Bob Poynter is saddened by what has happened in track and field since the late 1970s, when he coached future Olympic gold-medal winners Millard Hampton and Andre Phillips at San Jose City College.
But he's eager for the day when the sport's image is no longer tarnished by doping scandals.
``When I came out in track, everybody was pure, just doing the sport,'' said Poynter, co-founder of the Hampton-Phillips Classic, which will be held for the 14th year Saturday at SJCC. ``Now, with so much money involved, it causes a lot of people to want to take chances to get that money. It's been disappointing to all of us.''
The federal investigation of Balco Laboratories has rocked the sporting world, especially track. Over the past year, several world-class athletes including middle-distance runner Regina Jacobs of Oakland and British sprinter Dwain Chambers tested positive for THG, a designer steroid that the Burlingame company is being charged with distributing. (Chambers was suspended for two years by UK Athletics, the governing body for British track and field).
Poynter, 66, said the wrong message is being sent to up-and-coming athletes: In order to compete, take any advantage necessary.
``The kids emulate what they see,'' Poynter said. ``We want to expose kids to the positive aspects of sports. The only thing you read about is drugs. The average person, all they know about track are the few characters who have tested positive.
``It's a persistent problem. How they solve it, I don't know.''
Yet Poynter remains optimistic about the future, largely through his involvement with the Hampton-Phillips Classic. With more than 1,500 middle school, high school and Special Olympics athletes competing, it is one of the largest youth meets in California.
``They're out there competing and having a good time. That's one reason we continue to do this, for the kids to show their talents,'' Poynter said.
The event is named for Poynter's two pupils, who attended Quimby Oak Middle School, Silver Creek High, San Jose City and UCLA. Both attend the meet each year.
Poynter hopes some of the future stars competing Saturday will steady the course and help bring respectability back to the sport.
``That is real important, especially to me,'' Poynter said. ``I came in at a time when you just competed. There wasn't the dealing-with-money factor. With good coaches, they will hopefully go in that direction.''
When Poynter and Frank Slaton (both former Silver Creek coaches) founded the meet, they included junior high kids to allow them to be influenced by their high school counterparts.
``We got the idea so the younger kids will continue on and look up to the ones that are doing it right,'' Poynter said.
Unfortunately, too many big names in track and field are failing in that category.
Whether performance-enhancing drugs have trickled down to the high school level remains to be seen, but Poynter feels the substance is out there.
All-America game
Mountain View's Erik Davis and Serra's Chuck Lofgren, one of the nation's best two-way baseball prospects, have accepted invitations to play in the high school All-America game. The game, scheduled for June 7 at a site to be determined, will feature the nation's top 35 major league draftees and college recruits.
Lofgren and Davis are ranked among the top 20 pro recruits nationally by Baseball America. The two also played in last summer's AFLAC high school All-America game in Fort Myers, Fla., and for the U.S. junior national team in the Pan-America Cup in Curacao.