FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Taylor Hooton Foundation To Focus Efforts on Florida High Schools McKinney, TX (August 27, 2013) The Taylor Hooton Foundation (THF), widely acknowledged leader in the advocacy against anabolic steroid and other APED abuse by the youth of North America, announced today that they will be making a concerted effort to reach out to Florida educators and politicians to assist in providing additional education to their students, coaches and teachers in light of the recent news from the Miami Herald of significant steroid usage among high schoolers in the state. “The news is troubling,” said Taylor Hooton Foundation president and founder Don Hooton, “but based on recent studies about youth use of anabolic steroids, it’s not the least bit surprising to us.  Any school district – or school – that doesn’t think this is going on among their students simply isn’t dealing with reality.” Hooton said his team was reaching out to a number of authorities across the state to discuss a program like the one that THF is doing in Rhode Island right now.  Grants were made available to the Rhode Island Interscholastic League to provide education programs in every high school in the state.  “Testing is important,” said Hooton, “but it’s only one component of what’s required to change behavior.  Education is the key – educating kids about the real dangers of these drugs, and educating parents, coaches and other adult influencers not only about the dangers, but also about what to look for and how to address someone they might suspect of using.” “There are too many people and clinics like Biogenesis and Balco trying to beat the drugs tests, and too many genetic combinations of these drugs to rely on testing to eradicate the problem,” he continued.  “Unless you’re doing Olympic-quality testing, you’ll never catch all of the cheaters  – and we know that’s just not economically feasible for most of the school districts out there.” Hooton strongly encourages the school and administrators to reach out to them if they’re not contacted by a THF rep first.  He mentioned that THF will be conducting one of their highly effective education programs at the University of Florida in September.  “They get it,” said Hooton, “the threat of testing combined with an effective education effort has the best chance of preventing this from spreading.  The program we are presenting to the University of Florida athletes is the same program that is available to high schools across the State of Florida.” The THF was formed in memory of Taylor E. Hooton, a 17-year old high school student athlete who took his own life as a result of using anabolic steroids.  The THF is considered a national expert on this topic and is funded by sources including MLB, the NFL and the NHL. For more information about the Taylor Hooton Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization, and their in-school and online education programs, visit www.taylorhooton.org Contact:  Kyle Purdy, VP Corporate Development, Kyle.purdy@taylorhooton.org, 972.403.7300