Senior soccer player Zachary Lieu plays a lot of soccer, both for the high school and for a club team. When the club team won regions last June 2025, he acknowledged, it became stressful.
“I struggled with mental health as an athlete, playing every level of soccer,” Lieu said. “Considering we won regions and we placed nationally, the pressure got to me, and it eventually started to feel like it was a job more than something that I enjoyed. It took a big toll on me.”
Senior lacrosse and indoor track athlete Olivia O’Malley knows that many athletes struggle with stress and mental health. She faced similar issues herself during her freshman year.
“I struggled with mental health, and it impacted my ability to play lacrosse and also in school,” O’Malley said. “It was just a really hard struggle for me, and I felt like I was alone, even though I wasn’t.”
O’Malley eventually went to therapy and was able to begin feeling better. Then last year, she decided to help other athletes by opening a chapter of the Morgan’s Message group at Baldwin. Morgan’s Message is a national group that aims to support student-athletes dealing with stress and mental health issues.
“Creating Morgan’s Message (at Baldwin) gives that outlet to people to have that place to go if they need help – or just even if they’re not going to say that they need help, they can feel included,” O’Malley said.
The first Morgan’s Message group was created in 2020 in memory of Morgan Rodgers, a Division I lacrosse player at Duke University who died by suicide in July 2019. One of O’Malley’s goals with the Baldwin club is to keep her memory alive.
“My purpose is to spread her story and keep her memory alive, and to eliminate the stigma around mental health with that story, and show people that it’s more than just a game,” O’Malley said.
Maddie White, a representative of the national Morgan’s Message organization, said the group’s goal is to help athletes deal with stress and mental health issues.
“We work to equalize the treatment of mental and physical health in athletics, empowering athletes to seek help without feeling shame,” White said. “We do this by creating safe spaces for open dialogue, advocating for mental health awareness, and through our Ambassador Program, which empowers student-athletes to become mental health advocates in their communities.”
Morgan’s Message supports student-athletes by having dedication games, fundraisers, monthly meetings, and speaker events. At dedication games, group members tell people about Morgan’s Message and why it was created.
Morgan’s Message at Baldwin already has raised awareness through several community events. They participated in the high school’s Trunk-or-Treat event, created information posts for Mental Health Awareness Month on their Instagram, @morgans_message_bhs, and worked with the school’s Innovation Shop to make Morgan’s Message towels and bracelets.
O’Malley said the group is off to a good start.
“At our first meeting, a lot of athletes came – girls soccer, boys soccer, lacrosse, gymnastics, track. We even had a football player, and I want to get more guys involved, too,” O’Malley said. “We had a table at the football game, which was really nice. But I am determined to get a (basketball dedication) game.”
Lieu was one of those athletes in attendance. When he went through his stressful time in soccer, he was supported by his coaches and friends from a variety of groups, including those in track and choir.
My friends “really helped me realize that, being an athlete, your performance does not define you, but rather influences and pushes you to become a better person,” Lieu said. He has since joined Morgan’s Message to help others.
O’Malley decided to start the Baldwin chapter of Morgan’s Message last year after her Baldwin lacrosse coach, Kate McAllister, told her about it, and after seeing it on social media.
“I thought I would want to be involved more, especially given the circumstances of how mental health has impacted my life,” O’Malley said. “She told me that you can submit an application to become an ambassador, so I did that, and at the end of the year, my application got approved,” O’Malley said.
The group’s sponsor, history teacher Christopher Reilsono, said O’Malley has really taken the initiative.
“Olivia has really been leading the charge on this, and honestly, I’m just supporting her when she asks,” Reilsono said.
With O’Malley being a senior this year, she hopes Morgan’s Message at Baldwin will grow this year and continue on after she graduates.
“It’s really important to me that this stays in the school. My cousin is a freshman, so next year, I’ll pass it down to her and help her get started,” O’Malley said. “I want the teal and orange signs in the hallway, as well as the bracelets on people’s wrists. I want this to keep spreading.”
