What It Looks Like When Trans Kids Are Simply Allowed to Play Sports

SELF talked to 5 young people whose stories are noteworthy not only because they provide a counter narrative to the fearmongering and misinformation, but in addition because they show that trans kids who play sports are simply kids who play sports. The teenagers who spoke to us shared how they fell in love with the sport—with the joys of competition, the camaraderie, the challenge of learning latest skills, or any of the opposite many advantages playing sports provides.

While most of those stories are positive, we might have been remiss to disregard the truth that many trans youth are currently facing on this country—certainly one of pushback, roadblocks, and outright participation bans. The stories we feature here reflect the complete spectrum of experiences trans kids are having on the playing field, specializing in the great while acknowledging the ugly.

Most significantly, these stories reflect what it actually looks like when trans youth are allowed to take part in the sports they love. They aren’t breaking records or taking spots from cis kids; they won’t even be the perfect player on their team. They simply…go to practices, compete, and are available home and do their school work. They win, they lose, they learn, they grow, similar to all kids do.

Sivan, 18, Massachusetts

Sivan has been playing sports for many of his life. There was a time during elementary school when he was playing year-round soccer, basketball within the winter, baseball within the spring, and running track. Eventually, the demands of each school and athletics increased and he had to select one to concentrate on. The alternative, for him, was never going to be a tough one to make—soccer was his favorite.

“I like plenty of things about soccer, from the sensation that I get once I’m playing to the sensation of belonging that the sport really provides,” Sivan said. “But I feel what I actually love most about soccer is how much I’ve learned.”

Yes, he’s talking about the several skills that he’s picked up and the right way to get probably the most power behind a kick and the flexibility to pay attention to where all of his teammates are on the sector at any given time. But he’s also talking about so rather more than that. Soccer, and sports usually, teach us the right way to handle loss.

“Through playing sports, you’re going to learn that in life, you’ll be able to’t and won’t at all times win,” he said. “But after every loss, you might have to get back up and train even harder and are available back even stronger together as a team. And soccer teaches you a part of the fundamentals of life, labor and discipline, and dedication, and all while having fun at the identical time.”

Sivan was what most individuals would call a shy kid; sports gave him more confidence. “Within the classroom, I might need been a bit of quieter, but on the sector, I blossomed,” he said.

One of the best ways Sivan’s parents supported him was, he said, really easy: “After I told them who I used to be, they only heard me and accepted me right from the beginning.” His folks explained their parenting philosophy to him, that their job is to support their children to live their happiest and most fulfilling lives, whatever that appears like. Sivan’s brothers—one twin and one older—were equally accepting and quick to have his back, stepping in to correct people once they used the improper pronouns. The family desired to make sure that that Sivan didn’t must experience the discomfort of getting to correct people himself, especially when the switch was latest.