What are sports about? What makes a great team?

I played girls’ lacrosse at Portland High School. We weren’t a championship team, but we showed up. In sleet and wind, on that ragged field in Deering Oaks Park, we practiced until the sky went dark. We ran stairs in the cold. We shoveled snow off Fitzpatrick Stadium before games. We stuck together through bruises, bad calls, big wins and hard losses.

Girls’ sports teach us how to show up for each other. They teach grit. Trust. Accountability. We learn to move past mistakes without blame and keep going. A great team isn’t built on the strength of an individual; it’s built on effort, resilience and knowing our teammates won’t let us down.

That’s why I can’t support efforts to exclude transgender girls from playing in Maine. When a student joins a team, they’re not chasing trophies or attention. They are asking for a place to belong. Turning them away because of fear or politics betrays the very heart of what sports are supposed to offer.

If someone is lacing up, pushing themselves and standing by their teammates, they’ve already shown the kind of character every team needs. Trans girls fight every day just to be seen for who they are. That’s real toughness, the kind I’d want beside me in a game.

Sports don’t need more barriers. They need heart and hustle. That’s what we value in Maine. That’s what makes a team strong.

Adeline Farmer
Portland