Eric Anderson
Athletics Coaching

Extracts from a review by Cyd Zeigler, Jr., of Outsports.com:

In 1993, Eric "Gumby" Anderson became the first openly gay high school track coach in America when he told the administration and members of his team at Huntington Beach High School that he was gay.

"I just couldn't lie and hide anymore to anybody," he says.

Today, he is anything but hiding. Still living in Orange County, he has a jumbo-sized rainbow flag flying from the front of his house. He has a rainbow flag on his car. He even has a rainbow flag on the screen door to his back patio. The license plate on his Avalon is "GAYRNNR." And, he's had a very high-profile part of the campaign to end discrimination against gays at the high school level for years

``The only thing I've ever really kicked myself in the ass for was not coming out sooner,'' he says.

In his new book,"Trailblazing: The True Story of America's First Openly Gay Track Coach,'' he tells an intense tale of  the first four years of coaching as an openly gay man.

Coach Gumby, now 32, knows the role of coach well.  A PhD candidate at University of California Irvine, Gumby has spent years researching the psychology of sports. He has published two books on the subject of distance running, delving into the subject at every level from motivation and enthusiasm to nutrition and injuries.

It should be no surprise that one of the areas he has spent the most time researching is homosexuality in sports. He has written various articles and academic pieces on the subject including his Master's thesis, ``Gays In Sport: Is  It As Bad As They Say?'' 

 At a recent book signing at his house, most of the major characters of ``Trailblazing,'' including UCLA National Indoors 800 Champ Jess Strutzel, were there to offer their support and "hang at Coach's place." 

He has had a boyfriend, Grant-Tyler Peterson  for two years. Grant-Tyler is a senior at UCLA and just starred in the school's production of ``Fahrenheit 451.'' 

Many young gay athletes find him through his Website, coachgumby.com, which features his e-publication for gay teens, The Gumby Gazet. They contact him looking for advice and someone to confide in. They come from all over the country from all different sports. The word on the Web is, if you're a gay teen athlete, you've got to track down Coach Gumby.