Local coaches react to Mitchell report

There wasn’t much good to say about the snowstorm-induced traffic nightmare that greeted drivers Thursday afternoon, but those held captive in their cars for hours had plenty of time to listen as sports radio personalities weighed in on the Mitchell report on doping in baseball.Seemingly everyone, from avid sports fans to casual observers, had an opinion on the report, which linked many current and past major-league baseball players to steroid use. Among those who listened to the news with particular interest were some high school coaches who can attest to just how much young players look up to their heroes.English High baseball coach Joe Caponigro said the dangers of steroid use are addressed in health classes, along with substance abuse in general.”As coaches, we have a responsibility to dissuade any use of illegal substances,” he said.Caponigro said young people read about professional athletes getting arrested for possession of drugs and alcohol abuse.”It does send the wrong message to kids,” he said. “In today’s society, we have these role models. The kids look up to them and sometimes they get the wrong message.”Caponigro said although the negative behavior is out there, he also tries to point out that there are plenty of athletes who are out there doing the right thing, staying away from banned substances and contributing to their communities.”Probably the majority aren’t doing anything wrong,” he said.Tech baseball coach Yuri Sanchez, who played in the minor leagues for quite a few years, said he tries to get the message to his players by telling them about players he knew over the years who saw their careers cut short and their reputations turn sour after testing positive.Sanchez said young athletes need to realize there are plenty of players out there who perform well without relying on illegal substances. Although he doesn’t know what the answer is to solve the problem, Sanchez said it may take suspending a player for life to get the message out.”You’ve got to set the tone from the beginning,” he said.Swampscott High baseball coach T.J. Baril said it’s discouraging because the problem seems to be widespread, going from top to bottom.”It’s not just the all-stars and the MVPs, it’s the guys trying to make it,” Baril said. “There’s a lot of pressure on these guys, especially those who come right out of high school or college.”Sometimes they don’t make the right decision,” Baril said.The Swampscott coach said he and his fellow coaches, along with school officials, try to focus on pride and integrity in talking about the pitfalls of using the illegal substances.”We have a lot of kids from very strong families. We try to reiterate that you only get as far as the hard work you put in. We try and discourage them from taking the easy way out,” he said.Baril said it was sad to see some of the players he had looked up to on the Mitchell report list of those connected to steroid use. He said it’s also sad that a lot of people weren’t surprised by some of the names.”It’s out there now. I guess they’ll have to address it,” Baril said.