As coaches, inclusivity starts with us. It is reflected in the words we use, the standards we set, and the environment we create with our teams every day. Just as we ask our athletes to continue learning and growing, coaches should also stay open to learning how to build spaces where every player feels safe, respected, and valued.
These three books are excellent resources for coaches who want to better understand and support LGBTQIA+ athletes.
What Are Your Words? by Katherine Locke
I love teaching and learning through children’s books because they often explain important ideas with clarity and compassion. What Are Your Words? offers a simple but meaningful introduction to the importance of respecting pronouns and honoring personal identity.
The illustrations celebrate many forms of diversity, and the story reinforces the idea that identity can be personal, evolving, and worthy of respect. It is a great reminder that there is room for everyone’s words, even if they are still discovering them for themselves. This book is especially valuable for coaches working with younger athletes and families who want to create welcoming team environments from the very beginning.
Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates by Katie Barnes
In Fair Play, Katie Barnes provides a deeply researched look at the history of women’s sports and the ongoing conversations surrounding trans athlete participation.
The book explores how sports have historically been tied to ideas about masculinity and gender norms, and how those expectations continue to influence athletics today. Barnes examines the impact of Title IX, the way sports have traditionally been segregated by sex, and the experiences of trans athletes competing across different levels of sport.
As legislation targeting trans athletes continues to grow across the United States, this book provides important historical and cultural context. It encourages readers to think critically about fairness, inclusion, and the future of sports in a way that is informed, compassionate, and human-centered.
Fair Game: Trans Athletes and the Future of Sports by Ellie Roscher and Dr. Anna Baeth
Fair Game centers the voices and lived experiences of trans athletes while exploring why inclusion in sports matters at every level of play.
The book addresses common misconceptions about trans participation in athletics and challenges fear-based narratives with research, storytelling, and empathy. Rather than focusing on division, the authors offer hopeful and practical ways sports communities can move forward together.
One of the most impactful aspects of this book is the way it humanizes the conversation. Hearing directly from trans athletes helps readers move beyond headlines and connect to the real people affected by exclusionary policies and rhetoric.
The Future of Sports Is Inclusive
Coaches play a powerful role in shaping team culture. We cannot control every conversation happening in society, but we can control how athletes experience our teams, locker rooms, sidelines, and practices.
When athletes feel safe being themselves, they are more likely to thrive both on and off the field. Inclusion is not just a conversation for Pride Month. It is an ongoing commitment to learning, empathy, and leadership.
The future of sports is inclusive, and coaches can help lead the way.
Happy Pride!
