On March 1, the Spartanburg Lady Vikings lacrosse team hosted the JL Mann Patriots for their annual Morgan’s Message dedication game. While the game inspires a friendly competition between the two teams, both teams are playing to win. This dedication game is to honor all student-athletes who struggle with mental health, and all of the players on the field know that they are fighting for something much bigger than a trophy or a simple win.
Morgan’s Message is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to increasing awareness about mental health in sports. Started by the family and teammates of Morgan Rogers, a lifelong athlete and Duke women’s lacrosse player, who passed away due to suicide in July of 2019, Morgan’s Message was created to help other student-athletes who may be struggling and to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health in athletics.
While many athletes know to report an injury and seek help or a physician’s advice, these same athletes often feel as though their mental health doesn’t need the same priority. Morgan’s Message’s primary goal is to help athletes and students everywhere realize that mental health has the same importance as physical health and that it’s okay to reach out for help.
By using student ambassadors in various high school and collegiate programs across the country, Morgan’s Message now has over 4,685 ambassadors at 1,597 high school and college campuses. These ambassadors help spread the goal of the program and help lead their team or club in promoting mental health awareness.
Libby Cheek (12) is an ambassador for the Lady Viking’s lacrosse team. Cheek helps guide her team through mental health exercises and leads Mindful Mondays, a 15-20 minute meeting with the team to talk about mental health and ways they can help themselves and others.
“A big part of Morgan’s Message for me is being able to tell others that they are not alone and can get through anything with a support system,” Cheek said.
The program was brought to the Lady Vikings through assistant coach Lanie Graves, who teaches at McCracken Middle School and played lacrosse at Lander University. Graves’ college coach introduced her to Morgan’s Message and inspired her to bring it to Spartanburg High.
“Morgan’s Message was so important to me during my last two years of college and got me through a lot of different challenges that were thrown at me. Knowing that my performance on the field, at practice, or in the weight room did not define me was crucial to my mental health,” Graves said. “Morgan’s Message had a huge impact on me and how I view life in general, appreciating the small things a little bit more and not worrying about the things that I cannot control. I knew that I wanted to bring Morgan’s Message to SHS and our lacrosse team, and I just hope that it has the same impact on our team and even beyond that.”
To prepare for the dedication game, the Lady Vikings took time out of their practice every day for the week leading up to the game to talk about Morgan’s Message and who they are dedicating the game to. The Lady Vikings wore ribbons in their hair with a blue butterfly, Morgan’s favorite animal and the logo of the program, and the number nine, Morgan’s lucky number, on each end. Along with the ribbons, the players also wrote the number nine on their wrist, along with a name, symbol or message that inspired them.
Sofia Hernandez (11) is a member of the Viking girls lacrosse team and played during the dedication game.
“The game meant a lot to me because it’s important to acknowledge mental health and recognize that people struggle with it,” Hernandez said.
In the second annual Morgan’s Message Dedication Game, the two teams not only played for themselves or their teammates, but also for Morgan and her story. Playing through frigid temperatures and pouring rain, both teams played tough, clean and with a purpose. While the Lady Vikings won 6-5, they also know that their fight for mental health awareness isn’t over yet.
