Creatine for the High-School Athlete: What the Evidence Actually Says

No supplement generates more questions from parents than creatine — and almost none of the worry is supported by the evidence. Creatine monohydrate is the most-studied ergogenic aid in all of sports nutrition, with hundreds of clinical trials behind it. Let me give it to you straight.

What creatine actually does

Creatine helps your muscles regenerate ATP — the body's rapid energy currency — during short, explosive efforts. That's why the consistent finding across the literature is 5–15% improvements in strength and repeated-sprint power, plus support for lean-muscle gain. For a lineman, a sprinter, or a wrestler, that's meaningful.

The safety question parents ask first

The International Society of Sports Nutrition's position stand — a review of the full body of evidence — concludes that creatine monohydrate is safe and effective, with no evidence of harm to kidney or liver function in healthy individuals across short- and long-term use. The 'creatine hurts your kidneys' idea comes from a misreading of a lab marker (creatinine), not from actual kidney injury.

How we dose it

• 5 grams per day, every day — including rest days. Consistency drives the adaptation.
• No 'loading phase' is required; a steady 5 g saturates the muscle within about 3–4 weeks.
• Creatine monohydrate only — the well-studied form. We use an NSF Certified for Sport product so there's no risk of a banned contaminant.

The bottom line

Creatine isn't a shortcut and it isn't a steroid — it's a food-derived compound your body already makes. For a committed athlete training hard, it's one of the highest-return, best-supported additions we make to a protocol. As always, it belongs inside a physician-directed plan, not bought off a shelf on a whim.