Sam had very little talent, but he found the one thing he was good at, wearing a skirt. Sam the Athlete is a short story by the author of Stewart McLean. Sam was in his very first year of middle school and wanted to join a sports team. His mom had already bough him new sneakers hoping they would make him better at sports, but they didn’t work very well. He later joins a field hockey team not knowing it was a girl’s team. Sam was super happy he had made the team even though he knew it was a girl’s team. He had the best feeling in his stomach as if he had just won the world cup. Sam was even happier though when the coach called him Samantha, he had the biggest smile on his face. During the first practice Sam was also handed a skirt, at first, he was hesitant but he had an idea. When he got home he ran for the razor and shaved his legs. He put the skirt on and his goalie gear and practiced his moves. Sam loved wearing the skirt because it made him feel like he was more apart of the team then if he just wore shorts, He also is standing up for people who don’t have the courage to stand up for themselves, he wasn’t scared of getting judged or bullied. I think Sam should wear the skirt because no one should be able to tell him how to live his life. He thinks that wearing the skirt helps him play better and it also makes him feel more apart of the field hockey team, and at the end of the day Sam ends up being the hero at the end of the season. In conclusion Sam wore the skirt and stood up for what he believed in.