Fall Drug Seminar for athletes

by Olivia Carbone
Last Tuesday, September 15,  at seven o’clock at night, the auditorium was filled with all of Woburn High’s fall season athletes, along with one parent or guardian. Parents and students both sat all too close to a touchy subject.

It was yet another substance abuse seminar that we all, as students, never mind athletes, have had to attend many times over the years. Many at these seminars tend to get emotional, while others have phase out every somber story to stay unaffected.

However, this seminar was strictly on opiates and how abuse and addiction to these drugs can enter into one’s life, and rather unexpectedly at that.

Junior Kyle Massey-Chortlon, a football player had mixed feelings about the seminar.

“It touched me a little bit because it was sad, but it didn’t affect me so much so that I will think back to the story when making future decisions,” stated Massey-Chortlon.

In the seminar Taunton parents Lori and Dave Gonsalves spoke of their son, Cory Palazzi, as he was before drugs had slithered their way into his life. And for some student athletes, the description of Cory must have sounded similar to the one their parents might use to describe them. 

Cory was a stellar athlete, with hopes, dreams, and unlike many players, a serious shot at participating in college athletics and possibly beyond. His parents described him as a smart student academically, and a social butterfly with his peers. To the Palazzi’s, it seemed they had nearly risen the perfect kid in their big Italian family. However, nobody is perfect, and we will all make mistakes at some point in life.

One can only hope the mistakes we make do not have the outcome that Cory’s decision to take drugs had for him. Cory’s parents were driving home the point that it just might be you.

Massey-Chortlon was skeptical.“ I felt a little offended actually, because I know myself and I know I would never get into drugs,” he said.

You might not mean to fall into it, as nobody ever means to become a drug addict. But as a human beings, and athletes, with a dedication to a team, students have to stay cautious, as do parents.

Senior soccer player Morgan Bishop found the seminar relevant.

“This one really hit home because I like that he came and talked to us himself, and made us realize that yes, we might live, but there can be some serious effects to our lives and health…Also, they did a good job talking to our parents. Some parents are far too naïve and think their kid is perfect,” said Bishop.

Bishop then furthered discussed if drug addiction is something to be ashamed of.

“ Yes, because you got yourself into that insanely low point of your life, and it’s certainly not something to be proud of,” Bishop explained.

One question that several athletes seemed to ponder, was why drugs and alcohol hold such a high prominence in the high school environment?

“I think because it makes people seem more experienced and rebellious, which somehow in our adolescent minds makes us feel that they are better than we are,” decided Bishop.

However, golf team freshman member Nick Heims claimed that they had actually seen the same presentation last year in middle school. So, the effect of the seminar on freshman athletes most likely wasn’t quite as great as it was for those who hadn’t yet heard Palazzi’s story.

All in all, it seemed the seminar at least got students thinking, and hopefully will make everyone more cautious of even their innocent decisions when it comes to medication. 

After all, as Palazzi taught us, a drug addiction could start with a prescription.