Most parents would be shocked to know how many teenagers in their child’s school admit to using anabolic steroids, according to Don Hooton, president of the Taylor Hooton Foundation, founded in 2004 for Hooton’s son, who died due to the use of appearance and performance enhancing drugs. “The most recent numbers indicate that seven percent of high school boys and girls admit to using anabolic steroids. And 11 percent admit to using growth hormones,” said Hooton, who will be in Bossier City on Friday night speaking at the USA Heads Up Football Player Safety info session at First Baptist Church, Bossier City. The free event for parents and youth coaches will kick off with registration from 5 to 5:45 p.m. in the lobby of the church. Sponsored by the New Orleans Saints and USA Football, along with the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Taylor Hooton foundations and the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission, the session will also include instruction on concussion awareness by USA Football master trainer Louis Valdin. “When I was the head coach at Hahnville, we lived by the adage, ‘when in doubt, hold them out,'” Valdin told The Times. “Learning to recognize the symptoms of a concussion and how to come back from one are very important.” Friday’s session will begin at 6 p.m. and will include segments on concussion awareness, heat and hydration, steroids, a panel discussion and a hands-on proper tackling technique session on the Freedom Fields. It will conclude at approximately 8:30 p.m. with door prizes. Focusing on steroid use by high school students became a major focus for Hooton, after his son killed himself due to depression from halting the use of steroids. According to the foundation, 1-in-16 high school students use anabolic steroids and 40 percent of high school seniors say they are easy to obtain. “We live in Texas where the typical high school has about 2,000 students. In a school that size, 140 kids will admit to using APEDs,” Hooton said. “I bet if you went to any high school in your area and asked about the scope of the steroid problem, they would say it isn’t a problem.” Signs of steroid use include mood swings, oily skin, increased aggression, joint pain, becoming secretive, locking the bedroom door, depression, asking for money, bad breath and hyperactivity. And apparently steroids are easy to obtain. It takes about one second to find steroids for sale on the Internet, Hooton said. “The use of steroids is higher than the use of all other drugs except alcohol and marijuana,” Hooton said. “There are some dietary supplements being purchased at health food stores that are spiked with anabolic steroids.” According to Hooton, parents and coaches should take a proactive approach to possible drug use by those in their charge by becoming educated about what’s going on in the marketplace. They should understand no one has all the answers, identify resources that can minimize the risk, consider not taking dietary supplements and learn about the risks that exist. Parental learning is also important when it comes to concussion recognition. Valdin said USA Heads Up Football is “the gold standard” for youth coaches to follow in teaching youngsters how to properly tackle. “If they start in that, by the time they reach high school they will know how to properly block and tackle, which helps reduce the chance of a concussion,” Valdin said. “It used to be they would say, ‘oh, he just got his bell rung.’ Now we know that’s a serious thing.” http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/sports/2015/06/24/steriods-concussions-focus-friday-event/29255787/