Club Focused on Athlete Mental Health Debuts

By: Alexia LaTourette

December 4, 2024

   Many student athletes can have an overwhelming schedule. It can become difficult to juggle both in and out of school stress. Although widely unknown at Colgan, Morgans Message is a club that works to create a safe space for these student athletes.  

   Morgan’s Message has been at Colgan since 2022 but has been a non-profit organization outside of Colgan since 2020. It is to honor the life of Morgan Rodgers, a collegiate athlete who died following a long battle with mental health. At Colgan, it is an all-equal access club, meaning it is student driven. 

   In 2020 Maila Slaiby, a then senior, founded the club at Colgan. The advisor of the club is school counselor Kostas Zourzoukis. Although he did not play sports growing up, Zourzoukis said he was enthusiastic about sponsoring because of his angle as a counselor, who is passionate about mental health. 

   “I know a lot of people don’t like to talk about mental health, but I want there to be something in place that if you are at a breaking point then you know you can come rely on that resource, with peers that can support you. Staff, sponsors that can support,” Said  Zourzoukis. 

   Riley Posti ’25 has now taken over the role as president and hopes to bring more awareness to the club. Posti does sideline and competitive cheerleading at Colgan and has won two state titles while on the team.  

   “I’ve struggled with managing my mental health with sports, as I get overwhelmed easily and it leads to a lot of stress,” said Posti. “But Morgan’s Message has been so helpful to me as a reminder to take care of myself before worrying about my athletic performance.” 

   Posti said she wants students involved in Morgan’s Message to feel like they have a safe place to openly talk about mental health. 

   “The message that comes with our club is so important for athletes as it emphasizes that you are human before you are an athlete,” Posti said.