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WHS girls lacrosse take a shot at mental health
ETHAN KEATING staff writer
The WHS girls lacrosse team took the opportunity at their April 25 home game against CVCA to acknowledge a cause that many members of the team are passionate about: Morgan’s Message.
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According to its website, Morgan’s Message is a non-profit organization with a mission, “to amplify stories, resources and expertise to strengthen student-athlete mental health, builds a community by and for athletes through peer-topeer conversations and provides a platform for advocacy.”
Morgan Rogers was a Division One lacrosse player at Duke University who openly battled with mental health concerns and eventually died by suicide. In her memory, the Rogers family created the Morgan’s Message initiative.
Holly Pope, 13 year WHS Girls Lacrosse coach, said that last year the team got the idea to dedicate games to certain themes that the team felt were important. The most recent of these themes was Morgan’s Message.
“I wanted my team to know that being a student athlete is not only a privilege, but also allows them to use their sport as a platform. We encouraged the team to choose things that are important to create themes for their home games. Mental health and suicide awareness was a cause the team felt strongly about,” Pope said. This initiative was especially important to the team, as four players on the team are ambassadors for Morgan’s Message. These ambassadors are Madi Sommer (12), Emily Williams (11), Carolyn Greene (11) and Amelia Correll (9). Sommer remarked that being an ambassador allows the athletes to spread the message around the school and community.
“I think one way others can support this message is by starting the conversation about mental health. When you start the conversation, people who are struggling may be listening and that could really improve someone’s mental health by knowing they aren’t alone. I also hope that other sports teams choose to hold a Morgan’s Message dedication game and really get Wooster High School involved,” Sommer said.
Pope said the team is hoping to either start a WHS chapter or incorporate Morgan’s Message into already existing WHS clubs and organizations.
