College sports have been known to bring out the best in young athletes and produce exciting battles throughout the three divisions. These athletes leave it all on the line for his or her school in hopes of winning a championship. You might think it is inconceivable, but are any illegal substances involved?

School sports teams across the country are beginning to undergo random steroid testing, with the NCAA rules commission sending representatives to monitor the tests.

“We are hoping to clean up our universities and small colleges with the new steroid tests,” said NCAA President Myles Brand, in a statement sent to Fox Sports in July. “The testing will be done privately and before each sports season, with positive tests being handled immediately.”

Castleton State College and other small schools were visited by representatives of the NCAA before the opening of the fall sports season. Each athletic team has their own day of testing and the results are only seen by the widely-publicized athletic association.

“We are not told anything unless our students test positive, so for now I’ve got nothing to worry about,” said Deanna Tyson, Castleton’s Assistant Dean of Athletics.

“I have faith in our student-athletes and know they are smart enough to avoid the use of performance-enhancing drugs.”

The Spartan athletes did not seem to be worried about the random testing, but had good things to say about the NCAA’s approach to counter the use of banned substances.

“It didn’t really bother me since I don’t do that stuff (steroids),” said TJ Mazza, captain of the men’s soccer team. “I like what the NCAA is doing; it is good for sports and gets rid of the kids who try to gain an unfair advantage.”

The movement to get rid of the potential use of steroids in college sports was installed more than twenty years ago, and has followed up by organizing random tests over the past three years.

According to an NCAA press release last year, college sports created its testing policy in 1986, but the only teams taking the tests were the champions of each sport.

“It’s important that our student athletes stay out of trouble and avoid drugs like steroids,” Tyson said. “I’m pretty sure our teams and other schools around the area will be looking at this closely so that our students play by the rules.