Chase Philbrook: A transgender soccer goalie who kills with kindness
Lynda Clancy, August 1, 2013, 4:00pm

http://www.penbaypilot.com/article/chase-philbrook-transgender-soccer-goalie-who-kills-kindness/17717

ROCKLAND — At first, one is struck by the broad grin and friendly openness of this 21 year-old young man, who once was a woman. Then, as conversation deepens, there emerges the even more revealing: A human being with a deep reservoir of courage and strong sense of self. Chase Philbrook, of Cushing, is transgender, or trans man — a female who changed her identity to that of a male. Not easy in any sense of the word or world, especially in a Yankee culture that can be simultaneously tolerant, and harshly judgmental.

Not that fear doesn't fill him now and again; yet, Philbrook is following a path he has recognized since he was very young.

"When I was 3 years old I fought about wearing dresses," he said. "I played with trucks, not dolls."

His mother did not dictate his identity, allowing Chase (formerly Chelsea) to shape his own — cutting his hair short and wearing clothes as he chose. While he always liked sports, he started playing soccer in second-grade, and that grew into a lifelong love of the game.