Athletes push themselves to their limits every day in order to be successful. The average spectator may only see them perform for a few hours, minutes, or even seconds, but competitors put in so much more work than meets the eye.
This dedication to a sport often brings athletes joy and gives them purpose, but it can also cause them to be in a negative headspace when facing injury or just daily pressures in general. This common struggle has inspired sophomore Emme McGuire to create a Morgan’s Message club at BV with the goal of providing a safe space for athletes to discuss mental health topics.
“Morgan’s Message is a mental health club for specifically athletes, [but also] really for everyone. The organization itself is a mental health organization that was created after an athlete who went to Duke committed suicide [after] an injury. “
McGuire became interested in starting a Morgan’s message club at BV after her older sister became involved.
“[My sister] was an ambassador, and she graduated last year,” McGuire said. “I think she heard about it from her friend Gracie, who lives in Virginia, and then she decided to become an ambassador.”
The beginnings of the club were put into motion before this year, but it wasn’t until January 2025 that Morgan’s Message had their first official meeting. It took many months to get the club going, but McGuire and her fellow ambassadors are starting to put it into full swing.
“My sister, Ava, and Emma McAtee actually started the club last year, but [not] officially. So I think this year, me, Emma, Bella Hamo and Alli Phillips all decided to get together because we were all ambassadors, and we decided to start [it] at BV.”
McGuire started the club because she believes that the pressure for student-athletes to perform their best can sometimes lead to stress, even when they are doing a sport they love. Without a place to go when they experience these negative thoughts, athletes can become depressed or experience burnout.
“It’s called a student-athlete for a reason. Sometimes we forget that a student is a person, and sometimes, when you’re an athlete, you can’t really show your emotions,” McGuire said. “You’re meant to be this rock hard person who is always grinding. But we have emotions. If you don’t have someone to help you or build a community around, then that’s really going to be hard.”
Morgan’s Message is something that is important to McGuire because she has experienced her own mental health struggles and she wants to help other athletes who have similar experiences.
“I decided to become an ambassador because it’s really good to get involved,” McGuire said. “I’m really passionate about mental health, and I’ve personally struggled with it, so it’s definitely something that I want to not only [put on] my resume, but really have [as] a part of my life, because [bad] mental health is something that we all deal with and I wanted to be able to do something to deal with that.”
Even though the club has just officially started, McGuire has big goals for the future of Morgan’s Message at BV.
“My long term plan is to do dedication games, kind of like the Wigs Out Pink Out game, but dedicated to Morgan and her message,” McGuire said. “I really want to do a teal out/orange out game. It’s a really good way to spread the message and get more ambassadors started, not only from our school, but from the school that we might be playing.”
McGuire hopes that Morgan’s Message will continue to reach athletes throughout the years, even after she is no longer at BV.
“I really want to just get as many people involved [as I can], because the more people join, the more people will carry on the legacy,” McGuire said. “I don’t want this to be something that ends [after I graduate].
McGuire is excited to finally get her new club rolling, because she believes that Morgan’s Message will provide positive experiences for student-athletes and people who have been through mental health struggles.
“Someone should join Morgan’s message to not only be a part of the community [that is] accepting and supportive, but it’s also just a fun way to connect with others,” McGuire said. “If you’re interested in mental health and raising awareness, you should join.”
