete.
In response to my comment that OP’s son is likely a D1 athlete and therefore is being drug tested, and in response to my comment that he needs his phone for coach “texting trees,” OP responded:
"Prospect 1 – yes, that is why I know drugs should not be involved in this story.
And yes, I can not turn off the phone as it is used this way –
use texting trees to communicate."
Only athletes would be drug tested; I do not believe any other college activity has this requirement, which is an NCAA requirement.
Sorry. My mistake . She must have revealed in later posts.
@carolinamom2boys - it was easy to miss. OP has typically responded to many posts all in one single response.
I’m not familiar with college sports . Is drug testing scheduled or random?
I agree! I missed that revelation too…most of the time the OP made a point of NOT telling us the activity to “protect his privacy”.
Drug testing can be scheduled and random. I, personally, have not known a single collegiate athlete who has dared to abuse any type of detectable drug because the penalties are swift and terrible. Alcohol is another story.
NCAA drug testing goes on at all NCAA levels (D1 - D3). I don’t think OP revealed the level of collegiate athletics her son is playing (D1-2-3 etc) but from the practice times and level of commitment she revealed, both in terms of time and in terms of breaks, it certainly matches a D1 schedule.
I wish OP would come back and let us know how it’s going.
I haven’t read all posts, so I apologize in advance if this has already been suggested, but I’d make a call to the school counseling center. Even if he did not set you up for FERPA they should be able to take down your concern and act on it. I imagine they have seen it all and have the experience to deal with it. I would convey strong concern for the well-being and safety for your son. That should get them to act quickly.
“Drug testing can be scheduled and random. I, personally, have not known a single collegiate athlete who has dared to abuse any type of detectable drug because the penalties are swift and terrible. Alcohol is another story.”
Incorrect.
Even in D1, the NCAA does not require any drug testing other than at NCAA championships and minimal random testing for PEDs (but not recreational drugs). Most conferences do not require any drug testing. The only NCAA requirement is that a school has to follow its drug testing policy if it has adopted one. The policies (if they exist) often provide for just counseling for a first or second offense. That’s hardly swift and terrible.
Schools are free to have their own drug testing policies – some do, some don’t – and the policies can differ. The policies and the testing are a patchwork and fairly easy to evade.
Huge numbers of college athletes easily drink and smoke marijuana with no consequences. Schools really have no interest or incentive to disqualify their athletes from competition for acting like college students.
" I don’t think OP revealed the level of collegiate athletics her son is playing (D1-2-3 etc) but from the practice times and level of commitment she revealed, both in terms of time and in terms of breaks, it certainly matches a D1 schedule."
My daughter is D2 and has the same 20 hour practice schedule, which turns into 30 with time with the trainers, meetings, travel time, etc. and into much more when you consider study tables (8-10 hours per week as a freshman) and the extra time she puts in on her own. However, I still don’t think the OP has said it is an NCAA sport or even a sport at all. Any activity could implement a drug testing policy - civil air patrol, robotics team, club sport, ROTC, anything with driving or machinery. My daughter wouldn’t have time to spend $400 in a week on beer and eating out during her season. She’s also not allowed to drink 24 hours before a practice or 48 hours before a game. Her coach is very strict about it. Last year two girls were suspended for the first game in the spring because they drank before a practice in the fall. As a parent, I love the NCAA/coach’s rules! No alcohol, study tables, 6 am conditioning so in bed by 10 (often 9). A mother’s dream, better than a convent school.
And I still think if it were a sport, the parents would be attending the games or meets at the school that is only 2 hours away or at other schools that might be even closer.
OP said the son told his dad not to attend.
@twoinanddone I don’t know at what point you came in on this thread, but the son has requested no one come to see him or on campus, and thus far the OP has agreed to his requests . Unfortunately , I believe that there are quite a few reasons to make a visit despite his requests for independence .
I am familiar with student athletes and families in almost every major D1 conference, and have also lived through this with my own kids. They are tested during the season, during the off season, randomly and pre-announced. Virtually every D1 conference has enacted these types of mandatory testing rules; and once enacted, it is mandated by the NCAA that the testing be done.
In fact, when one of mine had to have a minor surgery, the athletic department requested (and was provided) with a list of all of the medications and anesthesia he was given as proof that his violations were medically necessary, just in case he had to be tested shortly thereafter.
Every single supplement they take had to be approved by the athletic department in advance.
Infractions are not taken lightly. “Huge numbers of college athletes easily drink and smoke marijuana with no consequences.” <<<<< This just has not been my experience. At all. Alcohol, yes. Marijuana, no. Maybe your experience has been different; maybe some coaches turn a blind eye, maybe even many. But if a kid is caught with his pants down in flagrant violation, there will be serious consequences. If the AD finds out that a coach ignored something he knew about, in violation of conference rules, that coach will be in big trouble. They are usually not willing to sacrifice their jobs over one disobedient kid.
You are correct that the team can have even stricter rules than those mandated by the NCAA, and often the coach’s own rules ARE more stringent. All the more reason why collegiate athletes are, typically, very careful about what they are doing, who sees what they are doing, and making sure that whatever they are doing is not of a detectable variety. Kids can even be punished for tweeting out the wrong picture. One of our friend’s kids had to sit out several games because he didn’t have his hair cut as short as the coach demanded.
I can’t speak to D2 and below programs; my experience there is more limited. However, OP confirmed that a random drug testing program was in place for her son, and so we must assume that HE is subject to random drug testing. And it is his experience that is the point of this thread, not some random kid at a “looser” program where coaches are not minding the store.
For anybody wondering, here is a quick summary of the NCAA’s official policy on drug testing of athletes:
http://www.ncaa.org/health-and-safety/policy/frequently-asked-questions-about-drug-testing
That’s why I think it is not a sport but some type of competition inside a building with a small group of spectators. Why would any athlete expect people NOT to come and watch? Why would it not be a regular thing the parents had always done for this child in high school? I’ve watched my kids many times and not met up with them after the game or not really even talked to them if they are in a hurry to get on the team bus or want to go with their friends, but I still went to the games. Still do when I can. I’m giving the OP and her husband the benefit of the doubt that they will behave at the game/event/competition and just be regular spectators, not crazed fans or insane ‘soccer mom’ parents.
I read in the OP’s posts the son didn’t want the parents to go. I’m in the ‘too bad’ group and my 18/19 year old kids aren’t in charge of my schedule or what I feel as a parent is necessary for me to be sure that they are safe. I said earlier that if either of my kids had acted the way the OP’s son did (and it would be way out of character for my kids as it is for the OP’s son) I would have been on campus immediately to see what the problem was, why messages weren’t answered, why so much money was being spent, why there was such an effort to block me from visiting. I wouldn’t try to embarrass my DD, but as the bumper sticker says “My Money and My Child Go To State U” and I have a right to know what is going on. I’d really be hoping the answer was “Sorry, I’ve been a jerk” and not that the child had had a breakdown or was in some real trouble, but I’d need to know.
Yes, strict coaches are great!
D2 certainly can be as much work as D1, no doubt.
I don’t see how this could be anything other than a sport. Here are the parameters the OP provided:
- The activity has 20 "official" hours but takes up over 30 hours a week "unofficially."
- It is year long, involves air travel, the student will be traveling to do it fall break, and will have no break other than Thanksgiving and Xmas (i.e. no spring break either).
- When I suggested that that kid will be randomly drug tested as an athlete, OP responded, yes, this is why she is 100% certain there is no drug abuse going on.
- OP said that the husband told the son they would like to "come and watch" and he asked them not to.
- The members communicate with a texting tree (which I described as a "coach" texting tree and OP seemed to confirm this also).
- The son's roommate is in the same activity.
Not sure what other type of activity parents would want to go and watch, that is randomly drug tested, that takes 20 official (exactly the NCAA parameters) and 30 unofficial hours a week, that requires a texting tree from a coach, that goes on year long, that requires the college student to be traveling during every break except Xmas and Thanksgiving, that includes a roommate with the same activity (so, this activity was already committed to by the time roommates were assigned by the college - VERY common, although not mandatory, in college sports to be assigned a roommate in the same sport).
Not that it really matters what the activity is. What matter is addressing some of the things OP was concerned about. To give the OP the best advice, we must acknowledge the parameters of the kid’s commitment. Given these parameters, which pretty much sounds like a SPORT to me, and a D1 at that (considering the OP discussed AIR travel, meaning bigger budget), it just seems to me that to advice the kid to get a job/cut off his phone/worry about drug abuse are a little off the mark.
Now, that said, you betcha I’d be showing up to his contests. I’d want the whole scuttlebutt/rumor mill from the other parents about the stuff going on behind the scenes. If I know my kid is supplying the alcohol, I’m wondering if he’s getting an annoying reputation with the coach and I’d want to make sure that he’s not getting himself in a world of trouble.
I hope the Gatorade was delivered successfully over the weekend and in person communication ensued.
314 Prospect --
As far as I can tell, there is no such thing as a Pac 12, Big 10, ACC, SEC etc. drug testing policy. Each individual school is free to have a testing policy (or not) of its own design. The policies are not strict, at least as applied to the money sports.
The NCAA randomly tests for PEDs throughout the year. It does not test for any street drugs – only PEDs. NCAA DOES test for street drugs before NCAA championships. But that only applies to the teams/players that make it that far so those tests are easily avoided (since they are at a scheduled time not random).
As you might recall, there was a kerfuffle with Oregon in January when a few of its football players got booted from the initial college football playoff for pot. Since the CFB playoff is not an NCAA championship, it was not clear that there would be any testing. Then someone decided (surprise!!) that they would treat the CFB playoff like an NCAA championship.
FYI, Oregon’s policy only suspends players from competition after the third failed drug test. Those toker players apparently had no problem staying eligible under Oregon’s policies and procedures – they played all season long.
After the Oregon incident, the NCAA moved to eliminate its testing for street drugs completely.
“Use of recreational drugs should absolutely be discouraged, the committee members said; but because they do not provide a competitive advantage, alternative approaches to testing should be developed.”
@northwesty, but the fact is, the colleges in these conferences DO have drug testing policies. And, once in place, it is an NCAA requirement to enforce these policies, strictly. This, in effect, amounts to a mandatory policy.
If some colleges choose to turn a blind eye, that’s another story. When this happens, and when they get caught, they do get sanctioned (player AND college). These stories do pop up every so often, and when they do my first thought is, yes…but how many times has the school NOT been caught…
We don’t know what OP’s son’s sport is, but we do know that it is a sport at a college that will randomly test her son, as she has confirmed this. And, we know it’s NOT Oregon. That’s really all that matters for purposes of this thread.