Is Creatine Allowed in High School Sports?

Creatine in high school sports at a glance

Is creatine banned in high school sports?

No. The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is the national group that state high school associations belong to. Its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee groups creatine with caffeine and protein powders as "legal, not banned for competition".

So there is no national ban on creatine in high school sport. Your state association and your school can still set their own rules, so check with your athletic trainer.

If you are heading to college sport, the rules change. Our guide to creatine and the NCAA covers what colleges may and may not provide.

Is creatine recommended for high school athletes?

No major group we found tells high school athletes to take it. The NFHS's current statement names creatine.

An older 2015 NFHS statement on dietary supplements, no longer on its current list, was stricter. It says the committee "strongly opposes the use of supplements by high school athletes for performance enhancement". It points to a lack of research on benefits and long term effects, "particularly in the adolescent age group".

Its 2024 statement on performance enhancing substances is newer. It calls creatine use "relatively safe," but lists risks of "dehydration, muscle cramps and blood clots". It says athletes should talk about use "with a knowledgeable health-care provider".

Both statements agree on one thing: a supplement can contain things that are not on the label. The 2024 statement notes the FDA does not routinely test these products, which leaves room for contaminants (unwanted substances that get into a product).

What does the American Academy of Pediatrics say?

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is the main professional group for children's doctors. Its 2016 report on performance enhancing substances raises three concerns about legal supplements in young athletes:

• Contamination. It notes "high rates of product contamination".
• Later steroid use. It notes a link with "future use of anabolic androgenic steroids," the muscle building drugs that are illegal without a prescription.
• The sport itself. It notes "adverse effects on the focus and experience of youth sports participation".

The report also says something every teen athlete should hear. For most young athletes, these substances do "not produce significant gains" over what puberty, good food and good training already bring.

A 2017 study in the AAP's journal, Pediatrics, describes the AAP's guidance as "recommendations against pediatric use of creatine". Pediatric means children and teens.

Can a high school coach give or recommend creatine?

It depends on your state, and the answer is often no. A 2015 NFHS statement (no longer on the NFHS current list) said school staff and coaches "should never recommend, endorse or encourage" any supplement for performance. Some states have put rules like this into law or state association policy.

• Texas. A school district employee may not knowingly sell, market or hand out a performance supplement to a student. They also may not "endorse or suggest" one. A violation is a Class C misdemeanor (the lowest level of crime in Texas). The bill's own analysis says some Texas coaches had encouraged supplements "such as creatine".
• Rhode Island. No teacher, athletic director, coach or other school employee may knowingly sell, hand out or "promote the use by students" of a performance enhancing supplement. The law covers supplements designed or marketed to build muscle or boost athletic performance.
• Wisconsin. The state association, the WIAA, "strongly opposes" performance supplements for high school athletes. It says school staff and coaches should never recommend, endorse or encourage them.

Other states may have similar rules. We list only the ones we could read in the state's own law or association policy. Ask your athletic director what applies to your school.

Do high schools drug test for creatine?

Creatine itself is not banned. But New Jersey, for one, tests for steroids, and a supplement can still cause a positive.

New Jersey says it was the first state to require steroid testing for high school athletes, starting in 2006. Any athlete who qualifies for a state championship tournament can be tested.

Its policy says supplements are not on its banned list. It also warns that many contain banned substances, and that "impure supplements may lead to a positive" test. Our guide on whether supplements can make you fail a drug test explains how that happens.

The NFHS itself puts education first. It says random testing "does not appear to be an effective deterrent".

Why not just ask the store?

A store employee is not the right person to ask. In a 2017 study, researchers phoned 244 health food stores while posing as a 15 year old high school athlete.

Two in three sales staff (67.2%) recommended creatine, some only after being asked about it. Three in four (74.2%) said a 15 year old could buy it in the store. The authors urged pediatricians to steer teens toward safe, healthy ways to improve performance instead.

What should I ask my doctor about creatine?

Take this to a doctor, a registered dietitian or your school's athletic trainer. The NFHS points athletes to a knowledgeable health care provider. It also suggests working with a registered dietitian on any plan to gain or lose weight.

Questions worth bringing:

1. Is creatine a good idea for me at my age? Ask what the AAP's guidance means for you.
2. What could I gain from training, food and sleep first? The AAP says most young athletes get their big gains from puberty and a good program.
3. Is there anything about my health that changes the answer? The NFHS lists dehydration, muscle cramps and blood clots as risks.
4. What do my state and school allow? Your athletic trainer can tell you the local rules.
5. If I use any supplement, how do I lower the contamination risk? Ask whether a product certified by a banned substance testing program makes sense. Our guide to what third party tested means explains what each seal checks.

Bring a parent or guardian to that conversation. The 2015 NFHS statement asked parents, coaches and school staff to allow open discussion about supplements.

For the bigger picture, see our guide to supplements for high school athletes.

Check a product with Varsity Stack

Talk to your doctor, a registered dietitian or your athletic trainer first. If you decide together that a supplement makes sense, scan it in Varsity Stack. You will see if it is in our certification database, and you can add it to your stack.

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For coaches, sports dietitians and athletic trainers: the team dashboard shows every athlete's stack and whether each product is certified, so staff can review what athletes take.

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Varsity Stack does not laboratory test supplements, and certification lowers risk without removing it.