Openly gay professional sports figures are few and far between in the U.S. Yet many young athletes are now coming out while in high school and college, where navigating from classroom to locker room is challenging and isolating.

Filmmaker Scott Bloom (Call Me Troy, Frameline32) travels across the country to explore how homophobia in athletics is affecting a new generation. For many of these accomplished athletes, sports serve as an invaluable distraction from the difficulties of being a gay teen. But many schools are not welcoming or safe environments for gay students, whether they excel in their sport or not. At Berkeley High, senior cross-country running team captain Austin is generally accepted by his teammates but still feels alienated by the overarching boy-chases-girl macho mentality of his peers. In the rural town of Waldo, Maine, soccer player Liz felt so ostracized by her teammates that she stopped playing her beloved sport altogether.

Bloom weaves candid interviews with these brave young athletes, their parents, and their coaches with intimate snippets from the students’ personal “diary cams”. Former professional athletes—who have since come out—offer potent commentary, including Major League baseball player Billy Bean and Olympic diver Greg Louganis, who grew up with no gay role models in their sports. But, ultimately, when these competitors are out on the field or in the water, athletic abilities are what matters most, not sexual orientation.

—JOANNE PARSONT