Transgender college athlete finds support from teammates, coaches and opponents after transitioning

As far back as Carter Van Zanten can remember, sports have been a part of his life. Both of his parents were athletes and they often joked that he was “born with running shoes on.”

Growing up in the Southern California coastal town of Dana Point, Van Zanten spent his childhood playing goaltender in soccer leagues. Then when he entered sixth grade, he decided to try shot put during his middle school’s Olympics competition.

Instantly, something clicked.

“I just kind of fell in love with it. And I did really good. I got first place in sixth and seventh grade. But then I got second place in eighth grade and I was so upset about that!” he remembered.

His success and the highs and lows of competition convinced Van Zanten, one of the out LGBTQ athletes featured in Outsports’ Campus Courage series, that his future lay in throwing sports.

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All of this took place prior to him coming out as trans and transitioning. Assigned female at birth, Van Zanten had played on girls teams from childhood through his middle school years.

During that time, playing sports gave him cover so that he didn’t have to explain why he was always donning athletic wear.

“Before transitioning, a lot of how I dressed was based around sports. Like, ‘Can I run in these clothes’ or ‘Can I work out in these clothes?’” he explained.

Van Zanten also had his first hair cut in eighth grade. 

As he recalled it, “My mom was like, ‘Is there another reason why you cut your hair?’ And I’m like, ‘No!’ And then later, I was like, ‘Actually…’”

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One year later as a high school freshman, Van Zanten came out as trans to one of his best friends. He found the support that he had hoped for and that inspired him to come out to more friends and teachers.

He had a feeling that his parents would also accept him for who he was but was still nervous to tell them. After taking a bit of time to prepare, Van Zanten told his mom that he was trans and got the uplifting response he needed.

A supportive family

Because his father was a practicing Christian and Van Zanten had absorbed so much media footage of religious zealots condemning the trans community, he was even more apprehensive to come out to him.

“But my mom reassured me and stayed supportive. She was by my side telling my dad. And then he was super supportive immediately.” Van Zanten said.

When Van Zanten joined the track and field team at San Juan Hills High School, he found that it was run by the football coaches in an informal and hands-off way. Because his sister had thrown discus during her high school sports years, he decided to teach that event to himself during his sophomore season.

During the time when Van Zanten was transitioning, his school and coaches allowed him to choose whether he wanted to compete with the boys or girls team. He decided to continue throwing with the girls squad, partly because he found prospect of joining a boys team composed primarily of football players intimidating.

All of his coaches and teammates accepted him. What was just as heartening was that Van Zanten also found vocal encouragement from his opponents.

“Other throwers were super supportive and just great, [saying] ‘Hope you do well!’ [Discus] is a team thing but it’s also an individual sport. And it’s really just individuals supporting each other. I love throwers!” he said.

All of this allowed Van Zanten to excel. During his senior year, he accomplished a personal goal by throwing the disc more than 100 feet in competition and eventually qualified for the California Interscholastic Federation Prelims.

When it came time for him to choose a college, Van Zanten decided to attend Evergreen State in Olympia, Washington, due to its idyllic woodlands location and cooler climate.

A transition to college

College was also the first time he’d be throwing on the men’s team.

“I was so stressed,” he recalled, “I was comparing myself to everyone else and how they performed, their PRs, and what they looked like.”

On top of that, the men’s college disc differed significantly from a high school women’s disc in size and weight. Van Zanten had to teach himself to adapt on the fly.

Fortunately, his coaches and teammates emphasized that all they wanted him to focus on was doing the best that he could. Last fall, he felt it start to come together.

Just as in high school, Van Zanten’s Evergreen State teammates have backed him all the way. He hasn’t tried connecting with his opponents yet but hopes to someday build a similar community among college throwers.

Away from sports, he’s embraced life on campus and his roommates during his first two years have been fellow trans men. A political science major, Van Zanten also studies entertainment and sports journalism.

And he fully embraces what it means to be an out and proud trans athlete in a fraught era for his community.

“Sometimes it can definitely be overwhelming and frustrating,” he said, “But being able to represent something to one person or more is just beautiful. Whenever I see an actor or athlete who’s trans, I’m so proud of them. And it empowers me that I can do these things. I can compete. I can just be myself and do what I love. I just hope I can try and do that for someone else.”

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