When it comes to performance enhancement, there’s no drug out there to beat hard work

When word broke a couple of weeks ago via the Sunday Independent's John Greene's article that a prominent Kerry intercounty player had failed a drugs test it appeared as if the spectre of demon drugs in sport had reared its ugly head in the GAA.
Rumour and innuendo spread like wildfire before a statement from Kerry Co Board vaguely admitted that Brendan O'Sullivan, who featured as a substitute in the 2016 NFL Div 1 final, had failed a random test after that game and had subsequently served a suspension.
That statement led to more questions than answers.
There was zero clarity in terms of what drugs he had taken or the level of effect they had on his performance.
After hours of supposition and conjecture Sport Ireland shed some more light on O'Sullivan's failed drug test and revealed that the player tested positive for the stimulant methylhexanamie (MHA), typically found in training supplements and energy drinks.
MHA was found to increase heart rate, blood pressure and pump more blood to the areas of the body that need it.
The 'drug' is commonly found in energy drinks and supplements and isn't highly regarded as a performance enhancing - it does aid in recovery after a training session.
University of Toronto kinesiology professor Greg Wells told the Toronto Star that the drug is only slightly more powerful than a cup of coffee.
So where is the line drawn for amateurs who do not receive the benefit of full-time medical and nutritional experts who analyse every aspect of food and drink that goes into their body?
There simply isn't one.
The concept that all sports men are ultimately responsible for what they put in their body is great in theory, but ridiculous in practice for amateur sports men who are training just as hard as professionals and who try to get themselves in some sort of recovery to be able to go to work at 6am the next morning.
It is understandable that amateurs should be punished if they have knowingly taken performance enhancing drugs that are designed to specifically give them an edge over their competitors, but in the world of the GAA such drug cheats are rare - if not non-existent.
Meath veteran Joe Sheridan doesn't agree that GAA stars don't have access to the best nutritional advice, but he does believe that amateur sports men or women shouldn't be expected to be treated to the same rigour and exposure as their professional counterparts.
'At the beginning I was against it (drug testing) because being an amateur sport we were just doing it as a hobby. We were not getting paid, we were not getting the same resources as athletes who are really professional apart from just name,' said the Meath player.
'At the time most players were a bit aggrieved to be drug tested outside of games. Obviously with the introduction of grants, drug testing became one of the conditions behind the grants so we had to buy into it.
'There should be no issues with it really. If you are doing everything right then there should be no issue, but once again it just left a sour taste that we were being treated differently because we were not getting paid. It was always the players that it effected, no one else.
'I wouldn't use ignorance as a defence because at the end of the day we have the top nutritionists involved with teams and we always have had over the years.
'Doctors have always ran through the drug programme with us and informed us about what is allowed.
'The supplements the lads are taking are all scanned by the doctors and the nutritionists and passed off by whatever details are allowed by the Sports Council.
'I wouldn't be allowing lads that leeway (the claim of ignorance) because we know exactly what we are getting and what we are putting into our bodies. If you have any worries at all just don't take it.'
Sheridan returned to the Meath panel this year after a couple of years absence and admits that he was never tested for drugs.
However, he has no qualms about being tested and believes if players work hard and treat their bodies properly then they get the rewards they deserve.
'It is not as if we are flooded with drug tests or anything like that. I'm all for lads being straight in our sport and I think to be talking about lads doping in the GAA is absolutely ridiculous,' said Sheridan.
'As things go on and these stories come out you have to question the way lads are thinking. I really hope it doesn't creep into the game, it would be a massive let down for the players and the organisation if that did creep in.
'The fact we are even talking about it is bad enough, but hopefully lads won't get caught in that trap when trying to get a step ahead. Just work hard, work as much as you can and if you can compete then compete, there should be no need for drugs,' concluded Sheridan.
The views of someone at the coalface are very important and for someone who was starting out on an intercounty career in the early days of drug testing in the GAA it is interesting to hear that Sheridan's philosophy is that nothing beats hard work.