Trans Youth Soccer Coach Comes Out to Players in Moving Speech

Kids don't always understand the delicacies of social topics, especially in today's age when new groups and labels seem to be coined daily. So it was a notably courageous act when Kaig Lightener, a youth soccer coach in Portland, OR, gathered his team around and came out to them as transgender.

"We ask a lot of you guys to show up and be who you are, and get to be better players, and I haven't totally shared something about myself that's kind of important that some of you may or may not know," Lightener said. "It's an important thing for me to share with you because we all should be who we are, we all should be exactly who we want to be and not hide who we are. I am transgender."

Lightener briefly explained about his life growing up and being a girl in the male-dominated sport of soccer, and how he was told he wasn't good enough or strong enough. "That's really important for me to tell you guys because this is how we build community," he said. "We've got to love each other no matter what." Watch Lightener's speech, below.