The ATLAS and ATHENA anti-drug programs developed at Oregon Health and Sciences University address alcohol and other drug use among athletes, so it's no surprise that the curriculum is based on a team approach.

CNN reported March 21 that the Athletes Targeting Healthy Exercise and Nutrition Alternatives (ATHENA) program is designed for girls, while ATLAS, (Athletes Training and Learning to Avoid Steroids) is intended for boys. The programs are meant to be implemented during regular team meetings: student athletes are broken into six squads with squad leaders. Each squad "might deconstruct ads or play Jeopardy about the effects of drugs on an athlete," said Diane Elliott, M.D., who helped design the programs.

"Kids are really influenced by those they hang out with," she noted. "Sports teams are thus a really powerful vehicle."

The program has won praise for letting athletes teach each other. "When you're taking a class they're saying, 'Don't do the drugs.' They're trying to ram all these things into your brain," said student athlete Morgan Kishpaugh, 15. "The ATHENA program explains to you how the drugs will affect you as an athlete."

The programs are currently being implemented in schools in Florida, Oregon, Michigan and Virginia, thanks to a donation from Sports Illustrated.